cdesmarais 49673 (11/25/2015)
I hate absolutes, but really, never say no. Always take the extra time to turn the no into an "if." We can do that if we have more time/change priorities/more budget/change requirements/etc. The result is the same, but the level of bad feelings is vastly reduced (never eliminated ;-)) and it keeps the line of communication open to possible solutions that might not have occurred to you.
If you keep the door open on something that shouldn't deserve another minute ever again, you could end up wasting more time on it later down the road. It's better to extinguish all hope with a definite answer if you know it ahead of time.