delanceyplace.com 02/24/06 - common sense

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In today's excerpt - Ulysses Grant, one of the greatest generals and leaders in military history, is remembered for his common sense:

"Common sense—time and again observers used this term to describe Grant's approach to generalship.  There was no attempt to ape Napoleon or Wellington; no elaborate references to the exploits of legend; the general was just 'a plain businessman of the republic'...getting things done. 'Dash is handsome, genius glorious,' one officer remarked; 'but modest, old-fashioned, practical everyday sense is the trump, after all.'  Newspaper correspondent William Shanks agreed:  'His wisdom is that which results from a combination of common sense trained to logical reflection with practical observation.  He deals with all questions in a plain business-like manner, and in a systematic style, which enables him to dispatch a great deal of business in a very short time.' "