Rands always has great articles for those fledgling managers like me. His latest article is called "Saying No" and contains this little gem:
Your boss has just picked the one scenario that involves the most work and has the least chance of succeeding. You're screwed and while you might think your boss has lost it, you are a co-conspirator in this disaster because you didn't do one simple thing, you didn't Say No.
I cannot emphasize how much I value having developers that are willing to Say No. But I am constantly amazed at how many of them are not willing to stand up and voice their opinions, even in a one-on-one situation. Usually, that's when I pull out the 'Imagine that you were in my job ' what would you do differently'' line. That sometimes works, but not always.
Don't get me wrong ' there are bad ways to Say No that will piss off people and end your chances of any kind of advancement. You can't be a total ass and expect people to pat you on the back because you stood up for your convictions. Just be professional and put your ideas out there. Even if they don't work out or even if they get shot down (after all, I am The Boss), at least you've tried and that makes you stand out from the crowd.
The absolute worst thing that I've seen is when developers are not willing to Say No, but instead express their opinions in their code. Instead of voicing their opinions in the meeting, these developers build the code according to the way that they wanted. What you end up with is a mess that nobody understands and nobody wants to own.
If I ever had the chance to do a presentation in front of a group of new grads, Saying No would be one of the things that I would try to teach them. So would Personal Accountability.