We’ve all been in this meeting. Someone presents an idea. It’s not perfect, but it’s solid and it could work. And then that guy raises his hand.

“Well, have you considered…”

What follows is fifteen minutes of edge cases, hypotheticals, and thinly veiled condescension. The idea gets picked apart. The presenter gets demoralized. The meeting ends with no decision. That guy walks out feeling pretty good about himself because he identified all those problems everyone else missed. He’s clearly the smartest person in the room.

Months later, nothing has shipped. But at least nobody made a mistake, right?

Here’s what I’ve learned about these people. They would rather be right than be successful. They’d rather demonstrate how smart they are than admit someone else had a good idea. Because if your idea succeeds, what does that say about them?

You’re not going to change them. Don’t bother trying. But you can work around them, and there are several tactics I’ve found effective over the years.

Name the game. When someone starts derailing with hypotheticals, politely call it out. “Those are good things to consider during implementation. Right now I’m trying to get alignment on direction. Are you supportive of the direction?” This forces them to take an actual position instead of sniping from the sidelines.

Don’t let perfect kill good. Their entire strategy relies on finding flaws. Every idea has flaws. If you acknowledge the imperfections yourself before they can, you’ve stolen their ammunition. “This isn’t perfect, and here are the risks I see. I still think we should move forward because…” Now they have to argue against a position you’ve already fortified.

Go around them. Some people cannot be convinced. They can only be outvoted. Build support before the meeting. Get the key decision makers aligned ahead of time. Let that guy perform his critique to an audience that’s already decided.

Document the obstruction. If the same person torpedoes idea after idea with nothing to show for it, make that pattern visible. “We’ve discussed this in four meetings now. What would you need to see to move forward?” Put the burden on them to either contribute something constructive or get out of the way.

Ship anyway. The best revenge is a working product. Critics are loud right up until the thing launches and works. Then they get very quiet, or they suddenly remember how they “helped refine the idea.”

Look, some people play the game by tearing others down. They’ve decided that’s their path to career success. Maybe it even works for a while. But you don’t have to play their game. Route around them, ship your thing, and let the results speak for themselves.

They can be right. You can be successful.