Selling ideas is not like selling products. With a product, customers can see what they're buying. With an idea, there's nothing to see except you, so unless you're a plausible source, nobody's going to buy. A CEO won't take corporate strategy tips from mailroom clerks, no matter how brilliant their ideas might be. On the other hand, a top-performing district manager will likely get a fair hearing, even if he's not part of the upper-management team.
You have three basic choices if your idea requires higher-level buy-in to get traction. You can:
1) Entrust your idea to somebody farther up the food chain. The danger, of course, is that once it leaves your hands, it's no longer your idea. Don't be too surprised if you boss neglects to mention that the inspiration came from an underling.
2) Come up with an idea that better matches your credibility level. For example, if you're a mailroom clerk, devise a better way to sort the mail. Leave corporate strategy to the bigwigs, and make plans to climb the career ladder one step at a time.
3) Shut up and get back to work.
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