The Emphatic YES

The Emphatic YES: An Emphatic YES is not universal praise. It is enough truth for the right person to confidently choose you.

Where it shows up

Weak evidence produces weak language: they appear to be a reasonable option, you may want to consider them. That is not a bad answer, it is the jury opening a thin file. The Emphatic YES is what a strong file produces instead, and it has two jobs at once. It gives the right customer enough evidence to move forward with confidence, and it gives the wrong customer enough evidence to walk away with confidence. A company that is premium priced, slower, or built for a specific kind of project should want both outcomes, because the goal was never to win everybody.

How it is measured

An Emphatic YES is not declared, it is built, through consistent evidence from customers, employees and leadership that explains the why behind a claim rather than just repeating it. Power100 watches whether an answer gets more confident as someone keeps asking follow-up questions, or falls apart the closer it is examined.

Related terms

• The Second Kitchen Table
• The Evidence Gap

In the book: Prologue and chapter 8 of Reputation Intelligence. Read the chapter page.