More often, people come up with innovative ideas which are then translated into projects which if implemented by companies can lead to the growth of the company but fails to garner enough support from both formal and informal leaders for them to get implemented. The issue of forwarding an idea to the management and convincing them on why the idea should be implemented is a difficult task and nowadays people have turned to different strategies to garner support.
One of the most commonly used strategies is that of building consensus and keeping the entire team of the stakeholder involved updated especially those whose decisions are very vital to the implementation of the project. Most leaders (managers) love being involved in everything going on within an organization. If you want to succeed in implementing the project, first discuss the project with your colleagues, analyze the idea and check for any weaknesses the project might have, and be prepared how to remove them. If the colleagues approve, inform the leaders of your ideas and try to convince them of the importance of implementing the project (Schmidt, 2009). Engaging them with your innovative ideas gives them a chance to participate in day to day activities of the company and if they feel involved, they are likely to adopt the idea.
Another way of achieving support for your project lies with how the idea connects to the company goals and objectives. Let your project provide an alternative way through which the company you are employed in or the funding agent can be able to achieve its goals. Depending on the size of the project, one can start by analyzing the positive effects of the project at the department level before proceeding to the whole company and then society at large.
Assessing the project risk is another strategy people use to get their projects supported by their leaders. Risk provides the basis on whether your project is likely to gain support or not. Whereas what might not be a risk to you can be a risk to another person, performing a risk assessment based on the existing facts rather than on emotions gives the credibility of the project for approval. There is no single company which would like to invest in and thus if you want approval for your project, make it as less risky as possible.
Finally, using the payback period is another strategy people nowadays are using to receive approval of their projects from the involved leaders. Payback time or period is usually the time frame required for a project to break even or recover the money which was used as capital. No company would like to invest in a project which will take 10 years to pay back while there exists a project which can take a shorter time thus invest in a project which has the shortest payback time possible (Berman, 2007).
Reference List
Berman, J. (2007). Maximizing project value: defining, managing, and measuring for optimal return. New York: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn.
Schmidt, T. (2009). Strategic Project Management Made Simple: Practical Tools for Leaders and Teams. New York: John and Wiley Sons.