Sometimes the best place to steer is not from the helm
From my perspective, I want to do work that helps the companies I work for be the most successful in the market - even to the point that I want to decimate the competition. To that end, having the ability to directly influence the most senior leadership is an important quality I place on my value of my work.
Of course, senior leaders are busy. They have backgrounds and philosophies of their own. And they have demonstrated themselves to be effective leaders. Which means that I can talk all I want, but I'm just a voice in the crowd.
I believe a better way to make an argument is by demonstrating the potential. You can't always go from potential to results in a prototype, mock up, or video demo. But the visual appeal, the "tangible" nature of these things is far greater than a power point deck or a conference call. It doesn't get as lost in the fray.
You still need the power point decks, business case, market research, and all the other stuff that makes the argument for your project. But moving the core presentation to the demonstration of a real thing makes an impact.
Moreover, these are the kind of things that build an infectious buzz. As you demo, set up meetings with managers, then directors, then their VPs, and so on. Create water cooler chatter around the organization that resonates.
Infuse your demos with your (see Jim Collins) big harry audacious goals (BHAGs). And as the name implies, you will likely not achieve these out of the gate but it builds in the excitement. It is the vision of the greatness that awaits on the other side.
At some point, if you are successful in marketing your project internally, someone will mention it to you. Or you will get a "I've heard about this" from someone you are presenting to for the first time.
None of this makes the decision, but it does build awareness with senior leadership. And if you have genuinely and objectively built your case. And you have refined it with constructive input as you've gone. And you have confidence that the project will return factual, measurable results. Then you have successfully influenced those who are at the helm, who relied on all of your hard work.
And thus, sometimes the best place to steer is not from the helm.
