Sapere aude – The Courage to Use Your Own Mind in Consulting
“Sapere aude” — have the courage to use your own understanding.
The phrase is old, nearly two and a half centuries.
And yet, in modern consulting it feels surprisingly current.
Because although knowledge is available at any moment, although frameworks, methods and “best practices” are everywhere, one thing has become rarer:
the courage to think for oneself.
Why thinking has become risky in consulting
Consulting today is highly standardised.
There are established delivery models, proven templates, internationally accepted methods.
That creates a sense of safety — for consultants and for clients.
At the same time, it creates a subtle danger:
responsibility for thinking is outsourced.
It is no longer the consultant who thinks, but the model.
No longer the situation that is understood, but the situation that is “classified”.
No longer the question, “What is actually happening here?”
But rather: “Which framework does this fit into?”
Frameworks begin to replace judgement.
Sapere aude does not mean: always knowing better
Using your own mind does not mean ignoring experience, methods or knowledge.
It does not mean reinventing everything.
Sapere aude means something else:
Not handing away responsibility for your own judgement.
A senior consultant is not defined by how many models they can name,
but by knowing when a model helps — and when it gets in the way.
Consulting needs judgement, not only rulebooks
Many consulting situations are not clear-cut.
They are contradictory, politically charged, historically grown.
In such situations, rules help only to a point.
What is required is judgement.
Judgement grows out of:
- experience
- observation
- reflection
- and a willingness to take responsibility
Using your own mind means not hiding behind methods.
It means taking a position — calmly, with reasons, and in a way that others can follow.
The courage to say no — even to best practices
An underestimated part of Sapere aude in consulting is the courage to say no.
No to a method that does not fit this context.
No to a process that is formally correct but practically ineffective.
No to activity that merely creates movement.
This courage is uncomfortable.
It may provoke resistance.
It makes you easier to challenge.
And that is precisely where professional integrity begins.
Why clients can feel this courage
Clients often cannot judge in detail which method is “correct”.
But they can immediately sense whether someone is thinking.
They sense:
- whether someone truly listens
- whether relationships and context are understood
- whether answers come from experience or from slides
Sapere aude does not show up in big words.
It shows up in calm, clear statements.
In questions that reach the core.
In recommendations that do not feel interchangeable.
Using your own mind means showing professional stance
In the end, Sapere aude is a question of stance.
A stance that says:
“I use methods — but I will not be used by them.”
“I know standards — but I still think.”
“I take responsibility for my judgement.”
In a consulting world full of noise, speed and ready-made answers, this is not a small ambition.
It is a quiet, demanding path.
Conclusion: Sapere aude as a quiet mark of quality
The courage to use your own mind is not a heroic act.
It is quiet.
It shows up in everyday work.
In the decision not to react immediately.
In the willingness to think a little longer.
In the ability to tolerate uncertainty.
Sapere aude is therefore not a philosophical quote for Sunday speeches.
It is a very practical measure of good consulting.
