You might come up with a game-changing way to improve your employer’s business, but what if your boss is reluctant to support it? Consider these tips to push your concept up the corporate ladder.

Coming up with an idea that can benefit a business, whether by introducing a new product or improving existing operations, is difficult enough, but winning support to implement the idea may be an even bigger hurdle. Your superiors may be reluctant to adopt a new way of doing things, cite budgetary constraints or simply overlook the value of your proposal and the advantages it could confer. In these situations, it’s necessary to rethink your approach and find a more convincing pitch to ensure the company follows through on your idea.

“It’s incredibly frustrating to know you have a real winner of an idea on your hands, something that could really shake things up, and not be able to get it past your Nervous Nelly of a boss. Not that the cautious, conservative approach doesn’t have its place — but ultimately an organization cannot grow without embracing some risk,” professional training firm thoughtLEADERS notes. “The recent recession has only made matters worse. People don’t want to rock the boat at a time when jobs are hard to find. Unfortunately, they forget that without organizational innovation and growth, no job is safe for long.”

Identifying the factors that are causing resistance to your idea is the first step in transforming it from an abstraction into reality. Your boss may simply disapprove of the idea or be too busy to give it proper consideration, but not every form of resistance will be external. In fact, some of the obstacles may lie in the idea itself or in the way you are perceived within the organization. If you don’t have a strong history of making things happen, other people may be hesitant to hear you out.

Alternatively, the idea itself, while sound, may be less of a priority than other initiatives already in the works. Learn about other projects and ongoing plans to better understand where your proposal falls in the queue.

“Most of the time it’s not worth pitching an idea until you’re able to answer some of the basic pragmatic questions about it, such as: What problem does this solve? What evidence is there that the problem is real, and important enough to solve…” author and public speaker Scott Berkun writes at his blog. “What are the toughest logistical challenges implied by the idea, and how will (or would) you solve them? Do you have a prototype, sample or demonstration of an implementation of the idea (aka proof of concept)? Why are you the right person to solve it? Why should this problem be solved now? Why should our organization solve this problem?”

A new concept isn’t typically accepted merely on its face value — it has to be packaged, presented and defended in such a way that makes it seem necessary to the business’s success. This process of winning support is as much about salesmanship as it is about evidence. If you’re facing challenges in winning your boss over, CBS MoneyWatch recommends re-evaluating your approach using these criteria:

• Does your idea complement the company’s mission? Everything a business does should support its long-term goals and overall strategy, so when you’re trying to sell your idea up the chain of command, your strongest argument will be how it strengthens the organization’s core objectives. If you’re suggesting an operational improvement, for example, explain to your superiors how the idea would enable workers to do their jobs more effectively and provide better service to clients.
• Are the resources available to execute it? Any time you pitch a new idea, you have to know whether your company has the funds, manpower and time available to implement it. If it’s a new product, you must find the resources to finance its development, as well as every secondary stage, such as marketing and research.
• Does it reinforce corporate values? To sell your idea, you have to show how it aligns with and strengthens the organization’s principles. You can argue that your concept facilitates greater collaboration between employees or displays a commitment to better serving customers, and this can be a much easier sell to your boss than something that challenges the company’s philosophy.
• Does it make your boss look good? One of the best ways to win support for an idea is to ensure it makes your boss or other superiors look like great leaders capable of execution and forward thinking. Identify how management can benefit from your idea and focus on those areas when pitching.

Remember that your involvement probably won’t end once the idea itself is accepted. In fact, you’re likely to have some degree of ownership if your idea finds approval within the company, and that’s a good thing.

“One of the coolest parts of sharing your ideas and working to get them implemented is that you can have some control over the finished product,” according to Young Professional’s Edge. “Sometimes, though, this comes at a price, as your boss may pass an assignment right back at you when you present a good idea. Be ready (and eager) to run with the tasks necessary to get everyone to agree on your idea. It shows initiative, which will be rewarded.”

Related: How to Make Your Ideas Heard

Resources

Getting Your Risk-Averse Boss to Take a Chance on Your Ideas
by Heidi Grant Halvorson
thoughtLEADERS, LLC, April 20, 2011

#38 — How to Pitch an Idea
by Scott Berkun
ScottBerkun.com, February 2005

4 Ways to Get Your Boss to Back Your Next Big Idea
by John Baldoni
CBS MoneyWatch, Jan. 9, 2012

Getting Your Boss to Say Yes — Selling Ideas Internally
Young Professional’s Edge, Dec. 8, 2011

How to Sell an Idea to Your Boss
by Roberto Verganti
Harvard Business Review, Aug. 30, 2010