In today’s fraught commercial landscape, business and legal leaders need to navigate high-stakes decisions where values, responsibilities, and business realities collide—without losing trust or credibility. Whether it is litigation risk, reputational pressure, political blowback, customer boycotts or internal dissent, new skills are needed to recognize critical choices and influence effectively without provoking attack or ceding ground unnecessarily.
When is the right time to say Yes—and what does it look like to say No well?
Presented by PolicyLink, Third Side Strategies, and the Berkeley Center for Law and Business, this intimate, off-the-record workshop will explore how general counsels, executives, and partners are navigating these high-stakes moments—and why the ability to say No constructively is critical to preserving trust, staying aligned with core values, and strengthening civic norms.
Drawing on real-world case studies and a proven framework for crafting a “Positive No,” we’ll surface strategies for responding to pressure without retreating from principle.
Topics we'll explore in this 90-minute session include:
1. How to uphold professional and personal values amid rising external and internal pressures.
2. What it means to say No in a way that protects relationships and fosters long-term influence. And how to reframe a tough stance as a gateway to a better Yes.
3. Real-world scenarios facing corporate legal and executive teams-and what tools can help.
This is a candid, facilitated discussion among peers—designed to equip you with practical tools for one of the most important leadership challenges of our era.