The Power of Yeah Nah: Account Management Techniques for Technical Writers
April 2016
If Sun-Tzu was from Tauranga the cornerstone of business strategy writing would be a book called The Art of Yeah Nah . That’s factual.
After all, there’s no better way of subduing one’s enemy without fighting than by first agreeing that something isn’t what it’s meant to be in a casual but not entirely straightforward manner.
Then, while they’re thinking about it, you can quietly drop a bombshell on that nice Rhino-strength carpet of common ground you’ve just laid down and walk away with the upper hand.
What got me thinking about this was news from the States that a teenage technical writer had been chosen to speak at a TedX conference about the power of the word “No”. I’ll just give you a moment to process the “teenage technical writer” bit…
All good? Yeah nah? Great, I’ll carry on.
As technical writers, we sometimes struggle with the verbal Macarena that is account management. But whereas “No” is often the word we naturally lean towards (as in: “No, I will not incorporate your changes because you know as much about content as I do about the Cinema of Ernst Lubitsch”), “Yeah Nah” might actually be the more potent and, dare I say it, more account manager-y philosophy to take.
So here are five classic account management techniques seen through a philosophical “Yeah Nah” filter:
1. Build a Yeah Nah bridge
First acknowledge the problem with a quick, classic, off-the-cuff “Yeah Nah”.
Even if that problem has all the real world foundation of Donald Trump’s foreign policy, take a bullet for the project so you can quickly move onto selling your solution.
Do say: “Yeah nah, that is a problem, but we can mitigate it with X,Y, and Z.”
Don’t say: “Nope! Next question.”
2. Say Yeah Nah to what you’ll accept going in
The enemy can be an unpredictable beast. The seemingly innocuous, like asking them to meet the user halfway, can elicit responses both passive and aggressive, and sometimes even both.
Make a Yeah Nah list of your expectations before you go in, so if toys are thrown you know straight away whether to pick up your own toys and leave or put the enemy in time out.
Do say: “Yeah nah, this is where the line is, if they cross it we need to take a different tack.”
Don’t say: “Wow, I didn’t see that coming!”
3. Yeah Nah your own emotions
Helen Clark, Steve Hansen, Yoda; all the quality team leaders espouse knowing thyself. And for good reason.
If you can keep your head when all those around you are losing theirs, you’ll stay more in control of the situation and, as a nice bonus, you’ll probably look really dope while you’re doing it.
Do say: “Yeah nah, I’m not going to let them get to me.”
Don’t say: “Come on then, let’s take it outside!”
4. Be objectively Yeah Nah
True Yeah Nah philosophy encourages preparation for the impossible. Now, as unlikely as it seems, the enemy might actually be right. Your approach to the issue at hand may be a bit rubbish. I know, fat chance, but we still have to consider it.
Embrace feedback, ask the other side what would make them happy, and build your proposals on a sound foundation of user testing.
Do say: “Yeah nah, based on our knowledge of the end user we need to do this.”
Don’t say: “I’m right, you’re wrong. Again.”
5. Be agile with your Yeah Nah (don’t go chasing waterfalls)
Once you’ve agreed a solution, you’ll need to walk the talk by showing how you’re going to take action and keep the enemy in the loop while you do it.
Take a leaf out of the agile playbook by setting up a sprint board or Google sheet to give the other side visibility into your progress.
Going full agile isn’t always an option, especially if your own higher-ups prefer to ignore the sage advice of TLC. But sometimes a good idea is just a really good idea.
Do say: “Yeah nah, you can check in with our team at any time to track progress.”
Don’t say: “Look, we’ll get round to it when we get round to it. Now if you play your cards right, I may drop you an email when that happens.”
Tim Grey is allegedly a technical writer.
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