Have we Destroyed Common Sense?

My father has always been a strong believer in plain 'ol common sense.  I can't begin to count the number of times he would look at something shake his head and declare someone just wasn't thinking.  A recent experience a colleague related to me reminded me of just this point.  She had boarded a plane to return home.  Moments before pulling back from the gate, the flight crew found an inoperable seat.  Now the procedure for dealing with a broken seat is to simply place a white sign on it with red ink saying 'seat inoperable' and let the flight continue until it can be fixed.  This is where common sense gets thrown to the wind.  You see, despite the fact that a flight attendant had a red pen and was ready and willing to place the sign on the seat, she was told that only a union certified mechanic was authorized to do this.  After hours of waiting, a union mechanic boarded the plane and on a sheet of white paper with red ink, wrote "seat inoperable".  The airline and their union inconvenienced several hundred passengers making them even less likely to patronize this airline in the future all because procedure dictated what should have been a common sense solution.  Now the name of the airline is somewhat irrelevant because in all likelihood, any of the major airlines would have probably followed the same silly rule.

It reminds me of a situation several years ago while working for a large aerospace corporation that had unionized facilities personnel.  The policy stated that only union personnel were authorized to move a piece of furniture even if it was to shift a bookshelf from one corner of a room to another.  There were instances when the union filed grievances when they discovered that someone had moved something without a work order.  Now certainly, there are safety reasons and other factors that made this policy reasonable, but not for every circumstance.  It made no common sense and in fact made the policy and the union the brunt of jokes and disdain.  I'm sure any of you could add to this list.  But I'm not here to bash unions.  There are numerous policies, rules, and procedures that make absolutely no sense and in fact result in more inefficiency and stupid decision making than you can imagine.

One important question to ponder is whether or not we have destroyed common sense in the workplace.  Most rules and procedures were originally put in place for good reasons.  But like most things, their time has past and yet the rules persist.  Think about all the laws still on the books that have no relevance to our modern society.  Once enshrined, these rules take on a life of their own and no one dare question their utility or legitimacy.  Another colleague once told me he was shocked to learn a supplier was charging the company 3X for a part he knew didn't cost that much.  Figuring he was going to skewer the supplier for gouging, the supplier explained to him the part cost that much because 10+ years ago they had a quality problem and the company insisted that the supplier add additional testing before delivery.  What's really stupid about this situation though was the original part was an analog device that had since been upgraded to digital.  The testing the company insisted on was only applicable to analog devices yet the terms and conditions in their contract had never changed - and no one ever had the sense or courage to question it.  For years, the company had been insisting on (and paying for) testing that made no sense.

I believe at the root of this lack of common sense is a lack of accountability.  You see, if people can point to a rule or procedure that requires a certain action, they can deny accountability and blame someone or something else for the decision, especially when something goes wrong.  Even when it's obvious that something doesn't make sense, it's far more convenient to ignore it than it is to challenge "the system" for being out of whack.  Had the flight attendant chosen to take the same action the mechanic did, she most certainly would have been reprimanded or penalized later even though it was a common sense thing to do and would have made their customers much happier to have been on their way on time.  People become conditioned by the rules and procedures to a level that is ludicrous.  Fear of reprimand or even loss of job for stretching or breaking the rules no matter how stupid or irrelevant they are is a powerful force that erodes accountability.  The safe thing to do is to blindly follow the rules, don't fight city hall, do your job, and let someone else worry about the consequences.  If the phrase "it's not my job" is heard frequently in your organization, you have lost all common sense.  Wonder why you don't have a high level of accountability in your organization?  Look no further than the rules and procedures you have shackled people with or the penalties delivered for those who dared to test them.  Most employees could probably relate horror stories of someone who attempted to exercise common sense only to have been demoted, fired, or punished in some way.

There are companies though that are exemplars of accountability and common sense.  When employees are empowered to do the right thing and exercise common sense, things have a tendency to get done faster and better.  Companies whose policies allow employees to address customer complaints and needs without consulting a rule book first generally have higher levels of satisfaction both by customers and employees.  This actually makes a lot of sense.  I'm not advocating that companies throw out the book - that would likely devolve into chaos.  What I am suggesting is that they maintain an open mind and routinely prune and revise their procedures to make sure that what they do and how they do it passes a reason test.  Most organizations continue to run on policy autopilot not appreciating the drain it creates on employee morale and customer satisfaction.  The sheer weight and drag of corporate policies results in stagnation and hinders innovation.  If you can't figure out why your employees can't or won't innovate, perhaps you should examine the policies and procedures they have to navigate to even get started.  If it's simply too hard, complicated, or just plain stupid to push something through the system, then you won't harvest too many great ideas because people just won't waste the time trying.

I would encourage you to do a little rules and policy housecleaning at least once a year.  Ask your employees what policies are getting in their way and try to strike the right balance.  Give employees a bit more flexibility - increased accountability will likely follow.

Doesn't that just make common sense?

Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action, a strategy execution specialist at the intersection of employee engagement and executive leadership, igniting innovation as a lever to accelerate your growth.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action and connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+.  Learn more by visiting www.connect2action.com.