Do you like being The devils advocate?!


Question: I had an 8 am meeting and it was all yes that is great. Oh yes that sounds fantastic.

I did not have coffee yet and I was at an 8 am meeting and the person who the meeting was for called in sick.

So I just went off. Anything negative I could find I would just hammer it all down. But of course I stated i support the project BUT. How does this actually relate to the end goal.

Why is this important to our strained workforce?

Do you understand that this will cut into my P&S time?

And they all loved it.

My boss came up and said i did great. I guess not having coffee before or during an early meeting makes me better.


Answers: I had an 8 am meeting and it was all yes that is great. Oh yes that sounds fantastic.

I did not have coffee yet and I was at an 8 am meeting and the person who the meeting was for called in sick.

So I just went off. Anything negative I could find I would just hammer it all down. But of course I stated i support the project BUT. How does this actually relate to the end goal.

Why is this important to our strained workforce?

Do you understand that this will cut into my P&S time?

And they all loved it.

My boss came up and said i did great. I guess not having coffee before or during an early meeting makes me better.

Hell yea. I get into arguements all the time and I will argue a point of view I don't agree with just to give someone a hard time.

no, but i did like the movie :)

LOL - I agree that work can't interfere with P/S time (at work now)

BTW - you get your distemper shot yet (LMAO - I crack myself up)

Glad to see a job well done! Now I'll go get you some coffee!
Morning!!

...if that's what it takes to make a doggone point, yes.

I love it when you go off baby. Good morning. ?

LOL.. well I;m sure theDevil would be pround.

OMG! Wait a minute... I just realized!? 0_0 Maybe the Devil is your boss! That's why you got such praise! Ha Ha! Cheers!

Obviously you do. And what was the result of your tirade? Was it really productive or did you just alienate the person who was sick? Humor aside, you may have lost more than you gained.

Arguing the opposite is good as long as it is intended to improve the idea, etc., that is being presented. It should be done in a positive, constructive and professional manner.

You know you probably did do great that morning because many times stupid projects and plans are proposed without people really taking the time to understand the whole impact. A respectful but direct wake up call is often all it takes to remind people of what is important or show them the holes in the project.

The only problem with being the devils advocate is that you are always looked to for a negative opinion, sooner or later you can get a rep for that and the people in charge will learn not to get your opinion. It is important to be just as vocal on items that are good or stress good points about bad projects while suggesting enhancements to the issues. This helps you look like you are concerned about making the project a success instead of just not wanting to work.

I enjoy being the devils advocate but have to always keep in mind to temper it so people don't form a negative opinion of me which would hamper your career.

Sorry so long, Good luck!

There is nothing wrong with playing devils advocate. personally I feel the term "Devil" makes it sound negative when in fact it can be a very positive experience.

Playing devils advocate gives you a chance to basically test the validity of another person's argument. If their argument is sound then everything will be fine.

Pointing out all the other scenario that can happen shows you see the big picture (which is what your boss liked). Once you run through all the scenarios you can get a better idea of what to do in case this or that happens as you may have pointed out while playing devils advocate.

Playing devils advocate does not mean you do not agree with the original plan as in your case. You can still agree with the idea but all your doing is preparing yourself and others in case one of the scenarios should or do come up later.

lol....well good morning

I think your boss is one of us--secretly. Watch your boss closely.



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