Want to give your employees a gift? Suggest that they read this post from Michael Hyatt's excellent Working Smart blog.

Selling your boss is critical to your success. If you can’t get your boss’s approval when you need it, you are not going to go very far in your career.

As the president of a company, I spend a good deal of time listening to proposals. Those doing the pitching usually need my approval to proceed with their project. Frankly, I never cease to be amazed at how poorly most people do in this kind of situation. Unfortunately, most of us never receive any formal training in this important skill. As a result, we flounder about, trying to figure out how to do it better.

In this article, I want to provide you with a few shortcuts, based on my 27–plus years in business. Hopefully, this will shorten your learning curve. As someone who is constantly pitched one thing or another, I have a lot of experience on the receiving end of proposals. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. Here are six keys to getting your boss to say yes.

Of course, it would be even better if you took this as a starting point and wrote your own guide to successfully pitching ideas to you or others in your organization. Concise concrete advise like this is extremely valuable to individuals and beneficial to organizations of all kinds because it enhances communication and effectiveness. Well done.