Over the past few months a former manager tasked me with working on a secret side-project for the company I work at. I won't go into too much detail as to why it had to be kept a secret at the time, but it had to do with some conflict of interest between two managers at my workplace.
Fast forward to today, the project is no longer just an "idea". It has a fully-functional prototype that I can actually show to people. But the manager that had me working on the project was recently let go during a massive downsizing and restructuring of the management level at the company, and I'm no longer obligated to keep the project a secret as the conflict of interest no longer exists.
I'm in a bit of a precarious position. I have very little tenure at the company (despite being one of the oldest employees), and I don't think my co-workers have a lot of trust in me (I've had projects of mine shot down before, I'm not really involved that much with the bigger projects, and often I'm relegated to mundane/unimportant tasks). The only person at my work that I had a great relationship with and fostered my growth in the company was the manager that I mentioned earlier -- and he's no longer working here.
Also, ever since the downsizing the company has shifted focus onto a select few projects that I'm not really involved in. I'm afraid that if I pitched my project now it would meet some resistance due to the companies recent shift in focus and it would be condemned to death before it ever gets the chance to really shine.
The project itself has a TONS of merit. Nothing like it has been done before, and I firmly believe it has to potential to be a game changer for my company. The project solves a number of challenges both for the company and for our clients. I this is done right, this project can generate a hefty source of re-occurring revenue which is something that the company has never had before.
As a more technical person I struggle with the interpersonal/communication department and as such I'm really bad at selling things to people. What would be the best course of action for me here?