How to call bullshit on something

Without damaging your relationships irreparably

👋 Hi, it’s Greg and Taylor. Welcome to our newsletter on everything you wish your CEO told you about how to get ahead.

I have a great board at Section (still a little better than my “AI board,” but that’s another post).

One thing I appreciate is that they’ll call bullshit when they see it – and I enjoy and learn from their different styles.

Katherine Dillon – NYU Tisch professor and Scott’s business partner at ProfG Media – asks simple but revealing questions. “Have you done this before?” or “Is your team ready for this?”

Paul Sagan listens well, lets me finish, and then helps me connect what we’re doing to the 12-month plan (“Are these the right channel partners to become future acquirers?”).

Scott doesn’t listen or wait – he just tells us what to do. Not my favorite approach, but it gets the job done, and he is often right.

Calling bullshit is an important skill. As you get more senior, sometimes a peer will present a plan that doesn’t sit right. Maybe the assumptions are off, or they’re seeing things in the data that aren’t there. Maybe the quality just isn’t where it needs to be.

In these situations, it’s your job to call bullshit. But there’s a right way to do it, and a way that just turns off your audience. Here’s what I’ve learned, from years of calling bullshit (and having it called on me).

– Greg

Why you need to call bullshit

People don’t call bullshit because it’s usually uncomfortable. Questioning someone’s recommendation or plan feels like questioning their expertise (or intelligence), and most of the time, they’ll get defensive. I know I do.

But put simply, if you want to lead, calling bullshit is part of your job.

If you have serious concerns about the assumptions or risks of a plan, it’s irresponsible not to say anything. That’s true at any level, but mandatory if you’re a rising leader.

Don’t let the plan go forward, and then think or say, “I knew there was a problem, but I didn’t call it out because I didn’t want to piss anyone off.” That just makes you look weak … and jeopardizes the plan.

Assess the stakes

Calling bullshit is a continuum from “we need to strengthen the thinking on this plan” to “we need to stop the train right now.” It’s not “we need to make a few tweaks” – if that’s your feedback, then Slack it and don’t waste people’s time.

Don’t be the person who calls bullshit every time you look at a new project. If you’re doing it to look smart or powerful, your peers will see through that. Calling bullshit has a cost – it usually creates more work and tension – so assess the stakes.

If the stakes are low, and the other party’s conviction is high, let it go. Practicing judgment here will get you a lot further than criticizing everything that comes across your desk.

There are two good reasons to call bullshit on a plan:

1. It affects your team, usually because you’ll be accountable for the work or the outcomes.

2. It’s high-stakes enough to have a significant, negative impact on the business. This one’s a bit of a judgment call, but should become clear the more you practice.

And by the way, to have real pushback, you have to have read the plan or paid attention to the details. Don’t come back from checking your Slack messages and say, “Not sure if this was covered, but …”

I know I'm guilty of this sometimes, and it's never effective. I'm much more credible (and my team is much more receptive) when it's clear I've read and engaged with the plan.

Expose your source of pushback

Calling bullshit often means you’re suggesting someone isn’t being intellectually honest or thorough. So you also need to be intellectually honest about why you’re calling bullshit. Figure out what the source of your pushback is, so you can honestly and explicitly explain it to your audience.

Here are a few examples of legitimate sources of pushback:

Data

Your prototype only has 10% adoption in the test cohort, so you’re concerned the MVP your colleague is proposing will have low adoption without new features or new messaging.

Past experience

You did a similar rebrand at your last company, and the team messed up the warm up campaigns so your email rates plummeted.

Talking to customers

You were talking to a few people at a dinner party about a new feature, and you struggled to get them to see the value.

Your expertise in your role

As the person who’s going to market the product, you have concerns that the message won’t resonate.

Exposing the source of your concern is helpful in getting people on your side, but it also helps you evaluate whether your feedback is fair.

And if you don’t have a great reason – but you have a strong gut feeling – then say that. “I don’t have data on this, but something feels off to me…”

Direct, specific, and tactful

There’s a right and wrong way to frame pushback. If you just say, “I don’t think anyone will use this product,” people will think, “Okay, well, that’s just your opinion.”

Here are phrases you can use to state your opinion in a productive way (and signal that you don’t know everything).

• “I’m not on board yet, but I want to be. Let’s discuss what I’m missing.”

• “To me, the data doesn’t say what it says to you.”

• “As a potential user (or allocator of time and capital), I’m not persuaded yet, but here’s how to persuade me.”

• “I don’t have an alternative in mind yet, but I’m willing to help you get there.”

What we don’t recommend: Playing dumb.

A lot of people try to take the sting out of the criticism by saying something like, “Maybe I don’t get it…”. Don’t do this. It’s disingenuous – you’re not stupid, you disagree.

Our advice

Calling bullshit combines two skills that are often hard for rising leaders: knowing your point of view, and being comfortable creating discomfort – for you and the other party.

The best way to develop your point of view is to listen. Don’t work on other things when other people are presenting the plan. Listen closely, think about the implications, and ask yourself, “What do I think, and why?” Most of the time you won’t feel the need to say anything – but sometimes you will.

And get comfortable with discomfort. Being a leader means you’ll have tension with other leaders sometimes – that’s okay. Be direct and honest, with the intention to help, and the tension will be productive.

Have a great week,

Greg & Taylor