The Devil’s Advocate: Is it Good for Innovation?

Innovation is often lauded as the key to success in business. After all, staying ahead of the competition is hard if you're not constantly coming up with new ideas and ways to improve your products or services. But is every idea you come up with a good thing? Is there such a thing as being too innovative?

To keep yourself honest, you may consider appointing a devil's advocate.

The Devil's Advocate is a popular movie from the 1990s that tells the story of a lawyer hired to argue against a candidate for a high-ranking position in the Vatican. The lawyer's job is to poke holes in the candidate's qualifications and to find any dirt that might disqualify him. While the movie is fictional, the idea of a Devil's Advocate is accurate, and it's something that companies sometimes use when considering new ideas. The aim is to have someone whose job is to argue against the proposed idea, to improve the idea by making sure that all potential problems with it are discussed and addressed.

Definition of a Devil's Advocate

The term “Devil's Advocate” comes from the Catholic Church. In canonization, the process of declaring someone a saint, there is a Devil's Advocate (advocatus diaboli) whose job is to argue against the candidate's sainthood. If the Devil's Advocate can't find anything wrong with the candidate, they probably deserve sainthood.

Why Companies Use Devil's Advocates

There are a few reasons companies might use Devil's Advocates.

First, it can help to prevent groupthink. When people work on a project together, they quickly get caught up in thinking that their idea is great and should be implemented immediately. Devil's Advocates can help to forestall this by giving other people a chance to voice their objections and to point out any potential problems with an idea.

Second, it can help to ensure that all the stakeholders are on board with a decision. When considering a new idea, getting input from all affected is essential. The Devil's Advocate can help ensure everyone's concerns are considered before deciding.

Third, it can help to ensure that a decision is well-reasoned and thought out. When you're considering a new idea, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of it and start thinking about all of the ways it could be successful. But it's also important to consider all of the ways that it could fail. The Devil's Advocate can help to ensure that you're thinking about both the potential positives and negatives of a decision before making it.

The Drawbacks

There are a few potential drawbacks to using Devil's Advocates.

First, it can lead to decision paralysis. If you're considering a new idea and you have someone whose job is to shoot it down, it's easy to get caught up in all the potential problems and never actually decide to go forward or kill it.

Second, it can frustrate the people who are working on the project. If you're constantly being shot down by someone whose job is to find fault with your ideas, it can start feeling like your work is never good enough.

Third, it can lead to a negative work environment. If people feel they can't share their ideas without being shot down, they may stop sharing them altogether. This can lead to a work environment where people are afraid to take risks, and new ideas never get a chance to be heard.

Overall, there are positive and negative aspects to using Devil's Advocates. It's essential to weigh the pros and cons before deciding whether to use them on a project.

How To Properly Use a Devil's Advocate

If you decide to use a Devil's Advocate on a project, there are a few things that you should keep in mind.

First, it's essential to make sure that everyone understands the role of the Devil's Advocate. The person identified as playing this role should not be trying to kill the idea outright; their goal should be to ensure all potential problems with it are considered.

Second, giving the Devil's Advocate enough time to do their job is essential. If you're considering a new idea, you shouldn't shoot it down as soon as someone objects. Take the time to view all the objections and to see if any valid points need to be addressed.

Third, it's essential to make sure that the decision-makers are the ones who ultimately decide. The Devil's Advocate can provide valuable input, but they shouldn't be the ones making the final decision. That should be left to the people responsible for implementing the idea.

Devil's Advocate as A Passive Aggressive Response

When someone starts a statement with “I'm just playing Devil's Advocate,” it is usually a sign that they are about to say something that they know will be controversial. It's a way of trying to distance themselves from the idea in a passive-aggressive way. The problem with this approach is that it rarely leads to productive discussion. The individual will raise objections to an idea, but instead of providing constructive criticism, they will nitpick and try to find fault with everything. The effect is to shut down the conversation because people feel like they are being attacked. It can also make the person playing Devil's Advocate look like they are just trying to be difficult for the sake of it.

If you find yourself in discussion with someone playing Devil's Advocate, remind them the role is formal; if they volunteer for it, they need to play by the rules. If they are trying to be contrarian, close down the conversation.

10 Rules for the Devil's Advocate

Being the Devil's Advocate can feel like being on a debate team. In debate, you are given a position and must argue for it, even if you disagree. The same is true of being a Devil's Advocate; you have to be willing to take on the role and argue for the other side, even if you disagree.

Here are ten rules that will help you be a better Devil's Advocate:

1. Present an argument against a proposal or idea without necessarily believing in that argument.
2. Identify and explore potential problems and objections to a proposal or idea to improve it.
3. Provide alternative perspectives and challenge assumptions.
4. Force people to think about an issue from all sides and consider all options.
5. Encourage critical thinking and healthy debate.
6. Ensure that all ideas are given a fair hearing before making a decision.
7. Act as a check against groupthink, where people agree with the majority opinion.
8. Be open-minded and objective without being wedded to any particular position.
9. See both sides of an argument and understand different points of view.
10. Be willing to change their position if the evidence or arguments presented are compelling enough.

Examples of How Devil Advocates Are Used

Over the years, many organizations have leveraged the idea of a devil's advocate to improve their decision-making processes.

For example, the U.S. military has long used Devil's Advocates to help improve their decision-making. Before a new policy is implemented, they assign someone the role of Devil's Advocate, and their job is to find any potential problems with the procedure. This helps to ensure that they consider the potential risks before they decide.

Another example of an industry that uses devil advocates is journalism. They are used to making sure they consider all sides of a story before it is published. This helps to ensure accuracy and avoid any potential libel issues.

The legal profession also uses devil advocates. Lawyers will use them to consider all the potential arguments that could be made against their case. This helps to ensure they are prepared for anything that could happen in court.

Final Thoughts

Just as a church provides a place for people to come together to learn, discuss, debate, and think, so does the Devil's Advocate give space to discuss, discuss, and critically think about an idea. The Devil's Advocate can help improve an organization's efforts by ensuring that all options are considered before any decisions are made.

To know more about devil's advocates, listen to: The Devil's Advocate: Is it Good for Innovation?