The Manager Who Said No

This is the Minute Business Riff (MBR). Quick takes. Big swings. Leadership riffs you can read in less time than it takes to scroll LinkedIn aimlessly.

One minute. One idea. That’s it.

Today’s word count: 212

It took me 1 min 07s to read this.

Years ago, I worked alongside a colleague named Julia.

Absolute weapon. Sharp as hell. Could run circles around most execs in the building. The kind of operator who got respect without ever needing to raise her voice.

One Thursday, a last-minute client fire popped up. Sales wanted to schedule a 6pm call to “align stakeholders.”

All eyes turned to Julia.

She glanced at the invite. Looked up and said:

“No — I’ve got dinner with my kids.”

No apology. No long explanation. Just calm, direct, and firm.

You could hear the oxygen shift in the room.

And here’s what blew my mind:

No one pushed back.

No guilt trip. No politics. The meeting got rescheduled. The client didn’t care. And we all just... moved on.

But that moment? Burned into my brain.

Julia didn’t give a speech on work-life balance. She didn’t need to.

She showed us.

She modelled that you can be a killer at your job — and still have a life.

That one boundary gave everyone else permission to set their own. We started ending meetings on time. People felt safer blocking out real personal time. Burnout dropped. Productivity went up.

Because when someone you respect protects their peace, it makes it okay for you to protect yours too.

Tactical Takeaway:

This week, pick one thing in your life that matters outside of work — a walk, a dinner, a no-laptop hour.

And protect it like a meeting with your CEO.

Your team is watching. They don’t need another calendar invite.

They need an example.

Think this was a banger? Think I’m full of it?

Either way, hit reply and drop some truth bombs.

I read every email 😁

Great leaders are made in minutes. Not meetings.