When your manager says "No"
How to influence senior leadership to buy-in to your idea
👋 Hey, it's Kareem - Welcome to Driving Impact, my weekly newsletter for high-performance product managers and operators learning to become unstoppable.
Disagreements are inevitable. It gets frustrating when we’re unable to convince stakeholders of our ideas, but it’s often an opportunity to uncover gaps in our thinking.
This week, I'll share the steps I took to turn my manager’s “no” into a “yes” and agree to a major decision I made during the launch of Amazon Prime in Egypt.
What you will learn:
How to approach disagreements strategically
The framework I used to get buy-in
Why preparation beats persuasion
Reading time: 6 mins.
Early in my career at Amazon, I thought having a good idea was enough, but after one too many “No’s” I realized I had to change my approach.
I learned this the hard way during the launch of Amazon Prime in Egypt.
I had proposed a feature that I believed would be critical in achieving our launch goals. This feature was exclusive discounts for Prime members.
My manager pushed back hard. His concerns were valid—we had a tight launch schedule, and any additional scope could put our timelines at risk.
But I had conviction. Our customers were motivated by deals and were extremely price sensitive due to Egypt’s inflationary environment at the time. This wasn’t just a hunch, I had the data to prove it.
That said, my manager’s message was clear. We are to stick to the initial plan and focus on meeting our launch timelines which were already at risk.
Let’s dive into the steps I took to change the narrative, launch with this feature, and get recognized by my manager for having backbone and making the right decision.
Oh and in case you’re wondering… we exceeded our launch goal by 40%!
Step 1: Start with understanding
The biggest mistake I see PMs make is jumping straight into defense mode when faced with pushback. I've been guilty of this too.
Instead of immediately trying to prove my point, I took a step back and tried to understand my manager's perspective. His concerns weren't arbitrary—they were rooted in:
Launch timeline risks
Resource constraints
Previous experiences with scope creep
Early in my career, I saw disagreements as roadblocks, but I’ve learned to view them as signposts instead. Rather than seeing his pushback as opposition, I saw it as valuable input that would help me better understand his concerns and put together a plan to address them.
Action item: Start by asking open-ended questions to uncover the underlying concerns. This not only shows that you value the other person’s opinion but also gives you the information you need to address those concerns effectively.
Step 2: Build your case with data
With a clear understanding of the concerns, I needed to build a compelling case—one that spoke directly to the risks and concerns raised.
For me, this meant gathering data to support my proposal and demonstrating how it aligned with our broader goals. I focused on mitigating risks and showing that my feature wouldn’t derail our launch but enhance it.
I did three things:
Gathered data showing the potential impact of this feature
Outlined clear mitigation strategies for each identified risk
Created a detailed implementation plan
The key was showing that I had thought through not just the benefits, but also the potential challenges and how to address them.
Action item: Tie your proposal back to the objectives of the launch. This shifts the conversation from a debate over opinions to a discussion about achieving shared goals.
Step 3: Get early alignment
Before going back to my manager, I did something that proved to be a game-changer: I got buy-in from key stakeholders who would be impacted by this feature.
I scheduled 1:1s with:
Tech leads to validate the implementation timeline
Marketing to align on the customer messaging
Commercial to confirm deals readiness
I reached out to team members who would be positively or negatively affected by the feature and incorporated their feedback into my proposal. This helped me close any gaps in my thinking, strengthened my case and built social proof among other leaders in the organization.
By the time I presented to my manager, I wasn't just sharing my conviction—I had a coalition of supporters who could validate different aspects of the proposal.
Action item: Start building alliances as soon as you have a rough idea of your proposal. By the time you’re ready to present, you would’ve already laid the groundwork for approval.
Step 4: Present with clarity
With my document ready and stakeholder support in place, I prepared a detailed document and presented my proposal to my manager.
I wrote a clear document that:
Started with the objective
Explained how we will achieve our goals
Outlined the customer benefits
Addressed key concerns
Included supporting data
Provided UX mock-ups
The purpose of the document was to one of two things:
Convince him my idea was validated and viable; or
Prove that I had thoroughly covered his concerns that the risk of letting me try was very low.
Action item: When presenting, focus on the key points that matter most to your audience. Be concise, clear, and open for feedback. There are many ways to influence your stakeholders if you truly learn their concerns and motivations.
Step 5: Measure and iterate
After getting approval, I knew the real work was just beginning. I set up clear metrics to track the feature's performance post-launch and kept stakeholders updated on the progress.
I had taken a lot of time from my stakeholders to get this approved, so I wasn’t going to lose their trust now.
Decision loops are incredibly important as it allows us to learn faster and drive better decisions.
A Decision loop includes:
Documenting the decision
Defining success metrics
Reviewing decision outcome
Maximizing with repetition
The result? The feature exceeded our expectations, driving higher acquisition than we had initially projected.
Action item: When you make a decision, don’t just move on to the next task. Follow up on your decisions, measure their outcome, and communicate the results to your stakeholders. This help gains their trust, and improves the quality of your decisions over time.
Closing Reflection
The feature exceeded our expectations and my manager recognized me for having backbone and pushing it through. But the real lesson here isn’t about influencing and getting the approval, it’s in embracing disagreements.
When we’re challenged, we’re forced to validate our assumptions and build stronger arguments for our ideas, and ultimately raise the bar on the quality of our work.
This experience taught me to:
Build stronger cases backed by data
Navigate complex stakeholder dynamics
Think more holistically about my decisions
As Product Managers we should not fight disagreements, but learn to use them to build better products.
May the Force of influence be with you!
What strategies have you used to navigate disagreements with leadership? Reply directly to this email (I read every email) or drop your thoughts in the comments!
I’ll be back in your inbox next Wednesday.
Kareem
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