We live in a complex world. We are challenged by missing signposts in streets, haphazardly numbered houses and offices premises which drive us nuts. Then we deal with onerous bureaucratic rules, making our business inefficient. We are forced to listen to rambling speakers (way out of topic), wasting our time. We observe non-collaborative states giving easy asylum to each other’s criminals, making it harder for us get justice. We are forced to read long and complex emails, which consume a large amount of our energy, decreasing our productivity. We invent new technologies to resolve problems but end up creating more of it than we solve. It seems that “simplicity” is very hard to achieve, but the principles enabling it are not at all complex. Let’s discuss.
Conviction
In order to be simple one needs to put real efforts but most don’t like to, thereby making things complex. For example, we all know that to summarize complex ideas in simple words is very hard, as it requires a lot of practice to decide what to include and what to leave out. Similarly, it is extremely difficult to keep a speech/presentation simple and effective. One has to prepare hard for it. Shorter the speech/presentation, the harder one has to prepare. Those who don’t, digress — losing the attention of the audience.
Creativity
Lack of vision makes things complex, as one ends ups doing things incrementally — destroying one’s ability to scale. In the short run, such practice might help but in the long run, it may turn out to be very costly and time-consuming. As it destroys the structure of the working model, thereby making it impossible for us to expand and grow. The examples are poorly planned cities, taxation rules etc.
Competence
There is a saying, “essence of knowledge is simplicity”. To be simple one needs to have a deep understanding of subjects that he is practicing. Shallowness leads to babbling, resulting in imperfect solutions — making it much harder for us to manage problems.
Collaboration
Complexity is a result of lack of collaboration between working entities, each trying to do his own thing. This destroys the much-needed synergy between them, making the overall situation very difficult. For example, to set up a business one has to deal with various government departments which function in silos — significantly increasing transnational costs.
Compassion
The absence of compassion drives greediness thereby making situations very complex. As it promotes “self-indulgence” and encourages us to do things intended to promote only our narrow interest, divorced from others. The examples are excessive self-promotion, unethical competition, taking someone’s credit etc.
Consistency
To be simple one needs to maintain consistency. Randomness prevents the mind from internalizing the activity for easy execution. It decreases productivity by driving us in situations which are difficult to manage. It increases the risk of transacting business, as we cannot be sure of the upcoming rules, thereby eroding investor confidence.
Candidness
This is the biggest reason for complexity in our lives. Life can be far more simple if we are candid (honest) with each other. We tend to hide things from each other with an intention to either cheat or gain competitive advantage. This prevents us from trusting business partners and companies — greatly enhancing transnational cost. Actually, some platform businesses (like Airbnb, Uber etc) have scaled disproportionately by creating tools, like rating systems, which significantly boost the confidence of the participating stakeholder. Sometimes lack of trust also results in costly and long legal battles in the courts for issues which are silly and could have been easily resolved if the parties involved were candid and honest.
Complexity drives randomness and uncertainty, whereas simplicity promotes certainty and clarity — resulting in enhanced productivity and growth. It is strange that some promoters of businesses, even with all the resources in hand and the power to hire the best talent, have chosen to be complex in their dealings than being simple, thereby destroying huge value and wealth. They do not seem to learn from history, which has proven beyond doubt that fairness in corporate governance is the only way to create wealth in the longer term (one can point to many examples). But the lack of confidence in one’s ability, the urge to make a quick buck without wanting to put a proportionate effort, seems too enticing to resist — making the world really a complex place for all of us to reside.
