The Ministry of Common Sense: How to Eliminate Bureaucratic Red Tape, Bad Excuses, and Corporate BS

by Martin Lindstrom, Marshall Goldsmith (Foreword)

A humorous yet practical five-step guide to ridding ourselves--and our companies--of the bureaucratic bottlenecks and red tape that plague every office

You try to reserve a conference room for a crucial client meeting via your company's new-and-improved computer service, only to find that every conference room is booked-seemingly forever. Your weekly conference call is hijacked by video screens freezing, cords not working, and employees dropping in and out. You then sit through an endless Power Point presentation that everyone claims they've read, no one has, and that could have been summarized in one page.

What has happened to common sense? And how can we get it back? Companies, it seems, have become so entangled in their own internal issues, and further beset by reams of invisible red tape, that they've lost sight of their core purpose. Inevitably, they pay the price.

Best-selling author Martin Lindstrom combines numerous real-life examples of corporate common sense gone wrong with his own ingenious plan for restoring logic--and sanity--to the companies and people that need it most. A must-read for today's executives, managers, and office workers, The Ministry of Common Sense is funny, entertaining, and immensely practical.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Management, Leadership, Politics

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2020

About the author

Martin Lindstrom (born 1970) is the author of the bestseller The Ministry of Common sense - How to Eliminate Bureaucratic Red Tape, Bad Excuses, and Corporate Bullshit.

Through unconventional thinking, Martin Lindstrom reveals how to get closer to our customers by eliminating bureaucratic red tape, bad excuses, and corporate BS, whether we’re in the office or behind our screens.
An eight-time New York Times best-selling author, Lindstrom’s books have sold 4.5 million copies and been translated Into 60 languages. His books include The Ministry of Common Sense, Buyology, and Small Data. TIME Magazine named Lindstrom "One of the World's Most Influential People," and Thinkers50 listed him one of the world’s top-20 business thinkers of 2021.

Reviews

[David Lipschutz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Inside flap reads: “A humorous yet practical five-step guide to ridding ourselves - and our companies - of the bureaucratic bottlenecks and red tape that plague every office”.

The entire “five-step guide” can be found in chapter 9. Chapter 10 is essentially an FAQ on the five-step guide. Chapters 1-8 are a rant.

For those readers who love to commiserate about how bad / dumb / slow / stupid things are, I imagine you’ll love this book. For those who enjoy sitting around the water cooler complaining, playing the critic, pointing out flaws... this book is for you. 80% of the book is exactly that.

The five-step guide is a lift of some practices of organizational change management 101: set a vision, start small, celebrate wins, create a change agent network.

For those of you who are interested in more inspiration, instruction, methods of how to drive change in complex, political organizations, you’ll find yourself wishing the book was 20% calling out what’s wrong, and 80% on solving it. Sadly, for those of us passionate about driving change, it is the other way around.

What is perhaps most disappointing is that one gets the sense, considering the author’s signfiicant credentials, that he has a wealth of experience and knowledge and could have relayed much more of this wisdom. Instead, most of what he shares are his (relatable and often humorous) experiences with a lack of common sense. Perhaps the wisdom and instruction is reserved only for his consulting clients.

In summary, if you’re more interested in poking fun at the disfunctions of life than fixing them, you’ll find The Ministry of Common Sense and easy, entertaining read. If you’re interested in making a difference, read Chapter 9, and then go find a good book on applied organizational change management.

[Suleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a funny rant more than anything else . Things you encounter everyday if you have worked for a large corporation. Kind of in tandem with the book “ bulllshit jobs “ . The biggest message is : when you feel something doesn’t make sense stand up and be vocal about it . Don’t be a sheep !

[Roman Shaternik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Куча примеров потери здравого смысла, однако большинство из них сводятся к овер-регулированию, т.е. когда плюс-минус здравое правило в некоторых случаях приводит к бредовым ситуациям. Поэтому складывается ощущение, что здравый смысл потерялся в основном в поездках (перелёты, коммандировки, отели), корпоративных правилах и айтишных решениях. С последними зачастую это банальные недоработки по UX, которые не успели отстрелить. Автор слегка луддит и утверждает что программы виноваты в потере эмпатии - на мой взгляд, это лишь этап развития, который нужно пережить. Борьба с бюрократией путём создания нового департамента - тоже доставляет. Ну и наконец, для кого написана книга - не понятно :) Там говорится, что те кто теряет здравый смысл - сами не замечают этого (а значит им не нужна книга), а остальные его не теряли... В общем, "сильному это не нужно, а слабому - не поможет".

[Varunkumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoroughly engaging and entertaining book which not only provides anecdotes of seemingly nonsensical situations but also provides template for how to identify and correct them. While that by itself may not be easy in corporate sector, it is multiple times more challenging in the government even if the number of common sense problems in government far exceed what exists in private sector. This book, nevertheless, with ideas enshrined in it can, if implemented in spirit, help make lives of both, government employees and the citizens, better.

[Ali AlNuaimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's an amazing book i really recommend to read it; the author has a sense of humor while writing which makes the stories he tells interesting

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this on audio. Had I read the print book, nearly every page would have highlights. I'm not sure where my tears were tears of laughter, or tears of knowing how close to home so many of the scenarios land. So wise, so full of. . . common sense.

[Haiying · Rating 4 out of 5]

劳动节长周末读完Martin Lindstrom 的第二本书。这本书的见地很不错，直指当代企业冗余沉重、效率低下的诸多现实问题，是一个真正关注并有独立思考的专业人士良心作品。
作者对当下盛行的合规部持否定态度，和我的感觉也相似。他倡议的常识部也许适合尾大不掉的大型企业，应该是最后一剂不得已为之的大补药。实际上应该可以通过培养不同级别从”我”做起来改变企业文化，回归H2H的实干精神。

[Arne Vandenbussche · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is fun to read because in contains many funny anecdotes about stupid rules that exist in large organizations. Two reasons why these rules exist are a lack of empathy and fear. The lack of empathy is the inability to see a procedure from the viewpoint of a customer or an ordinary employee. Fear exists in organizations with too many hierarchical layers. Martin Lindstrom discusses various reasons, but these were my most important takeaways.

[Turnipboys]

While I definitely agree with the author's core sentiments and find his writing style to be quite entertaining (he is certainly a comedic voice!), I think that this book shouldn't be approached from a strictly "self help" perspective. It feels more like a sort of semi-autobiography wherein the author details past experiences he has attempting to help companies improve themselves, and then sort of collects little nuggets of wisdom or advice from these experiences to display to you, the reader.

However, as a reader who is just an average, bottom-rung, employee, this book feels a little strange in its approach to these techniques. There are definitely some practical, applicable things in the last chunk of the book (especially when discussing what a Ministry of Common Sense is and how to get one started in your own business) but this book is really more for bosses, department heads, and those with hiring/firing power than your average employee. It is interesting to read it and see how these types of people think (Lindstrom does a really good job of explaining how to approach things from the concept of saving money when pitching ideas like the Ministry of Business and also advises that you keep a "problems solved/accomplishments portfolio").

I think that if you someone without hiring/firing power, a lot of your personal strength and wellbeing can be better assured through unionization. In the end, this book is about how to make a COMPANY better (and profit), and while it attempts to assist employees and customers along that, it really leans into the capitalism perspective the entire time, which didn't really sit well with me. The author also goes on some strange tangents about how young people lack empathy these days, and technology is ruining society?? Some of the language and concepts seem very self-focused and honestly even ableist at times, just sort of entirely disregarding the fact that other people function in different ways (even openly mocking ADHD at one point). So that was also not a delight to read, despite Lindstrom being very very funny in his personal anecdotes about silly and bizarre company policies and regulations.

So yeah. I don't know that this really enhanced anything for me, to be honest. But I do like the idea of actually incorporating a real literal Ministry of Common Sense into companies as Lindstrom described.

[David Ferreira Alves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um livro com o dobro das páginas necessárias mas fundamental para acordar mentes e gestores.
A nisso inércia é o principio do fim. Devemos lutar ou incorporar. Aqui há uma receita para lutarmos e institucionalizarmos essa luta e transformação. Vamos tentar?

