In the last 15+ years, I’ve seen Nepal’s IT industry change completely. I started when things were just picking up, and now we are handling massive global projects. But throughout my journey, from my early days to becoming a Project Manager, one thing has always been a headache: When you hear the “ASAP” at the end.
Rustam, we need this ASAP. Can we get this done by end of day? It’s urgent.
If you’ve worked for a client in the US, Europe, or Australia, you know this feeling. You are about to close your laptop, maybe go see your family or grab a tea with besties, and then that message pops up.
Because of the time zone difference, it feels like we are always “catching up.” And for a long time, I used to think that saying “Yes” immediately was the only way to be a good PM. I thought it showed we were hard workers.
But I was wrong.
Why “ASAP” is actually a problem
Looking back, I realize that “ASAP” isn’t a deadline. It’s just a sign that someone didn’t plan well.
When everything is “ASAP,” nothing is actually important. We just run from one fire to the next. In my experience, this causes three big problems in our Nepali offices:
- We make mistakes: When we rush, we don’t test properly. We fix a bug today, but because we were in a hurry, we create two more bugs for tomorrow.
- The team gets tired: Our team members are humans, not machines. If every day is an “emergency,” people lose interest. They don’t want to work hard; they just want to finish the day.
- We look like “Order Takers,” not “Partners”: If we always say yes to every random request, the client never learns to respect our schedule.
It is very hard when you have “no answer” to reply when your team members ask “Rustam, why every task is URGENT?”
The Courage to say “No”
I didn’t go to a fancy school with a huge vocabulary. I learned my English on the job. But one thing I learned clearly is that the most important word for a PM isn’t “Agile” or “Scrum”, it’s “No.”
Now, I don’t mean a rude “No.” I mean a professional one.
When a request comes in as ASAP, I’ve learned to stop and ask: “If we do this now, what should we stop doing? Because my team only has 8 hours today.”
It takes courage to say that to an international client. You feel like they might get angry. But in my experience, when you explain the reality, they actually respect you more. They realize you care about the quality of the work, not just the speed.
A Lesson from a Coach
I remember attending a community event couple of years of back, where a coach shared a story that changed how I look at “urgent” releases.
He described a situation where a PM was being pushed to release a feature immediately. Instead of just saying “No, it’s not ready,” the PM asked the client a very simple, powerful question:
“We are ready to release right now if you want. But we’ve identified a few issues. What would you prefer: a release today with bugs, or a high-quality, bug-free release in two days?”
We can all guess the client’s answer. Right?
What’s your answer if you were that client?
This taught me that being a good PM isn’t about being a “wall” that says No. It’s about being a mirror. You reflect the reality back to the client. You aren’t refusing to work; you are giving them the choice between speed and quality.
Most of the time, “ASAP” exists because the client assumes everything is fine. Once you show them the risk, the “urgency” usually disappears because they care about their business reputation just as much as you do.
Final Thought
As we move into 2026, things are moving faster than ever. But my advice to my fellow PMs in Nepal is simple: Don’t let “ASAP” ruin your project. Your job is to protect your team and the quality of the product. Sometimes, the best thing you can do for a client is to tell them “No, we will do it properly by Tuesday” instead of “Yes, we will do it badly by tonight.”
Let’s stop the firefighting. Let’s start planning.
the most important word for a PM isn’t “Agile” or “Scrum”, it’s “No.”
Absolutely nailed, wonderful writing as always. Keep going.
Saying ‘no’ takes real courage. It’s hard to be brave when you fear disappointing others.
Lesson learned,
No ASAP, will say kindly allow us sometime ☺️