I think a bigger problem with HF courses is that we don't walk away from them having learned something about ourselves.
Keg - this line here is what I see as the crux of this issue.
I see CRM training as similar in many ways to Sexual Harassment/EEO training (which almost every employer is required to provide these days). What it seeks to do is change a person's behaviour/attitude - something that simply can't be achieved in a 1-2 day per year training cycle. Consequently, people who have basic attitude to treat people fairly and equitably sit through the lectures nodding their heads. Others who are in fact the problem walk out saying "What a load of crap" and continue to treat other people poorly.
If CRM is a complete waste of time that can be simply marked down to "common sense", why do I continue to fly with people who demonstrate poor CRM skills? Who think that CRM is something you have to start worrying about once the caution light comes on? I'll refrain from expanding this into one of my essays on leadership, but my point is this: While common sense plays a big role in decision making and CRM, people who nail every aspect of good CRM from flight planning to shutdown are surprisingly uncommon.
People who have a good approach to all this will continue to nod their heads in CRM training and attempt to take something away to improve themselves - they understand that leadership is something they will never perfect and will always look for new ideas on the subject (be they academic or practical). The rest will continue to shake their heads and say "What a load of crap" whilst believing they have it all squared away. If I could come up with a training system to change that attitude in a time/cost effective manner - I'd be making millions! Stay tuned!
Icarus
If you've read this post and thought "What a load of crap", don't worry about it and just do like Kegs says - don't fly tired.