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Why Simplicity Works
Simplicity helps people
work smarter. As
Bill Jensen1
puts it, "Simplicity works because it is based on human nature and common
sense,"
16 Ways to Avoid the
Hassle of Commercializing University Technology
By: Terry Collison
If you have a technology policy and a procedure, make sure
nobody in the university community actually understands what it is.
Complexity is good...
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Innovation
Innovation
is actually a very simple phenomenon.
Innovation is about Love:
do what you love to do
and love
your customers
...
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The Universal Problem
In today's era of
over-communication, the
avalanche of news about the rapid changes of modern life and management
issues is turning people off. "The universal problem seems to be how hard
people have to work just to figure out what to do. Task work has been
streamlined, but knowledge work has become more cluttered and confusing.
Making the right choices – fast, while everything is changing – is now the
toughest part of getting our work done." writes
Bill Jensen.1
Most management training teach you to deal with
every variable, seek out every option, and analyze every angle.
"Unfortunately, when you start spinning out all kinds of different
solutions, you're on the road to chaos. You end up with contradictory ideas
and people running in different directions. Simplicity requires that you
narrow the options and and return to a single path," says Jack Trout.
Case
in Point
General Electric (GE)
Jack Welch
summed up his prescription for winning in three words:
3Ss of Winning in Business
The Growing Avoidance of Complexity
The psychologist Dr. Carol Moog states that in
our culture, there's is a "paranoia of omission". There's a sense that you
have to cover all your options because you could be attacked at any moment.
You can't miss anything or it could be fatal to your carrer.2
This leads to maddening complexity. The best way to deal with these natural
fears is to
focus on the right problem. That's the power of simplicity.
Besides, people don't want to spent too much
time on thinking. By simplifying a complex issue, you are making it easier
for people make a decision faster, without too much thought.
Apply 80/20 Rule
to Your Business
"Because business is wasteful, and
because complexity and waste feed on each other, a simple business will
always be better than a complex business". To succeed in
managing change
and transforming your business by applying the
80/20 Principle you need to
demonstrate that simple is beautiful and why. Unless you understand this,
you will never be willing to give up underperforming 80% of your current
business and overheads. "The way to create something great is to create
something simple... Progress requires simplicity; and simplicity requires
ruthlessness," writes Richard Koch.6...
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Learning Power
In learning, we
want things fast, but we don't have time to study. "The world is changing so
rapidly that by the time we learn something, it has often changed in some
way, shape or form... We want satisfaction, proof that even though life is
moving quickly, we are gaining on it and we are
making a difference."5
Simple ideas from people who have done simple things and achieved great
results make this high-speed race more manageable. They enable you to get
started in small, immediate ways that make a difference, confident that you
will make progress if you take the initiative to
act.
Case
in Point
Colin Powell's 18 Leadership Principles
Great
leaders
are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate
and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand. The result? Clarity
of purpose, credibility of leadership, and integrity of organization...
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Case in Point
Konosuke
Matsushita
Henry Ford once
remarked that the smarter the engineer the more likely he was to say that
something couldn't be done.
Konosuke Matsushita,
Founder of Panasonic, had a similar idea about the connection between
knowledge and innovation: "We speak of the
shortcomings of the purely intellectual approach, but this refers to our
wariness of half-baked theories that can prevent us from proceeding to a
practical solution. If necessity is the mother of invention, then simple,
unaffected determination is its father. Even when everyone around you say
it's impossible, if you step back and rethink your task in the simplest
possible terms, free of the noise of over-erudite and preconceived notions,
often the solutions will come to you, out of the blue, so to speak." For
this reason, Matsushita's own lack of formal education was a blessing in
disguise, allowing him to see to the heart of problems free of the
constraints of academic or unsubstantiated ideas.8
Creating Clarity in
Your Workplace...
The Three Rules of Work...
The Four Powerful Questions...
Fast Decision Making...
Establishing Guiding Principles...
Unpacking Proposals...
Behave Like a Small Company...
Case in Point
Google...
Case in Point
Buffett's Teachings on
Investment...
Case in Point
Dell Computer Corporation...
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