The Death of Common Sense

We’re sure that at one point or another many of us have come across The Death of Common Sense email forward or read it somewhere online.  Many bloggers and writers from different countries, backgrounds and experiences have written their own versions of Common Sense’s obituary.  After the email forward made it around our inboxes, we couldn’t help it but to chime-in and contribute our thoughts to the obituary.

Common sense  does not exist when people feel entitled.  Life, including work life, does  not owe anyone a living.  Few are successful without focusing on their job, developing positive relationships with co-workers and clients and recognizing that to get ahead they need to be accountable and productive.

Common sense allowed ego to take over and think that success included being ‘above the law’.  Even the most senior executive of highly successful global corporations must respect that all employees’ have rights guaranteed by law.  Treatment of employees including termination must adhere to  local employment standards and common law precedence.

Common sense died when managers and corporations forgot the importance of on boarding and training new hires. The tendency to focus on profits and productivity often overshadows what it takes to achieve success in those areas. With the lack of proper on boarding and training, staff turnover rates have increased dramatically and existing employees are getting burnt out from the constant stream of new employees they have to train while keeping their own levels of productivity high. The end result is a downward spiral of productivity and profits and because common sense has died no one seems to understand why.

Common sense died when we stopped providing education to our children on what it takes to make it in the real world. The youth of today have a poor set of tools at their disposal with the lack of understanding on how to write a simple resume, prepare for an interview, and the skills needed to be successful in the workplace.

Common sense died when organizations gave up on performance management.  Addressing performance issues only as the first step in the termination process, when you’ve already given up, is a waste of all the capital dollars you’ve put in.  The waste is staggering.  It’s as nonsensical as calling up your competition and saying “hey, I’ve invested the dollars but I’d like you to yield the results”.  It just doesn’t make any sense.

Common sense died when people starting risking their (and sometimes their loved ones) lives in order to accept a meeting request while driving.