A great document won’t breathe life into an idea, but salesmanship will.

So, you wrote a document. That’s a great start, but it’s only a start. Whatever is in there – an argument, an idea, a plan, a process – may be fantastic, but it’s not going to succeed because of the document. The document was mainly for you – a way to organize your thoughts. Its mere existence will lend some credibility to whatever it is that you’re pushing, but few people are going to really read it, and next to nobody will read it more than once.

Now that the document is done, it’s time to start working on your elevator pitch. For better or worse, the 60-second version of your position will have much more impact than the 60-page version. It’s time to start selling.