3.) Unless it's extremely unethical -- if it's just hurting my ego, but not actually my person and my ability to sleep well for the rest of my life -- I would d

3.) Unless it's extremely unethical -- if it's just hurting my ego, but not actually my person and my ability to sleep well for the rest of my life -- I would do the stupid thing, but tell anyone who asks (and some who don't) that I find it stupid. I'd also start openly musing about what will come after the honeymoon phase (of the VP with their stupid idea), and how the mess might be fixed once it's correctly recognized as a mess. If applicable, I might also be honest to the people who get bitten by that stupid change. Not sharing the interna of the stupid decision, but that it's definitely stupid and why. If I got fired for any of that, I'd walk out like a champ. I don't backstab, but I also don't lie (which includes people I'm "supposed" to sell the stupid idea to as a great one, starting with myself), I respect the "chain of command" in a way, but never blindly, and wear that on my sleeve. That closes plenty doors, but far from all, and my general experiences with "standing up to my bosses" were surprisingly good. As long as it's because you care about the thing, and the clients of it, and as long as the boss is confident, in themselves and maybe even you, there should be some leeway for that.