[Himanshu · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of those books for which the views would be very polarised. Admittedly, the title intrigued me. To be fair to the book, it does read like a progression of Dilbert series by Scott Adams. The author uses a lot of examples to highlight examples of stupidity or to put it mildly, less sensible initiatives/policies/processes in organisations. He talks about various ways in which a culture can be germinated wherein such energy sappers are routinely challenged, assessed and possibly done away with. While the premise of the book is good and the writing is very funny at places, the author is guilty of not having brevity in his writing. It looks like he wants to share his funny stories and then build up the matter around it rather than other way around. This book could have been covered in a long blog post or article instead of book but I guess publisher dictates had to be honoured. Some interesting nuggets which appealed to me are -

What many companies don’t realize is that their success has come about not because of but in spite of various entrenched habits, behaviors, rules, policies, and cultures.

When people start working inside organizations, something happens to them. They forget they’re human. They start adhering to rules, processes, procedures, and official and unofficial codes of behavior that make no sense to anyone outside the organization.

All across the world, “compliance” has become an excuse to protect the status quo and ensure organizations remain in place.

Sample some funnies.. To his credit , they are so brutally witty. One for the standard password requirements in organisation

Your password must be at least six characters long and contain one capital letter, two numbers, 1½ cups chopped onion, two tablespoons all-purpose flour, and six ounces of skinless, boneless chicken.

In my professional life I absolutely hate,detest, abhor senseless meetings so this line by author makes reading the whole book worth it

MEETINGS—AND POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS—can eat up close to 50 percent of our time when we work in a company.

In some companies, including Maersk, I’ve recommended banning PowerPoints altogether. Today, the company no longer uses them, except on rare occasions, conducting most leadership meetings through tight discussion, and when necessary, a pre-digested memo form no longer than five pages. Even Amazon follows this and we know how they are placed

Many people schedule and attend meetings because they’re afraid of being forgotten or overlooked. Meetings thus become a validation that what you do matters.

One interesting takeaway I got for organisations was -

So what’s your company’s word? Is it “responsive”? Is it “cool”? Is it “human”? Come up with a word—and claim it. If you chose the word “human,” aspire to be human in every one of your encounters and touchpoints, allowing “human” to guide every decision and initiative your company makes.
By choosing a single word (ideally one that has an edge), you are now obliged to “raise the bar,” to improve your work environment and customer interactions, while giving yourself a carte blanche mandate going forward to create a workplace where employees don’t have to check in for approval all the time.

So why not 5 * is something you may ask !! Well I think the content of the book could have been very easily compressed and communicated in lesser words. Also, the solution did not give me any aha moment with suggestions which would have eluded me had I been in charge in my organisation.

All in all a book which leaders of big enterprises should read to ensure their organisations still relevant and work force motivated.

[Jesse Nyokabi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I commenced reading this book on 27th July 2025 and completed reading it on 5th August 2025. I enjoyed reading this masterpiece book.

Stating that your goal is to "reunite companies and their employees with their common sense, empathy, and humanity" is quite an ambitious task.

Martin Lindstrom, the author of “The Ministry of Common Sense: How to Eliminate Bureaucratic Red Tape, Bad Excuses, and Corporate BS”, sees himself as an agent of organizational change. He aims to address issues such as corporate blindness and miscommunication, poor customer service, ineffective products, frustrating packaging, and a general lack of intuitiveness, both online and offline.

I was excited to hear Lindstrom discuss his "90-Day Intervention." This initiative focuses on encouraging everyone to implement a series of small changes that can lead to immediate positive results and involve all team members.

In a broader context, he advocates for the establishment of the proposed Ministry of Common Sense and encourages companies to set an expiration date for their ideas.

If a certain number of issues are not detected or resolved within six months, the company will abandon the entire concept. While the specific timeline and numbers are not as critical, the deadline itself is essential.

[Sanjeev Kotnala · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been a Martin Lindstrom fan. I have read most of his books and I frequently use examples, suggestions and learnings from Buyology, BrandWashed, Small Data, Brand Sense and Brand Child in my business. The two books by Martin Lindstrom that I am still to be read are ‘Clicks Bricks and Brands’ and ‘Brand building On The Internet’. So, it was natural for me to order his new book, ‘The Ministry of Common Sense’, when I came to know of it in one of the events held by Economic Times. Later, Martin Lindstrom’s session in the same event promised, the book will tell you how to restore common sense. It further enhanced the curiosity and an urge to read the book.

