Leaving Common Sense at the Door

Why do smart people do stupid things at work?

Every day at 8:59am, something strange happens in offices across the world. People arrive bright, capable, and full of ideas. And then, just as they clock in, they quietly remove their common sense, place it in a metaphorical tray marked: "Leave your common sense here" ...and settle in for a long day of obedient nonsense.

Why we stop thinking

We’ve normalised not thinking. Or worse - we’ve made it feel unsafe to think out loud. I’ve worked with brilliant people - genuinely sharp minds - who knowingly follow policies and processes they know don’t work. Not because they’re lazy. Not because they don’t care. But because they’ve been taught that challenging things is risky. That if someone senior decided it, it must be right. Or, at the very least, it’s not worth the grief to question it.

Smart people, dumb decisions

If you're the person closest to the work, you probably have the clearest view of what’s broken. You don’t need permission to see the problem. You just need the willingness to call it out - and ideally, help fix it.

Take this one:

A standing meeting was set up to “help delivery.” In reality, it existed purely to keep a senior manager (who didn’t trust the team) in the loop. Everyone knew it was pointless. But instead of challenging it, people showed up, smiled, nodded, and wasted half an hour every week - because it was easier than trying to explain to the idiot at the top why it shouldn’t exist.

Sound familiar?

There’s a well-known quote from Steve Jobs:

"It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do."

If only more managers acted like they believed that.

Positive Negativity

We need to stop rewarding quiet compliance and start encouraging active thinking. That doesn’t mean being difficult. It means being engaged. Spotting the nonsense. Saying something when you see it. And not assuming that someone with a bigger title has a better answer. I call it Positive Negativity(See previous post) - not moaning for the sake of it, but flagging the problem because you care, and because you’re willing to help fix it. If you find yourself saying, "This is dumb, but that’s just how we do it"… that’s the moment to speak up.

Time to put your common sense back in

So next time you feel that moment - when your instinct says “this doesn’t make sense” but your workplace muscle memory says “just nod and do it anyway” - pause. Reach for your common sense. Put it back in your head. And maybe help someone else find theirs too.

What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve seen at work that people just accept? Did you speak up - or stay quiet?