Draft edition · e-book
Before You Say Yes
Practice cases for deadlines, scope and credit at work.
THE DIRECT ANSWER
Before You Say Yes is a draft e-book of nine practice cases about one moment: someone asks you for something, and the easy word (“sure”, “done”, “confirmed”) is already on its way out. Each chapter shows what to ask, and whom, before you answer, using one short move: ask two questions. It runs to about 125 printed pages in this full draft; chapters 1 and 2 are the free sample and the rest is not published yet.
What is the move the book teaches?
Share the one fact the other side is missing, ask two short questions of the people who hold the answers, and leave the decision with the person who owns it. Underneath every case the two questions are the same pair, and each chapter words them for its own case.
Question 1What don't I know that someone here does?
Question 2Who decides this, and what do they need from me first?
What is in the table of contents?
The draft has four front-matter pages, two parts with nine chapters, a glossary, a scenario index and a sources page. Part I has six situations. Part II has three cases where the answer comes from an AI tool.
Front matter
- How to use this book how a chapter works, how the plans are judged, how to read it
- The move and the two questions the three steps and the fixed pair
- Who is who the fictional cast and what each person knows
- Practice pages and keys how the printable worksheets fit the chapters
Part I: Six situations
- The Friday Deadline Free practice case: Fixed Deadline
A client wants all of it by Friday noon. How many hours are really free, and how long does each part take?
Chapter 1 is part of the free sample.
- The Two-Hour Addition Free practice case: Scope Swap
A stakeholder asks for a quick extra page when the five remaining hours are already spoken for. What must it show, and who can approve a change to the agreed scope?
Chapter 2 is part of the free sample.
- The Name on the Report Free practice case: Credit Repair
The author line names one person, and you remember two roles. What does the record say, and who can edit it?
- The Access Matrix No solo mode on the site: Access Matrix
A twelve-row matrix looks finished an hour before a vendor handoff, but two rows are unchecked. Is the 16:00 meeting a draft review or the final transfer?
- The Eight-File Handoff Free practice case: eight-file handoff
A 30-minute check seems to fit inside 35 minutes of packaging time, but whose check is it, and when can the receiver take the files?
- The One-Page Brief Free practice case: one-page brief
Three hours on the clock, but only 45 minutes are yours, and a reviewer sits in the middle. What will the partner accept at 16:00?
Part II: When the answer comes from a tool
- It Says It’s Done Free practice case: “It says it’s done”
An AI research assistant reports that its work is done. What did it actually look at, and who decides what may be relied on?
- The Bot Said Friday Free practice case: vendor bot
A vendor’s chat agent says Friday is fine, but the date lives in the order record. Who can change the record?
- The Tidied Brief Free practice case: AI-rewritten brief
A client’s AI tidied the brief and added a page that was not in the plan. What did it change, and what does the difference cost in hours?
Back matter
- Glossary 27 terms, each with the chapter where it first appears
- Index of scenarios by situation manager, peer, client, cross-team, handover, with every case listed under each situation it fits
- Sources and method where the cases come from, what the book does not claim
What does each chapter contain?
Chapters 1 to 9 all have the fuller layout in this draft.
- A learning goal: four things you can do by the end of the chapter.
- The core idea, on one page.
- Case 1, on a free practice case: the situation, who knows what, the tempting moves, the two questions, the arithmetic (chapter 3 calls it the check), the message you would send and a replay.
- Case 2, invented for the chapter and marked as invented.
- Common mistakes.
- Scripts and phrasing you can adapt.
- A practice exercise with its key, written out on paper.
- A one-page summary.
Which cases can I play for free?
Eight of the nine chapters follow a case that is playable free on this site: Fixed Deadline, Scope Swap, Credit Repair, eight-file handoff, one-page brief, “It says it’s done”, vendor bot, AI-rewritten brief. Chapter 4 follows the Access Matrix case, which has no solo mode on the site. The book adds the reasoning, the arithmetic, the replies you would send and the exercises around each case.
Who is it for?
- People who are asked for something by a manager, a peer, a client, another team or the person taking over their work, and who want to slow the first answer down by two questions.
- People who work with AI tools that report work as done, speak for someone else’s order, or rewrite a document. Part II is built for those moments.
- Team leads and facilitators who want written cases to read or discuss with a group.
What does it not claim?
- It is a set of practice cases, not advice about your workplace or a legal, HR or contract opinion.
- It cites no studies, surveys or experts, and it claims no measured result for any reader or team.
- Every person and workplace is fictional, the hours and times are practice numbers, and every AI in a case (Otto and the other assistants) is a fictional AI.
Is the book available yet?
Draft edition. The full book is not published, not for sale and not offered as a download here. The public items are the two free sample chapters, which you can read now.
Can I print the free sample?
Chapters 1 and 2 of Before You Say Yes, together in a free draft sample with a contents page, exercises and answer keys. Choose the paper size you print on. Every case and person is fictional, and Otto is a fictional AI.
Download the free chapters 1 and 2 sample (A4 PDF, 439 KB) ↓ Download the free chapters 1 and 2 sample (Letter PDF, 445 KB) ↓
Companion gift: print the four-verdicts plan-check sheet to use alongside the cases.
Four-verdicts plan-check sheet (A4 PDF, 1.2 MB) ↓ Four-verdicts plan-check sheet (Letter PDF, 1.2 MB) ↓
Start with chapter 1.
The Friday deadline: a reading draft of the first chapter. Fictional case, about 21 minutes, no sign-up. Chapter 2, The Two-Hour Addition, is free too.
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