## Why Is It Important to Stick to a No Decision? Confidence and assertiveness prevent pressure or guilt-tripping from reversing the decision, reinforcing the Product Owner’s authority and responsibility. >[!experience] >When I worked at Walmart, we had strict guidelines for price matching to keep things fair and consistent. My job was to follow those rules exactly, but anytime a customer escalated to a manager, the manager would give them the price match anyway. Customers quickly learned they could bypass us by complaining, making us look incompetent. Eventually, we stopped enforcing the rules altogether because it felt pointless. </br> This is why sticking to a no decision matters for Product Owners—caving to pressure erodes authority, creates inconsistent outcomes, and teaches people that pushing harder will eventually get them what they want. Confidence and consistency build trust; constant reversals destroy it. ## Works Consulted 1. [000267 Battling the Bloated Product Backlog](https://www.scrum.org/resources/blog/battling-bloated-product-backlog) | Scrum.org | Accessed 25 Jul. 2025. ## Connections follows:: [[4.1 Product Owners Safeguard Value Delivery by Saying No]] topics:: [[Saying No]], [[Influence]], [[Product Owner]] ![[Footer]]