Because a pitch has to do with approval, legitimate power plays a part in the process. In Chapter 6, Employee Performance Meetings, I defined legitimate power as the power associated with a person's position or title. It's possible that your pitch needs the approval of someone at a particular level or title within the organization. If you're giving the pitch, you will want to make sure that the person who is responsible for approving the idea attends the meeting.

When you're pitching an idea to a person with legitimate power, remember the rules for managing up. We all have a boss. Yes, all of us. Maybe they're called a supervisor or manager. Possibly your boss is a board of directors. Or maybe your "bosses" are customers and shareholders. But we all have a boss. Someone we're accountable to. And it's our responsibility to know our boss and the best way to manage them.

In the business world, we spend a lot of time talking about how managers need to manage and...