35 years has taught me that saying "no" as an engineer means you are being an "obstructionist" or "not a team player." I am most definitely one of those because

35 years has taught me that saying "no" as an engineer means you are being an "obstructionist" or "not a team player." I am most definitely one of those because I was taught to say "no" very early on. The problem is that many people are affronted when they hear "no," take offense to it, possibly because it is a rejection, or, and this happens more frequently, a "no" answer to a lot of managers means "I just didn't ask you to do this persuasively enough."