January 18, 2005

Put Common Sense Back In The Room

🚀 Audacious Move™ of the Week

PUT COMMON SENSE BACK IN THE ROOM!

Bold Decisions Create Extraordinary Businesses.

I hope it helps you create yours.

There’s something missing in too many organizations today.

Common sense.

We have more data. More technology. More policies. More processes. More AI.

And somehow, organizations still make ridiculously stupid decisions.

A customer has a simple problem, but the employee can’t solve it because “the policy doesn’t allow it.”

A process has 14 steps when three would do.

A rule created 10 years ago is still followed even though nobody remembers why it exists.

And when someone asks, “Why the hell are we doing this?”

The answer is usually:

“That’s the way we do it.”

🚨 People stop thinking and start complying

Organizations love structure.

Rules. Policies. Procedures. Approval levels. Technology.

Some are necessary.

But eventually the machinery takes over.

Instead of asking:

“What makes sense here?”

People ask:

“What does the process say I’m allowed to do?”

That’s when common sense disappears.

And customers pay the price.

💥 Build common sense into your Organizational Instinct™

The real test comes when a customer has a problem.

What does your organization instinctively do?

Does the employee reach for the policy manual?

Explain why something can’t be done?

Pass the customer to someone else?

Or do they immediately think:

“How can I solve this for them?”

That’s Organizational Instinct™ — the natural, habitual response an organization has when faced with a customer problem.

Extraordinary organizations instinctively solve problems rather than defend organizational policies.

That’s common sense turned into organizational behaviour.

You shouldn’t need a management meeting every time something unusual happens.

Your people should know what comes first:

Solve the customer’s problem.

Give them permission to think. Permission to challenge.

Permission to Say YES!™ when common sense says YES!

🎯 Apply The Common Sense Test™

Take every rule, policy, process and customer touch point and ask:

“Does this make sense for the customer?”

If the answer is NO, don’t defend it.

Fix it.

If a process creates unnecessary friction, simplify it.

If a rule gets in the way of solving a customer problem, kill it.

If employees need permission to do something obviously right, give them the authority to act.

Kill Dumb Rules™. Cut The CRAP™. Remove whatever prevents people from exercising good judgement for the customer.

🚀 The Audacious Move™

Put common sense back in the room.

And make it part of your Organizational Instinct™.

When a customer problem hits, your people shouldn’t instinctively ask:

“What does the policy say?”

They should ask:

“What makes sense for this customer?”

Then give them the freedom to do it.

Because common sense isn’t really missing.

Too many organizations have simply trained it out of their people.

🚀 Want more Audacious Moves™?

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Extraordinary careers aren’t built by ordinary decisions. They’re built one Audacious Move™ at a time.

Now go make yours.

Cheers,
Roy

• Posted 1.18.05 at 06:00 am by Roy Osing
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