Matt Mower has written about the virtues of always saying ‘no’ initially. Part of his post reads…
Always say no initially. It’s a matter of leaving room to retreat. You can retreat from no to yes, and the person asking you to do something is happy. If you have to retreat from yes to no, you’ve made an enemy. Curiouser and curiouser!
In the context of a bureaucracy this may be a valid tactic — the absence of commitment. There is a risk. Over time people will come to see you as unreliable, or even insincere. They will stop asking you because they can’t guarantee their needs will be taken care of. And that means you can’t help others. Ask yourself, “Do I trust a bureaucracy to deliver anything?” and you’ll know what I mean.