In my work with quality professionals, I am constantly amazed at how many lament that their wonderful ideas did not see the light of day because ‘short-sighted’ management didn’t endorse them. I’ve discussed this issue in an earlier column (“Selling Your Idea” in the May 2012 issue). Worthy ideas fail to get support for a number of reasons. Three of the more significant are: They compete with other priorities and for limited resources. They fall short in adequately selling the idea’s merits. Sometimes the financial benefits are even under-sold. They don’t adequately address the political aspects of idea/project approval. To gain support it is absolutely necessary to manage relationships and build consensus. Quality professionals typically want to avoid politics, but like it or not, office politics usually trumps the technical aspects. We all typically think our ideas are good.
Many even think of our ideas much like we do our children—we highly value them and are very sensitive to how they are treated. But ideas, much like children, have to be nurtured. Therefore, the following thoughts are presented as a roadmap. 1 ALIGN YOUR IDEA. Typically ideas that are closely aligned with organizational strategic goals such as vision, mission, values, strategies, etc., have a better chance of gaining support. The more an idea is directly linked to such goals, the harder it is for managers to say no, and the better chance it has to compete with other ideas. If your idea doesn’t link to organizational goals that already have management buy-in, then why is it being presented? As an example, you might believe your organization should pursue ISO9001 registration but it’s unlikely to get support unless you can show how it relates to a larger business strategy. Your manager’s departmental goals and plans as well as your own personal development plans represent other alignment opportunities. The main point, though, is to avoid pushing an idea. Instead, let it be pulled by a business goal or objective. 2 BUILD A BUSINESS CASE. While business cases can at times become complex, they can also be simple and straightforward. Business cases should address three fundamental questions: Why are we doing this? What if we did not do this?