Presented By: Kamal Talwar

An Approach Towards“Strategic Decision-making”

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Session Contains

Who is Devil’s Advocate(s)?

What Is Devil’s Advocacy?

Has this ever been practiced anywhere?

Benefits In Corporate Strategic Decisions

Types Of Devil’s Advocacy

Using Devil’s Advocacy effectively

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Who is Devil’s Advocate(s)

A Devil’s Advocate is the person who, when given an argument / statement / plan, plays a role of a critic and speaks against the original argument / statement / plan, either just for the sake of argument or to find flaws in the argument / statement / plan.

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Who is Devil’s Advocate(s)Our Plan could

become a milestone for this

company’s future!!!!

That maybe, but you haven’t

considered ROI of the plan!!!

And plus I can see a lot of other

discrimination in your data and

SOP!!!

LOL!!! I’am lovin it….

Here comes the devils to

roast our idea

MY DAMN TEA !!

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What is Devil’s Advocacy?

Well, if you haven’t figured this out already, to put it in simple language, it’s a technique used by the individual / group playing a role of devil’s advocate(s) to put an effective counter argument on the original argument / statement / plan. In other words to cook your plan in infernal fire to test its viability.

Now how should I cook your plan……

Ahh little more seasoning Ayee!!!

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Has This Ever Been Used: Example 1

Key Figure • John F Kennedy

Problem • Cuban Missile Crises

Advocates Appointed

• Robert Kennedy and Theodore Sorenson.

Impact• An effective response against the

soviet threat and the world saved from nuclear holocaust.

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Key Figures • Alan Turing, Joan Clarke, Hugh Alexander, Peter Hilton

Problem• How to use the information of

broken Enigma code.

Advocates • Alan Turing, Joan Clarke, Hugh

Outcome• Strict usage of broken code, saving

the allied efforts and winning the second world war.

Has This Ever Been Used: Example 2

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Benefits in Corporate Decisions

Requirement• Generation of effective strategies, that could match with the

organisation’s identified goal, which in turn, matches the organisational resources and capacity.

Problem• The strategy made on assumption of a particular problem, however

necessary to make the strategy manageable, but may get prone to defects or blind spots which could prove hazardous for the company’s future.

Devil’s Advocacy• This technique challenges these assumptions with pure data which in

turn forces the executives to bring more solid data to prove their assumptions and solidify the argument.

Types Of Devil’s Advocacy

Basic Devil’s Advocacy

• Usually single individual plays Devil's Advocate to criticize favoured plan.

Multiple Advocacy

• Several Devil's Advocates representing different interest groups. Use of Custodian and Magistrate.

Dialectical Inquiry

• Explicit attempt to identify assumptions underlying favoured plan. Development of counter assumptions as basis for counterplan.

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Using Devil’s Advocacy effectively

In Case there are pre-existing conflicts1• The devil's advocate should be active throughout the decision-making process. He/she should

attempt to clarify the difference in opinions, even if it means to play the role of custodian.• In case of too little conflict, then the advocate must initiate assumption critique to bring out

the conflict.

Avoid being a “Carping Critics”2• The advocate must avoid being strongly negative, coz of demoralizing effect on both the

decision makers and those who proposed the plan.• Rather he should act like a consultant interested only surfacing assumptions and improving

decision-making

There can’t be only one Devil3• There should be rotation of the role from the time, so the group could have a clearer picture

of the “Devil’s Advocate’s” process and also prevent the negative consequences.

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Thanks