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The Common Sense Way: A New Way to Think About Leading and Organizing
This is a book about "Common Sense," what it is, how to make it, and how to put it into practice across all contexts of leadership and life. Its also a book of story's from my leadership journey across continents, cultures, and contexts (e.g. combat, business, and government). In this book you’ll learn what I learned and what many other common sense leaders across the ages have learned before is "common sense"-How our brains "make sense" of what's going on around us-How to use common sense to motivate, inspire, and persuade-How to keep cool in a crisis and make sensible choices about what to do next-How to use common sense to select the best people and build the best teams-How to create a common sense of shared purpose and direction-How to Live, Learn, and Lead the “Common Sense Way.”
330 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 3, 2021
49 people are currently reading
175 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 24, 2022
I really enjoy Blaber's stance on leadership and he has some great anecdotes in here to learn from, but he unfortunately has a lot of flaws in how he communicates them and often draws conclusions from his own experiences that don't apply universally.
I would have given this 4 or 5 stars prior to the final chapter where he goes on a somewhat confused rant about hydroxychloroquine as the media suppressed solution to COVID and that COVID isn't actually that infectious, all of which basically ignores his own advice entirely to develop the situation and look at patterns to inform decisions.
The final flaw in his book, aside from his horrid use of quotation marks, that's hard to ignore is that many people THINK they are applying his "common sense way" in their analysis, and he provides no real way to contradict their flawed shared reality in his book. It just relies on the assumption that everyone will come the same conclusion if they just use common sense. I'd suggest that perhaps that's a failure to understand human rationality at a most basic level.
I would have given this 4 or 5 stars prior to the final chapter where he goes on a somewhat confused rant about hydroxychloroquine as the media suppressed solution to COVID and that COVID isn't actually that infectious, all of which basically ignores his own advice entirely to develop the situation and look at patterns to inform decisions.
The final flaw in his book, aside from his horrid use of quotation marks, that's hard to ignore is that many people THINK they are applying his "common sense way" in their analysis, and he provides no real way to contradict their flawed shared reality in his book. It just relies on the assumption that everyone will come the same conclusion if they just use common sense. I'd suggest that perhaps that's a failure to understand human rationality at a most basic level.
June 15, 2024
I enjoyed “The Mission, The Men, and Me,” but had a bad experience here. This book wasn’t good and then, at the end, Blaber went off on a tangent defending Donald Trump. He throws a lot of scientific material at the wall, along with very specific personal anecdotes, and acts as if he’s providing universal truths. However, I found very little for anyone to take from the book, especially if one has already read about leadership, institutional organization, and the military in general. Recommend reading almost any book by a Navy SEAL rather than this.
February 10, 2022
Enjoyed. Couldn't beat the magic of the 1st.
July 16, 2024
Interesting at times. He lost me in the last chapter when he went on rant on an impending asteroid metaphor, defending President Trump’s Covid response, attacking CNN and NY Times. I was waiting for him to nonpartisan and balance it with Fox News lies and January 6th but nope, never happened.
Just like how the conclusion paragraph is important to land the thesis of an essay so is the final chapter. If it doesn’t work then it can undermine the whole book. That is what happened here.
He also credits the American Revolution to solely Thomas Paine’s Common Sense. No denying the influence it had but it was published well after Bunker Hill, Boston Massacre, and the establishment of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. The common sense pamphlet wasn’t the spark that led to all these events as the book implies.
2 stars. I felt 3 stars would put this book in the average category and I typically recommend average books to people I think will like them.
But after sleeping on it, due to the last chapter and the attempt to connect his central thesis with patriot values that founded America, I can’t recommend this book. And that’s a pity because there are some good leadership examples and one lines. Unfortunately they are too few to outweigh the rant that is the last chapter.
Just like how the conclusion paragraph is important to land the thesis of an essay so is the final chapter. If it doesn’t work then it can undermine the whole book. That is what happened here.
He also credits the American Revolution to solely Thomas Paine’s Common Sense. No denying the influence it had but it was published well after Bunker Hill, Boston Massacre, and the establishment of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. The common sense pamphlet wasn’t the spark that led to all these events as the book implies.
2 stars. I felt 3 stars would put this book in the average category and I typically recommend average books to people I think will like them.
But after sleeping on it, due to the last chapter and the attempt to connect his central thesis with patriot values that founded America, I can’t recommend this book. And that’s a pity because there are some good leadership examples and one lines. Unfortunately they are too few to outweigh the rant that is the last chapter.
July 18, 2022
A woeful disappointment to The Men, The Mission, and Me, which I had found to be well worth reading. No succinct lessons and gripping stories here, just an overcomplication of that which has already been better said by others elsewhere. Painful reading with annoyingly unnecessary quotation marks and ultimately lacking in useful direction. Don’t waste your time.
May 14, 2023
Metaphors that don’t hold up, illogical “logic”, a super-inflated view of his own “common sense”, and a confused and inaccurate screed on COVID at the end of the book ruined this one for me. There are some good points made, but I’d suggest a book summary rather than putting yourself through this one.
November 19, 2025
Granted, I am not a 'military person' and have no military experience. That said, I feel like this book should have been at least 200 pages less than it was. Although parts of it were interesting, I found it to be tedious and overly repetitive. I skipped over large swaths of pages and never completely finished it.
August 16, 2021
Enjoyed the author’s newest book. Leadership principles and common sense solutions...well researched, and accented with his experience. The concept of Common Sense leadership fits very well with business agility.
August 31, 2021
Good for all people to read.
This was a great book on examining how people think these days versus previous times. There is a crisis in current common sense thinking. No one does it anymore. This book should be required reading.
This was a great book on examining how people think these days versus previous times. There is a crisis in current common sense thinking. No one does it anymore. This book should be required reading.
August 14, 2023
Would have been 5 stars, but got kinda weird at the end. Interested to see if his next book is going to be the completion of some manifesto… interesting for rethinking, but worth considering at various scales (not all of which are discussed or evaluated). Good read, though.
June 15, 2021
Fantastic
I thoroughly enjoyed the return of Panther to the written world of leadership and situational awareness principles, that are simple to understand and simple to apply.
I thoroughly enjoyed the return of Panther to the written world of leadership and situational awareness principles, that are simple to understand and simple to apply.
November 6, 2021
Loved the book, the insights on leadership, and his services to our country.
However, I don’t agree with his world view of evolution.
However, I don’t agree with his world view of evolution.
August 16, 2023
Not as good as MMM, but still a few great chapters and solid lessons.
November 1, 2023
3.42 overall rating; definitely not as good as mission, men, and me. Some good concepts i liked, but not as hard-hitting/life-changing
November 6, 2023
Very actionable leadership points with great life stories to back them up.
March 8, 2022
Awesome insight
Another "slam dunk" by Pete Blaber. My sincerest hope is that young military readers read this book and take grasp of the knowledge. After 2 decades of war and too much political crap, our combat vets are leaving the service. Without tools like this, there is no one left to pass on critical knowledge. Unfortunately, we have not seen the end of war. READ THIS leaders, and be better for it!
Another "slam dunk" by Pete Blaber. My sincerest hope is that young military readers read this book and take grasp of the knowledge. After 2 decades of war and too much political crap, our combat vets are leaving the service. Without tools like this, there is no one left to pass on critical knowledge. Unfortunately, we have not seen the end of war. READ THIS leaders, and be better for it!
June 2, 2024
It is one of the best leadership books I've ever read. If not for the last chapter which went off into a slightly rambling direction, I would give it a 5/5.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews