Devil's Advocate

Stress-test your decisions before you commit.

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What this is

A set of 30 challenging questions designed to surface blind spots, weak assumptions, and hidden risks before they become problems. Each prompt pushes you to interrogate your own thinking with the skepticism of someone invested in finding flaws.

This isn't about being negative—it's about being thorough. The best time to hear the strongest objection is before the decision is final.

When to use this

  • Before making a significant product, hiring, or strategic decision
  • When the team feels too aligned and no one is raising concerns
  • After a confident pitch or proposal, to pressure-test the thinking
  • When you want to avoid regret, groupthink, or obvious-in-hindsight mistakes
  • Before writing the memo or announcement that commits you publicly

Who this is for

Teams making decisions where the downside matters. Product teams evaluating features. Founders considering pivots. Leadership weighing strategic bets. Anyone who wants to hear the hard questions before someone else asks them.

Use this alone to challenge your own assumptions, or with a small group to systematically surface doubts and test conviction.

How it works

Work through the prompts one at a time. Some questions will feel irrelevant. Others will land hard. Pay attention to the ones that make you uncomfortable—those are usually the ones worth discussing.

Take notes as you go. You don't need to answer every question. The goal isn't to kill the idea—it's to strengthen it by acknowledging what could go wrong.

What this is not

This is not a brainstorming tool. It's not designed to generate ideas or build consensus. It won't tell you what to decide. It will, however, help you see where your reasoning is shaky before you act on it.