The key approach is to weigh the pros and cons, evaluate its impact on the business, identify trade-offs, and assess the feasibility before implementing any idea. Starting by considering the potential business benefits, understanding the trade-offs, gauging doability based on perception and complexity, and preparing by examining past actions, organizational culture, and necessary shifts are essential steps to ensure success when pitching a new idea.
Think back to the last time you pitched an idea to upper management on how to change the way your company does business. Perhaps you proposed an improvement to an existing process, a new technology that would help things run smoother, or a different market you all could break into. How’d that go over?
As a mid-level manager, your involvement in day-to-day operations positions you to propose change that’s innovative and achievable. Amy B and her two guests, Sue Ashford and Ellen Bailey, give suggestions for framing those ideas so that executives buy into them. They’ll talk about the research findings they keep in mind, questions they ask themselves and others when vetting something, and what they learned from the times they missed the mark.
Guest experts:
Sue Ashford is a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.
Ellen Bailey is the vice president of business and culture transformation at Harvard Business Publishing.
Resources:
Sign up for the Women at Work newsletter.
Email us: womenatwork@hbr.org