Common sense and leadership.

"Common sense is not so common after all."
These word have been attributed to the philosopher Voltaire.

Another philosopher and writer, Rene Descartes said: "Common sense is the most widely shared commodity in the world, for every man is convinced that he is well supplied with it."

A few years ago somebody published an obituary lamenting the death of Common Sense, in the London Times. I could not establish above doubt who the original author was. There are quite a few adaptations of this going around and I have copied one of them at the bottom of this post.

What is common sense? -The dictionaries describe it as practical wisdom. -To do what should obviously be done, on the basis of a simple, sound and prudent understanding and judgement of facts and circumstances, based on simple straight forward perception....

We are indeed living in times where many people seem to have lost the ability to apply common sense to their daily lives. It seems that a lot of people do not know (anymore) that boiled water is scalding hot and that a wet tiled floor is most probably slippery!

Even in politics we badly need common sense.  I thought of stating a "Common Sense Party" -Might get a vote or two from people with common sense....

Common sense plays a mayor role in leadership -or it should!

Leadership starts naturally form a point, or in a situation where somebody realises that something needs to be done and that someone needs to start doing it. The person who takes the initiative then (at least for some time) becomes the leader in that context.

Geese fly in formation to save energy and probably for direction. One of them needs to fly in front. Hunting dogs run in packs, but one of them takes the lead. -It is just common sense to them. As far as we know they don't even "think" about it -they just do it.

Most leadership decisions and actions are not rocket science, but (should be) based on a healthy dose of common sense. 

Can common sense be improved?

I think so.  -I think you can improve your common sense by reading wide. By listening to a lot of different people. -Especially well seasoned leaders and also to "unschooled" leaders.
You can improve your common sense by making and taking more time to think and to reflect on your life experiences and challenges.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The death of common sense.

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

Knowing when to come in out of the rain; accidents may happen; why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn’t always fair; and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults are in charge, not children).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 8-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home but the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little on her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion, his daughters, Responsibility and Integrity and his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights; I Want It Now; Someone Else Is To Blame and I’m A Victim. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone...

 -What appears to be the original article can be viewed at www.loriborgman.com