Just over two and a half years ago, Mira Lane was asked during an informal discussion with someone at Google what she wanted to do with her life. Unsure of how to respond, she said, “Let me get back to you,” and went home to think about it.
She told Business Insider that she put together a “one-pager” about an AI prototyping lab that explores the impact of tech innovation on society, and sent it to the Googler who would eventually become her boss.
The gamble paid off and she was brought on to spearhead Google’s Envisioning Studio, an AI innovation prototyping lab made up of creative strategists, philosophers, and researchers dedicated to exploring technology at Google.
Though Lane’s career transition appears seamless in retrospect, the vice president of Google’s Tech and Society told Business Insider she has a long history of pitching new ideas.
“I just have a bit of a scrappy history of starting things,” she said.
These are Lane’s tips on pitching ideas to management:
Be OK with ‘no’
Lane’s first piece of advice is to get into a mindset where you feel OK with rejection.
“You have to be willing to have people say ‘no’ to you and be OK with that,” Lane said.
The Google executive said the idea you’re pitching shouldn’t be a “part of your identity,” but you should still be attached to it to some degree and believe in it.
“If you really like your idea, you can have a bunch of people say ‘no’ to it, and that’s fine,” Lane said.
Make it brief
Lane said that when she pitched the Envisioning Studio to Google, the document she created was about three-quarters of a page. She said she knew that the leader reading it wouldn’t have time to read an essay or a slide deck, so she made sure the tone was direct and to the point.
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Lane said she wrote the shortest pitch possible, and sweated over “every single word,” to make sure each pushed her message forward.
“Know the mindset that they’re likely to be in, ” said Lane and make sure to tailor your message.
Anchor it in a problem
Lane said it’s important to anchor your pitch into a problem — and that the problem has to be “big enough.”
When she was pitching the Envisioning Studio, she said she felt like there was a societal issue where people were feeling like they didn’t have control over the future of technology.
“It has to be something that when people read it, they’re like, ‘Yeah, I feel that problem, and it resonates in some way,’” Lane said. “It can’t be so abstract, or niche, where people are like, ‘well, that feels like a small thing. I don’t know if I want to invest in it.’”
Know your audience
Lane said she usually pitches a solution that she knows people want or need.
“I do a lot of research on the people I’m interacting with,” Lane said.
Lane said she was asked unusual questions in her Google interview, like about how she wants to make the world better. That gave her an idea of the kinds of questions executives were thinking about. She said others should aim to understand the audience they’re pitching to, as well.