A “hell yeah” mindset helps firms move from fear-based decisions to choices grounded in clarity and strategy.
Recently, a friend of mine was telling me about her job search. She’d been out of work for about six months and had just landed a new position. I had (wrongly) assumed it took that long for her to find something. Instead, she told me she’d had several offers along the way and passed on them.
In her words: “If it’s not a hell yeah, it’s a no.”
The phrase immediately reminded me of two of my favorite books: Quit by Annie Duke and Essentialism by Greg McKeown. While they approach decisions from different angles, both land on the same core idea: values, not fear or scarcity, should guide our choices. Duke focuses on when to leave. McKeown focuses on how to choose. Two sides of the same coin.
The AEC market is facing a new reality. Historically, there was some level of predictability. When private development slowed, public work often picked up. When developers paused, government projects carried momentum. The easy answer was diversification.
But this moment feels different. We’re seeing pauses and a lack of certainty across nearly all markets. I’m not an economist, but it’s hard not to notice how quickly this environment triggers fear and scarcity.
How fear and scarcity distort decision-making
Fear and scarcity wear disguises. Most of us don’t realize how often we’re playing not to lose instead of playing to win. Duke, a former professional poker player, explores this dynamic in depth. Poker decisions are made with limited information, shifting conditions, and no guaranteed outcomes. You can’t worry about the time, money, or effort already invested; you have to play the cards you’re dealt.
Corny, but as Kenny Rogers sang, you have to “know when to fold ’em.”
Fear usually shows up wearing a what‑if‑I’m‑wrong costume, trying to control outcomes by keeping us in the game no matter what. Scarcity is subtler. Think of it as fear’s cooler older sister, whispering, "This might be our only chance." Both sound reasonable. Both feel adult. But underneath, they’re still about avoiding loss rather than pursuing intention.
What a "hell yeah" mindset looks like in practice
So what does “hell yeah” actually mean in this context?
It’s not about chasing excitement or gut-level giddiness. A “hell yeah” is an internal signal that, intuitively, our values are being met. Intuition isn’t always welcomed in the business world, but once we clearly name what matters, intuition becomes a powerful diagnostic tool. It helps us recognize why something works or why it doesn’t.
That shows up in questions like:
- Have we clearly defined what’s strategic for us?
- Which decisions move us closer to where we want to go?
- And what might we need to stop doing to get there?
Take business development as an example. A firm wanting to increase new projects might assume the answer is to pursue everything. Scarcity jumps in as a business partner, whispering things like “We can’t afford to say no,” “We can’t be selective right now,” or “Let’s keep all options open.”
But applying Duke’s and McKeown’s thinking leads to a different approach, one grounded in a “hell yeah” philosophy of selectivity. What work would energize us? What work positions us for the future we actually want? Are there sectors or project types that consistently burn out our people or fail to deliver margin?
When those criteria are defined in advance, decisions become clearer and more values-driven. The focus shifts from being a commodity to articulating the unique value we bring. After all, if you have a specific target, wouldn’t you concentrate your arrows on it instead of firing indiscriminately?
McKeown encourages organizations to identify strategies ahead of time by examining opportunity costs, selective criteria, and market signals. One of the most underestimated risks of taking the wrong work is simple: you attract more of the same.
I learned this lesson early through snow globes. As a kid, I bought one on a whim. Then another. Soon enough, people started gifting them to me because they assumed I liked snow globes. Suddenly, I was a “collector.” The same thing happens with work. What we say yes to, especially repeatedly, becomes what we’re known for.
Left unchecked, accidental choices can quietly turn into identity.
Which brings me back to my friend. She’s smart, talented, and deeply self-aware. She knows the environment she needs to succeed and she was willing to wait for it. That takes an enormous amount of faith in both the market and her own abilities. She also used Duke’s framework to know when it was time to leave her previous firm.
At one point, the role was a fit. Expectations were clear. She felt valued. Later, new information surfaced and it wasn’t a good fit. Instead of falling into a sunk‑cost fallacy (“I’ve already spent five years here”), she reassessed and adjusted.
Why values-based decisions matter in uncertain markets
So how can we use a “hell yeah” mindset in a time of economic uncertainty?
Scarcity convinces us that any movement is progress, even when it isn’t aligned. Fear tells us that staying in the game is safer than stepping back to reassess. But neither fear nor scarcity is a strategy – they’re reactions, and often expensive ones.
A “hell yeah” mindset moves decision‑making from impulse to values. It shifts the question from “Can we afford to say no?” to “Is this right for us?” “Hell yeah” requires sitting with discomfort, then countering it with clarity, self‑trust, and intention.
And let’s be honest: sometimes people, or firms, don’t have the luxury of waiting. Sometimes you do what’s necessary to keep the lights on. But even then, a values‑driven lens reminds us that this moment is temporary, and it doesn’t need to define us.
When I caught up with my friend after she started her new role, she was beaming – something I hadn’t seen in a year. Would she have succeeded elsewhere? Probably. But waiting for a firm aligned with her values of growth, respect, and autonomy meant she could focus on hitting the ground running instead of just surviving.
The “hell yeah” mindset isn’t about toxic positivity or wishful thinking. It’s about listening to fear and scarcity, sitting in the discomfort they create, and then choosing discernment instead. And in a moment when certainty is scarce, discernment may be the most strategic advantage a firm, or a person, can bring.
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Janki DePalma, LEED AP, CPSM is director of business development at W.E. O’Neil. Contact her at jdepalma@weoneil.com. |