One of the few positive notes on Twitter recently has been the cast of Ted Lasso (the runaway Apple TV+ hit) talking about their experiences with the show after winning armloads of Emmys. At a time when knee-jerk negativity seems all too common, Lasso’s unrelenting kindness, positivity and lack of ego make the show a warm, delicious antidote to anything toxic in the real world. And while you might naturally want to picture such a person as one-dimensional, you’d be wrong.

Watching Ted Lasso made me reflect on working with advertising titan Mike Hughes, who brought similar buoyancy to the marketing world as executive creative director at The Martin Agency. (You may not know that nearly two decades ago, FATFREE spun off from The Martin Agency with the firm’s blessing.)

Yes recognizes that sometimes there are two, or twenty, or a thousand right answers, rather than just the one we might have had in mind. Yes acknowledges that different, or my way, isn’t necessarily better.

The thing that distinguished Mike, for me, was his preference for the word “yes.” In the time I worked with him, I never heard him offer his own ideas in a creative review. We’d show concepts, and he’d give his impressions, but he never stomped on our ideas or sent us off to wrist out his own. As a result, we all learned how to be better at our jobs, and if we were paying attention, how to work better with other people.

After all, yes is motivating. Yes is collaborative. Yes opens doors, instead of slamming them shut.

Yes recognizes that sometimes there are two, or twenty, or a thousand right answers, rather than just the one we might have had in mind. Yes acknowledges that different, or my way, isn’t necessarily better.

The best thing about yes, though, is something Ted Lasso and Mike Hughes were able to intuit—that you don’t have to have all the answers, even if you’re the boss, the client, the coach.

People seem to think that picking ideas apart makes them look smarter. Instead, I think it’s the easy way out. Yes is so much harder. It takes guts and confidence and humility—traits I don’t always possess and aren’t always rewarded in the workplace. (And I’m not suggesting that anyone should say yes to a bad deal or to spreading themselves too thin.) When it comes to a logo, a concept or a product enhancement, though, the trust, well-being and shared rewards gained by saying yes are well worth stepping out of your comfort zone.