Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Instead of describing smart things as “common sense,” try, “that’s smart.”

I grew up with the phrase, “common sense.” Common sense was superior to “book sense” or education. Common sense was what people who knew what they were doing and could “get things done” had.

Enough phrases from my childhood in qoutes. I recently—as an adult—watched a video series by Seth Godin. He repeatedly used the phrase “that’s smart.”

• don’t try to shoe horses in Los Angeles
• don’t try go manufacure goods cheaper than China
• don’t try to do what everyone else does already

Those things weren’t “common sense.” Godin’s description was, “that’s smart.” Hmm, I like that. It sounds so much better to me than “that’s common sense.” I think it would sound better to the other person as well.