!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> Streamline Training & Documentation: Just Common Sense

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Just Common Sense

It should come as no surprise that a lot of what experienced managers and consultants say is "just common sense." It stands to reason that common sense is a fundamentally good guide to decision making.

But it's also important to recognize that common sense can seem, at first blush, to point in more than one direction. The advantage of obtaining advice from experienced hands is that such experts can advise on which particular nuggets of common sense apply in a particular situation.

For example, suppose a company is trying to decide whether to set up a team to handle a project. Common sense might suggest, Yes, use a team. That way you'll have the advantage of a variety of skills and perspectives. You'll end up with a result that's better than any one person could produce.

On the other hand, common sense might lead one to think, No, give the job to one person who will be responsible for getting the results we need, and who will do so quickly because s/he won't be hampered by a lot of time-consuming meetings and discussions.

An advisor who is knowledgeable about the dynamics of teams, will have an internalized set of criteria that allow sorting through the pros and cons in the given situation. Such a person's advice will be commonsensical, but it will also reflect an optimizing choice among plausible possibilities.

The other point leaping to mind when I hear, "That's just common sense," is that deciding on the best direction, i.e., deciding on the basic strategy for handling an issue, is just a start. As we've all heard, "the devil is in the details." Assembling and analyzing those details, and then deciding on a plan of action, requires work that uses a whole variety skills in addition to common sense. Usually, the person who advises on the best direction to go is fully aware of how much remains to be done in order to accomplish something valuable.

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