“Common sense is genius dressed in its working clothes.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
American lawyer and writer Robert Green Ingersoll once said, “It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense.” I am, indeed, a fan of education. I’m a highly educated man, but there is a lot of truth (common sense) in this statement. Mike, my first leader in the Army was a commonsense leader. His ideas and guidance were simple yet practical. They resonated well with those he led. He instilled common sense in me as a young lieutenant and I’ve always pursued it in leadership. Merriam Webster dictionary defines common sense as, “sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts.” Exactly. Indeed, many problems and situations are complex. However, if we attempt to cast judgement, seek answers, solve problems, and influence our people in sound and prudent ways, we should attempt to simplify as best we can and seek a greater understanding of the situation and the facts. How then, do we find common sense? There are two ways in my experience…
