Get Your Ideas Heard

8 steps to get your ideas noticed, supported, and implemented

Hello, it’s Ethan & Jason. Welcome to a *paid subscriber-only* edition of Level Up: Your guide to grow fast, avoid mistakes, and make optimal career moves.

Reminder — our next live online course cohort of Stuck at Senior Manager - How to Break Through to Executive starts on July 18th (join 1200+ alumni).

And, the 15% discount for our last cohort of the year of Cracking the C-suite 'How to Get and Master Key Executive Roles' ends on July 20th (50 seat limit; rated 4.8/5; new AI content across all modules).

Here’s what newsletter paid subscribers shared on why they joined:

• “I've been a senior director, yet don't quite say what execs want to hear in order to impress them or evolve.”

• "ex-Amazonian here. I value the Ethan AI and the numerous recommendations it has made. This is my way of giving back and hopefully, much more collaboration in the future."

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I became a VP at Amazon in part by convincing others to listen to and try my ideas.

People often complain to me: "I have good ideas, but no one listens to me."

Here are my key lessons on how to be heard:

When I was 7 years old, a hailstorm broke several windows on the side of our house.

Because our house is on a slope, the top hinges of the windows were much higher up than my father and grandfather could reach to fix them. The "known" solution to this problem uses something called ladder jacks, where you put up two ladders and then run a board between them to make a narrow, elevated work platform.

As a child, I had no idea of the right solution. But we lived on a farm and we owned a wagon. I asked them, why not just roll the wagon under the windows and stand on that?

Lesson One: Have a good idea / better solution

The wagon was easy to move, wide, and stable.

I was kind of shocked when my two role models, my father and grandfather, did what I suggested. But getting people to listen to your ideas does depend on the ideas themselves being solid.

I had a flash of insight at age 7, but most of my ideas have come from careful study and teaming up with others to polish and iterate on the plans.

Lesson Two: Build a track record of delivery

Ask any venture capitalist — who do they most prefer to fund?

Founders who already have successful exits.

They care less about the idea the founder might be pitching and more about the fact that this founder has made them money in the past.

At Amazon, before I fought for my first idea, I had built and shipped a major product. I had at least one visible win under my belt.

Be a competent, winning builder.

Then push your ideas from a platform of strength.

When your performance is not top notch, I do not want to hear your ideas, I want you to fix your problems and get your act together.

You can only pitch your ideas from a platform of high performance.

Great ideas help, but if others have conflicting ideas, then those with credibility or prior track records often win.

That is why companies stay stuck in the past — the old timers have the credibility and so their ideas get heard.

Don't like this?

Remember, you can always promote yourself to CEO by going it on your own.

Lesson Three: 8 steps to get your ideas heard

Watch my 18-minute career talk (shared exclusively with newsletter paid subscribers) that breaks down how to get your ideas noticed, supported, and implemented.

It’s fast-paced and actionable so you can apply these 8 steps immediately and cut through the noise:

1. Be a top performer

2. Be a track record of delivery

3. Validate your idea (be right)

4. Have a plan to implement the idea

5. Solve a problem rather than apply a technology

6. Explain the problem in their eyes

7. Have a demo or prototype

8. Let it be their idea (ask questions)