It is about taking the opportunity to use your voice to make a difference and do something that others can’t imagine doing, but you can.
Kris put together this great new program for her company. It was well thought out and although it would take a lot of work to implement, it would be a game changer. Kris was viewed as a risk taker, who could think outside of the box and wasn’t afraid to be bold. She had already aligned the program with her peers to make sure she didn’t miss anything. Now she just had to get approval from her boss. He was much more conservative and shied away from risk. She knew it was going to be a tough sell, but she had to try. Her boss heard her out and asked a bunch of questions.
He applauded her creativity and that she pushed the boundaries of what they would normally do, but in the end he told her no.
He didn’t feel that the program was what they needed to focus on. Kris was deflated and disappointed that she couldn’t get through to him. She wondered why he couldn’t see this as a good idea. She walked back to her desk and put the presentation on the shelf since it wasn’t going forward, picked up her laptop and headed to her next meeting.
Not every idea gets approved the first time especially when it will push the boundaries of what is considered normal. Kris had her first no and accepted it as a final answer. She was so invested in this idea that she took the no personally. What she didn’t realize was that the no wasn’t about her and what she had put together, it was about the level of risk her boss was willing to take.
A no doesn’t have to be the end of the conversation, but it happens quite often. The person presenting the idea hears no and doesn’t do anything different to continue to move it forward.
Three major studios passed on the Star Wars movie before another agreed to fund it. The Star Wars movie franchise has grossed more than $10 billion dollars making actors and their characters household names, not to mention all the toys, costumes and merchandise that are replicated from the movies. What if that movie had never been made because someone just accepted the no and moved on with their life?
Giving up and playing small isn’t what will get this program off the ground. It won’t be easy, but she could try to have another conversation. What are her manager’s concerns and how could she address them? What if she modified some things about the program or tried a proof of concept? What if she brought in other people to the meeting who believed in her idea to help her sell it? What if she found a way to address the obstacles that her boss saw as unmovable and created a new way to get through them.
Accepting a yes is easier but it doesn’t change how people see you. Having the courage to stand up and fight for something you believe in is hard, but that is what visibility is about.
It is about taking the opportunity to use your voice to make a difference and do something that others can’t imagine doing, but you can. This is how you stand out amongst the crowd. For those who have the resilience to keep going forward no matter what, they will be the ones who are thought of when big opportunities come along.