One understands, there are few companies with real Ministries with the sole purpose of cleaning the useless rules, regulations and day-to-day trivialities. Things that should not be there in the first place. That’s common sense by Martin Lindstrom.

More at https://sanjeevkotnala.com/the-minist...

[Yo Leo · Rating 1 out of 5]

En este texto del influyente consultor de negocios Martin Lindstrom, se habla de la importancia de la cultura empresarial después de la pandemia. El autor se esfuerza por dejar claro que es imperativo para los negocios actuales realizar esfuerzos para mantener entre los empleados de las grandes empresas una mente abierta al cambio. Lindstrom cuenta algunas de sus experiencias en diferentes compañías importantes alrededor del mundo.

El libro me pareció muy flojo y demasiado evidente. Los ejemplos son repetitivos, los argumentos vagos y con muchas impresiones personales que no están bien soportadas. No es necesario leerlo para saber que vivimos situaciones difíciles en el mundo que requieren una mentalidad flexible. Él menciona que es importante presionar los procesos de las compañías para pensar primero en los clientes y después en los públicos de interés (accionistas, gobiernos, competidores, entre otros), lo que implica roces y debates constantes entre una organización.

No recomiendo su lectura, leerán temas absurdamente evidentes.

[Brett Stevenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martin Lindstrom has done it again! As a Chief Marketing Officer I have always followed Martin’s work and he has been a source of inspiration for many of our most successful campaigns throughout the years. This book is very different than the previous ones, but the genius behind it is the same! I have been doing this job for so many years that a lot of procedures and processes became standardized, they have been established for so long that, naturally, no one even questions why they exist. The Ministry of Common Sense proves this is not the case. Change is ugly, especially for someone like me that has operated in a specific way for a long time, but truth be told if you want to stay above the game you need to change, especially in the marketing industry. Such a great book with a lot of valuable insights and easy to read, I highly recommend it.

[Dave Irwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book's first half was light and funny, although from the time we hit the tech chapter (chapter 5 I think it was), it starts to feel more like an "old man shakes at fist at cloud" book. I do like the idea of updating bureaucratic issues by removing rules that no longer make sense. I found the writing to be funny and the stories to be most interesting; although I think many of the stories repeat the same basic lesson, we need less red tape and "silly" rules in our day to day lives. I completely agree with this sentiment. A worthwhile book but I think it mostly works for those who belong to or run large companies. maybe one day it will be more applicable to me, but right now it is not. A book I would recommend to certain managers or exec level employees

[Mari McR · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was so excited to read this book and gain tips on how to make communications and changes at work more efficient and effective. Alas, the author spends 88% of the book whining austerely about the many inanities he encounters as a consultant for top companies and during his travels. If those very customers (the non-sensical companies author spends much of the book complaining about) were truly mired in their inanity, they wouldn't have called him in the first place, AND he wouldn't have a way to pay his bills.

The meaningful part of the book, that is how the create a Ministry of Common Sense and how to fight the inevitable challenges within a company, barely left a mark. Find another more informative book on how to spot and make necessary changes in your business.

[Elke Loos · Rating 2 out of 5]

I believe this book could’ve been a one-pager. For over 80% of the book the author is ranting about how bad, foolish and/or slow things can be in the corporate world. The book contains mostly personal anecdotes about nonsensical customs and habits in larger organizations. Examples which I, and probably most of us corporate employees, encounter almost everyday. No need to illustrate it all in such great detail. Sure, some stories were funny, the author certainly has a comedic voice. But to be honest, most were drawn out. The supposed-to-be-meaningful part of the book didn’t bring a lot to the table. When you finally get to the “practical” five-step guide, it only covers the 101, the pure basics of change management. Very disappointed by this one.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining read. I agree with most of it (e.g., the illusion of efficiency with technology, the way to the CEO's heart is in reducing cost). My fear is that in the wrong hands, it becomes a force for evil. You know, those who think they have common sense actually don't. Self-deception. You know, "get rid of all KPIs because this book say they're bad!"

