How to Make Proposals Your Boss Approves Instantly

The advice "state the conclusion first" is only half correct. I often suspect the other half depends on whether you've prepared "options," rather than just how you speak.

For example, consider a junior employee in the Customer Support department responsible for handling inquiries.

Inquiries have increased from 300 to 450 per month, and they go to their boss's desk to consult. Although they had compared continuing as-is versus outsourcing, what comes out of their mouth is often something like:

"Recently, inquiries have increased quite a bit."

"I think we should implement an AI chatbot."

"What should we do?"

These are all normal ways to start a consultation, right?

But the response is usually "Let's talk about this later."

Smooth proposals make the boss think

Why does it stall? Because all three statements force the boss to think. The boss's mind is filled with "So, what do you want to do?", "Why that?", and "What else?", leaving no room to construct an answer on the spot.

The Conclusion-Reason-Options Framework

There is a framework for proposals that takes "state the conclusion first" one step further.

Conclusion (What you want to do)

Reason (Why that option)

Options (How it compares to other ideas)

This is a framework where you speak these three parts separately.

Moreover, this framework has another "trick." Amazon founder Jeff Bezos banned PowerPoint in management meetings and switched to six-page written memos (in his 2017 letter to shareholders, he noted that everyone silently reads the memo at the start of the meeting).

In other words, by forcing a format where bullet points can't hide gaps, he made writers fully consider "why that option" and "what are the alternatives."

I believe this is exactly what a proposal that doesn't make the boss think looks like.

It's not about quick thinking or educational background; it's about "order," so anyone can imitate it starting today.

Rephrasing the Initial Three Statements

Each of the initial three statements is missing just one line.

① "Recently, inquiries have increased quite a bit." = Facts only

→ "I want to implement an AI chatbot for inquiry support. Inquiries have increased from 300 to 450 per month, and overtime exceeds 20 hours per person-month."

The boss only needs to decide "whether to implement it or not."

② "I think we should implement an AI chatbot." = Conclusion only

→ "I want to implement an AI chatbot. About 60% of the 450 inquiries are password resets and shipping confirmations, which can be answered automatically."

Here, the photocopier experiment published by psychologist Ellen Langer et al. in 1978 is effective.

When asking to cut in line for a photocopy, compliance without a reason was 60% (about 60 out of 100 people).

Just adding a reason like "because I'm in a hurry" raised compliance to 94%.

With just one line of reason, the other party doesn't need to figure out "why?" themselves.

③ "What should we do?" = Question only

→ "I compared three options. Continuing as-is leads to ongoing overtime, outsourcing costs 400,000 yen/month, and an AI chatbot costs 50,000 yen/month. May I proceed with the AI chatbot?"

The other party only needs to answer "yes" or "no" to the final sentence.

As a supplement, always include the "continue as-is" option among your choices. This creates a baseline for comparison, making the merits of other options immediately clear.

What all three rephrasings have in common is: don't make the boss think.

Prepare Options First

Even if you organize everything this way, some people still get stuck when asked "Did you consider other options?" or "What if it fails?" I used to be on that side too.

The conclusion is the order in which you speak, not the order in which you prepare.

You shift from "decide the conclusion then speak" to "list options then choose the conclusion."

The fact that the junior employee mentioned earlier had compared continuing as-is and outsourcing was precisely this preparation. Being able to respond to "What if it fails?" with "If self-resolution rates don't reach 20% within three months, we'll switch to outsourcing" is possible because the compared options are already in hand.

Speak the conclusion first, but prepare the options first.

Therefore, proposals get instant approval not because you stated the conclusion first, but because you prepared from the options.

・Preparing and speaking only the conclusion

→ Stalls at "Did you consider other options?" leading to "Let's talk later."

・Preparing and speaking from the options

→ Ends with "Okay, let's do that."

Three-Line Memo Before Proposing

So, before proposing, I write a three-line memo with "Conclusion, Reason, Options," listing three options including the "continue as-is" choice.

Writing takes about five minutes, but I feel back-and-forth with my boss has decreased significantly.

Even now, if I slack off, there are days I send just the conclusion and get asked "What about other options?"

Well, speaking skill is hard to improve quickly, but the order of speaking can be practiced starting with the next proposal.

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References

・Jeff Bezos, "2017 Letter to Shareholders," Amazon.com, Inc. (2017)

・Ellen J. Langer, Arthur Blank, B. Chanowitz, "The Mindlessness of Ostensibly Thoughtful Action: The Role of 'Placebic' Information in Interpersonal Interaction," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36(8), 1978