I watched my coworker nod along while I explained our entire Q3 strategy in the meeting, then two minutes later raise his hand and present it back to the room as "something I've been thinking about." The best part? He got the budget. I got a pat on the shoulder and the knowledge that I've successfully trained a parrot to wear business casual.

You pitch "we should use customer data for better targeting" in the meeting. Silence. Three weeks later, Derek says the exact same thing and everyone's nodding like he just invented fire. So now I know: good ideas aren't ideas—they're just waiting for the right guy to say them. I'm going to start pitching everything twice, but the second time I'll wear a blazer and lower my voice by two octaves.