From time to time, I find myself in a meeting where someone (usually an account person) will boldly proclaim, “I just want to play Devil’s Advocate …” They then launch into dismantling weeks and months worth of ideas with the same reckless negligence of people who place rocks on railroad tracks.

Of course, I never really let it get that far.

That’s because I immediately interrupt and point out, as politely as possible, that I am in fact The Devil and that they are not authorized to speak on my behalf. This usually gets a laugh. On a good day, it even gets a few suspicious stares, but most importantly, it swings the momentum back in my favor and buys me the time to address their issues without being forced into a defensive posture.

I have found that in most cases their concerns are driven by one of two motivators: Ignorance. Or fear. Ignorance is an easier problem to solve. When someone doesn’t understand something often all it takes is having the patience to walk them through it. Any reasonable, intelligent, or reasonably intelligent person can be made to understand. Fear is a harder one because it is emotional. It is almost always generated by someone trying to imagine someone else’s reaction—a client, a superior, etc. Consequently, it is not rationale, not objective, and, most importantly, not helpful.

So what do you do?

I always try to remind myself that I shouldn’t listen to what they say, but rather, try to hear what the real issue is. Then I exorcise the demon by dragging it out of them into the clear light of day, where it most often shrivels under the glare of rationale scrutiny. It doesn’t always go away but it usually gets smaller.

I hope someone, somewhere, finds this helpful.

Cheers.

- Craig Crawford