We all have our roles in life to play. Like everyone else, I have a few: wife, aunt, daughter, friend, colleague, volunteer leader, customer, business owner, Devil’s Advocate.

Devil’s Advocate? That’s not a role, you say.

Yes, it is, and in business, it is crucial that you have at least one Devil’s Advocate on your decision-making team who challenges the status quo on a regular basis. Without the Advocate, it is too easy to slide into groupthink, which sooner or later will produce results you did not expect, and certainly did not want.

We all know one, or maybe we are one. You know – the person that plans for all eventualities, including the most unbelievably improbable situations or opportunities.

I like to think I’m that person now, but that wasn’t the case many years ago. For me, this was a lesson presented over and over and over again by one of my favorite bosses. For every new idea, project or policy suggested for implementation, she would ask, “What happens if you get run over by a bus? What happens then? How do we pick up where you left off?”

The road was empty of other vehicles, and in the silence of that quiet road I realized that my purpose in life was to work for, and with, organizations whose missions are focused on improving the lives of others. In that moment of clarity, I found my passion; a passion that would be the deciding factor for all my future professional choices.

A few years ago, my husband and I were at Citizen's Bank Park in Philadelphia, watching the NY Mets take on the Philadelphia Phillies. It was a warm sunny Saturday, and it was the 4th of July. As the game began, I made a comment to my husband about how wonderful it was to be in Philadelphia on the 4th of July, watching America's game.

Then, the most amazing thing happened.