Facebook: February 3

How to Sell Your Ideas up the Chain of Command . 85% of employees withheld their ideas because they were afraid to speak up. ....... nearly three-fourths of ideas submitted through corporate online suggestion tools languished and were never implemented .......

too often good ideas are ignored or rejected

........... the majority are more open to ideas and suggestions than you might imagine—provided they are approached effectively. ...... the key to selling your idea up the chain of command is to understand the psychology of higher-ups—to get inside their heads. ........ It can be something as simple as, “I really enjoyed that presentation” or “Thanks for your support in the meeting today.” ........ By routinely supporting your peers, you send signals that your suggestions are designed to improve the organization as a whole—and your manager’s standing. ...... prefacing your comments with a simple phrase such as “I really want the best for you” can help you avoid the likability penalty often paid by messengers of bad news. ........ When possible, approach your manager in private rather than publicly. ........ try to frame your suggestions in a way that links them to the company’s stated goals. You might reference your boss’s previous communications: for example, “You’ve spoken before about your focus on intuitive design. Here’s my idea for improving the user-friendliness of X product” or “I was thinking back to that email you sent about the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion and wondering if we could make more progress by shifting our recruitment efforts from Y to Z.” .......... managers are more likely to endorse messages that focus on either an opportunity or a threat; a combination of the two garners the least support. ......... For example, one restaurant employee spoke to his shift manager about the lower wages earned by people who’d been at the company for years compared with those earned by much-less-experienced workers. He quickly realized that his boss had no control over compensation policy; corporate HR did, and by bringing the matter up to the wrong person, he was more likely to cause frustration than inspire positive change. ......... Bosses who might balk at an employee’s scheduling a meeting to discuss an issue are likely to find impromptu chats less intimidating or even noteworthy.

We will resist: Putin affirms united China-Russia front against sanctions Russian leader says the two countries are creating mechanisms to offset the effects of Western sanctions ...... In articles and interviews for Chinese state media Vladimir Putin says the two countries have convergent positions on most issues ........ Russian President Vladimir Putin said China and Russia would resist Western sanctions pressure at “every opportunity”, on the eve of his arrival in Beijing for the Winter Games. ....... In remarks given to Chinese state media ahead of his arrival, Putin also said the two nations “concur or are really close” on most international issues, and their ties are “not influenced” by ideology. ....... “We are consistently expanding settlements in national currencies and creating mechanisms to offset the negative impact of unilateral sanctions,” he said, in an article carrying his byline which was published by state news agency Xinhua on Thursday.