I am not a big fan of the random approach of focus on everything, as I think that is chaotic to maintain. However, I am also afraid of over-engineering an approach (this is where the pseudo-common sense people ruin it). Somewhere in-between.

[Zola Ndlovu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about how to identify and get rid of the stupid rules that govern the way businesses run. We've all experienced the frustration of having to endure mindless bureaucratic processes to get something done - as employees and as customers - and that's exactly what makes this book relatable and relevant. I particularly liked the real life examples of businesses that established a "Ministry of Commonsense" and the practical application of the principles he shares. I did find some parts of the book to be ranty, and since the point of the book is how to eliminate the unnecessary, it could definitely have been shorter and as a result, more impactful.

[Maya · Rating 4 out of 5]

"When a Boy Scout shows off his achievements to his peers, it inspires them too.

If you've fixed, streamlined, or eliminated a common sense problem, make sure you celebrate your victory, giving credit where credit is due. Consider creating actual rewards for jobs well done- badges, ribbons, or other totems of success, virtual or real. Whenever possible, positively link the change you've made to an existing KPI. At meetings, consider asking employees who submitted a stupid rule or regulation to be changed or eliminated to discuss its origins and also what made them realize it shouldn't exist."

[Monique Prins · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept of this book is brilliant. But it reads more as a (sometimes very) entertaining anecdote of the author's experiences with nonsensical and bullsh#t rules and regulations within the various organisations he has worked with. Unfortunately, there isn't much meat in it when it comes to teaching us how to actually implement change and instil much needed common sense within our organisations apart from a dedicated chapter at the end and a few FAQs.

Check out my profile if you want to know how I rate my books.

[Peter Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s some really smart stuff in here, and it’s well worth reading. But why does the author/publisher highlight shit that we have either already read before or are just about read?
____________________________________________________________
But why does the author/publisher highlight shit that we have either already read before or are just about read?
____________________________________________________________
Annoying, right? Buy it, read it and ignore the big, highlighted bits (because we are not idiots).

[Prasad Kaushik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Martin Lindstrom’s ‘The Ministry of Common Sense’ chronicles bizarre rules, practices and the “invisible red tape” that surrounds employees and corporations. The Ministry of Common Sense is a funny and breezy read. While it does not reveal anything you didn’t know. It’s like that cup of coffee you got your hands on, sitting through a boring three-hour meeting. Read a detailed review and get the summary on my blog.

[Bettina Meléndez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was gifted this book as I am transferring from marketing to service design, and what a great gift it has been! It has some great insights, straight to the point and down to earth. The Ministry of Common Sense will make you smile, laugh out loud, nod heaps with approval and compile a list of things you would like to implement as soon as possible. A gem for everyone in any role within any organisation, please read it.

[Darya · Rating 5 out of 5]

It would be very funny if it weren't so sad.. Great book to read and have a laugh and think, think a lot about common sense. Very much to the point of what I think and notice, politely called as lacking common sense. This book should be read by all of us for a number of reasons starting with fun and hopefully leading to creating common sense in our personal and professional lives.

[المهند السبيعي · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have just finished reading this book,
I believe it should be a must to read book for any CX Practitioners.

And for any new joiuner at any company specially that they are going to have a fresh outsider games ... And they can play this rule before they get lost in the crowd and culture of the company ...

The book is full of stores and this make it even better.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of can't-help-but-watch trainwreck examples of crazy red tape, alongside a simple recommended approach that could work for any organisation. A good, solid read, asking the necessary questions, but I really feel for the poor un-empowered customer service person that gets Lindstrom at their counter!

[Tomás Atilano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesante y ligero libro para echar un paso atrás y darnos cuenta de las estupideces que a veces se aceptan en las empresas solo por no querer molestar a alguien, respetar políticas y no ponerse en los zapatos de otro.

Como siempre se dice el sentido común es el menos común de los sentidos y mientras más tengas en tu empresa más fácil y ameno será trabajar para todos.

[Rika · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book started out slow: common sense feels so common that why write a book about it.
But suddenly the examples the author brings hit home, a snowball effect happens and you realize how much we actually need common sense.
Interesting read and I would recommend it to anybody who has ever found themselves saying: "That's just how it is!"