Proposing a new idea at work? Use this hack.

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There's one situation at work that tends to stress me out a lot. And it's when I have to propose new initiatives to senior leaders.

Why? Because it often feels impossible to get buy-in.

No matter how much you prep ahead of time – it seems like people will always find a way to poke holes and challenge your recommendation.

For example, imagine that you show up with the following proposal:

"I propose that we invest in a new data acquisition initiative: we need $50k in order to acquire 1M units of high-quality visual content."

What usually tends to follow is skepticism and defensiveness, with questions like:

• "Why should we give $50K all at once? Why not start smaller?"
• "Why is 1M units the right amount? Why not more/less?"
• "Why do we have to pay? Can't we get some of it for free?"

Now, while there's nothing wrong with engaging in healthy debate and proving that your work can withstand scrutiny?

Let's face it: this is still tiring.

In fact, the worst is when you bring in a perfectly sensible proposal – but get stuck inside a revolving door of endless questions.

You're then effectively in purgatory, where they're not exactly saying no... but they're not saying yes either.

(And that's not a place where we want to be!)

Now, while there's no silver bullet for this situation? There is one small hack that can work disproportionately well.

And it's to remember to reframe with scenarios.

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Why scenarios?

What does it mean to reframe with scenarios?

Before we answer that, let's examine why it is inherently hard to secure buy-in for new initiatives in the first place.

It comes down to a couple things:

• No frame of reference: When you show up with a new proposal? You are the only one who has done any sort of calibration behind the scenes. But that's not readily apparent to your audience. They don't know that you didn't just pull numbers out of thin air.
• Lots of ego: Let's face it – sometimes ego is in the way. Because when you show up with a proposal claiming that you have THE solution? People are naturally conditioned to poke holes in it to find ways in which it is NOT. This is fine – except it can be a waste of time for things that will never have a perfect solution.

So in these situations, instead of showing up with what you purport to be the one and only solution and expect instant approval? Show up with scenarios instead.

Go from something like this...

❌ "To solve our data richness issue, we need to invest $50K to acquire 1M units of content."

...to something like this:

✅ "To solve our data richness issue, we propose one of the following strategies:"

• #1 Optimize for speed: Invest $10K across all categories to get instant feedback within 2 weeks – then decide go/no-go for wider rollout
• #2 Optimize for scale: Invest $50K to ensure we achieve cost effectiveness – but focusing only on priority content categories
• #3 Explore alternative paths: Explore data exchange deals with top ecosystem partners to ensure long-term sustainability

To be clear – this is not a foolproof approach that instantly guarantees buy-in. That was never the intention.

(This also isn't a Jedi mindtrick situation where we intentionally put two crappy scenarios next to a third one to make it look better. Gimmicks like that will backfire.)

Instead, when you reframe your recommendation in the form of scenarios? What you're effectively doing is this:

• You disarm egos. Instead of prescriptively telling people "this is the only way" (which can naturally trigger allergic reactions) – you're now inviting people to co-ideate with you. Don't underestimate how productive it can be to bring people along the journey.
• You avoid the risk of false trade-off's. When you show up with only one answer – you risk creating an "all-or-nothing" trap for your audience. Some of them will think that they can only respond with either a categorical yes or no. Don't put them in that position.
• You signal preparedness. When you show up with nuanced scenarios, you show that you've thought through things holistically. Sure – you'll still get questions – but you're now armed with a lot more credibility.
• Your thinking becomes sharper by default. Assuming your scenarios aren't created arbitrarily ("we can invest either $10K, $20K, or $30K") – this approach serves as a good forcing function to help you think through the right dimensions to toggle against (e.g. scale vs. speed, build vs. buy vs. borrow, etc.).

In fact – for extra brownie points, don't stop at only laying out scenarios. Instead, explicitly articulate the pros & cons as well.

Show people that you have thought through the trade-off's. Make it even easier for them to engage in a constructive debate.

✅ For example:

• Scenario 1: Optimizes for speed, but takes a hit on ROI given lack of scale
• Scenario 2: Achieves cost efficacy, but impact is limited to fewer categories
• Scenario 3: Most cost-effective, but higher uncertainty and longer timeline

Again, you'll still get questions. But you can at least ensure they'll be productive.

And you'll be less likely to get stuck in purgatory.