Dealing with Naysayers – Part II

I hosted a technology leaders discussion yesterday, and the conversation turned to how to deal with ‘devil’s advocates’ or naysayers. Then I see a question posed on the Crain’s Chicago Entrepreneur’s Site:

If an entrepreneur listened to all the “experts,” most businesses would never even begin. That said, how does one know when to accept independent advice and when to ignore it?

While constantly displaying naysayer tendencies is a trait of a weak leader [who will eventually become such a non-player that s/he will not stay at the company for the long-term anyway], think about how you can use some of a naysayer’s thinking to fill any holes in your plans [business, project, job search etc.]. Just use the naysayers to your advantage. Click here for more examples of how some entrepreneurs ‘used’ the naysayers to further their success.