There is a very similar problem in advice-giving for technical questions, the problem of "Why do you want to do that? You should do this instead." I've seen others recommend trying to ask binary yes/no questions ("I think it's like this. Yes/no?") or to turn an open-ended question, when asked, into a set of binaries rather than guess at the intent.

The property that seems to be common in addressing both is benchmark-setting. The advice of "kick the can down the road" for less productive advice is premised on knowing that it doesn't fit your success benchmarks, but not wanting the confrontation(since a hedgehog benchmark is going to boil down to a single-issue attachment). Likewise, a battery of narrow binary questions that have a definite pass/fail characteristic constructs a form of fox knowledge - it's pragmatic in how it describes the "potential shape" of the outcome, so it makes for a better holistic benchmark than asking "what's the best way to do this?"