Using "red herrings" as bait to catch what you want.

This appears to be a facetious post, but its not. It's nefarious.

Make a list of the proposed projects including the one you favor and the unacceptable one. When you have several options for projects to undertake in your workplace or even in the community. (I learned this trick while working in a City Engineer's office.)  Include at least one proposed project that is absolutely unacceptable to every possible stakeholder (including yourself).

• Put the pros and cons on the list.
• Include your "real" project as second ranked (or maybe 3rd if you have the skill to pull it off).
• Submit the list and sit back until the inevitable firestorm over the first project breaks.
• Ague for the first project until you assess that any further argument will make you look really, really stupid and then cave in arguing that the second (or third) project on the list should then be first..

Two things will have been accomplished.

• You will have vented the energy of those who oppose everything. My dad called those folks the "aginer's" ("I'm aginst it!", those who oppose anything new and have never supported anything)..
• You will have an opportunity to figure out who is for the other options (not yours) and have taken that time to formulate persuasive arguments for your “real” project.

When you drop the proposed project, you will have shown yourself as a very "willing to compromise" and wise individual.

The term of art for this is using a "red herring", a red herring is an idiom referring to a device which intends to divert the audience from the truth or an item of significance (Wikipedia)

A perfect example of this is going on right now between the White House and Fox News (?) Network. The White House accuses Fox of being the mouthpiece and research arm of the GOP. Fox News takes the bait, and spends a lot of time whining about how the White House and President Obama is getting all "Nixon like". The White House keeps throwing gas on the fire, and Fox keeps it up. Fox is so obsessed with this "non-issue" that they ignore real news and influence issues. We get public health care.

So two take a-ways from this posting.

• Learn how to spot a "red herring"
• Learn how to effectively use a "red herring" to get what you want or divert attention