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Devil’s advocate or devil’s disciple?

Consultants frequently misuse questions. I will guarantee that when any
consultant says: “Let me play devil’s advocate”, they don’t have a single
idea in their heads and grope to find fault with the client’s reasoning
rather than put their own meagre contribution under scrutiny. If a con-
sultant suggests that this is their preferred role I invariably say: “I am
paying the bills and I will ask the questions”. The Gestapo in the old
wartime movies were no fools and when it comes to dealing with over-
priced fools I have a streak of the Gestapo in me.

Through the use of questions it is easy to establish whether the con-
sultant is of any use or is simply spinning his or her wheels at your
expense. The questions that a consultant asks should be carefully planned
to help the client to widen their thinking. They often should contain the
germ of a rough idea that the client can adapt to their own circumstances
and adopt if it seems to be the right thing to do. Devil’s advocate is almost
invariably a destructive role that contributes nothing. Constructive ques-
tions open new horizons.

mini case study

The killer question

More years ago than I care to remember I had a wonderful opportunity to learn from a
real master of the art of using questions. I was working with Don Thain at that time
Professor of Marketing at the University of Western Ontario. Don was the most
effective teacher that I ever knew. He made wonderful use of the case study. Every
morning before the classes that we, in theory, conducted together, he would clip and
photocopy key items from that day’s Wall Street Journal and Financial Times. They
were his case studies. From his encyclopaedic and detailed knowledge of what was
happening in business at home and abroad he would frame questions that brought
out the essential learning points of each story – topical, relevant and real world.
Students would work industriously to provide insightful answers to each question, but
they knew that Don had the killer question waiting and that was the important one.
Students and top executives of blue-chip corporations alike would deliver their hard
won wisdom. Don would nod sagely and then ask, “What is your evidence for that?” I
suggest that if you simply develop the habit of asking that question or a variant of it
each and every time that you receive a smooth, credible answer from a peer or
subordinate that you will do more for the quality of thinking and the reduction of bull
in your business than all the training specialists and expensive consultants in the world.

As a quick aside, Don had a habit of scribbling meaningless squiggles on the white
board while explaining the world of business with compelling enthusiasm. Before
wiping the board clean of the unreadable hieroglyphics he would politely ask if we had
all copied all that we needed to. It may sound like a silly habit, but I never saw any
groups of more devoted and thorough note-takers than in Don’s classes.

xxvi Introduction