Simplify!

“We struggle with the complexities and ignore the simplicities.” Norman Vincent Peale

I once planted a $5 shrub in a $50 hole and marveled at how quickly it grew. It was planted in fertile ground, received lots of sun and was watered regularly. But a few years later it had lost its original shape, its vibrant color and it had stopped growing. I had ignored the shrub, taking for granted that it would continue to grow despite being burdened with a complex tangle of dead and dying branches. So, to save the shrub (and myself from digging another $50 hole) I used a very simple tool, trimmed it to a few core branches and the shrub experienced an amazing growth spurt.

As with any living organism, when an organization grows it’s faced with ever increasing levels of complexity. How many times have you found yourself longing for the days when things were simpler, more relaxed and easier? Dan Sullivan, President and Founder of The Strategic Coach, says “No further progress or growth is possible for an organization until a new state of simplicity is created.”

There was a recent article by Drake Bennett in the Boston Globe about “cognitive fluency” which is simply a measure of how easy it is to think about something. Not surprisingly, people prefer things that are easy to think about to those that are hard. So, people develop shortcuts to help them focus limited mental resources in a world where they’re constantly bombarded with things that demand their attention. Researchers point out that the brain is suspicious of difficulty. So, for people to have faith and confidence in us as leaders we must make ourselves easier to understand. We must examine and simplify everything that we ask our people to do.