People are amazing and do wonderful and great things, yet can be strange and do unfathomable things. The ingenuity employed in some inventions can leave one utterly dumbfounded. Sometimes I look around and marvel at the incredible thought behind some creative works and wonder how such thoughts were turned to tangible products. On the other hand, one can equally marvel at the depravity of human beings considering the vile things some commit. We tend to complicate life rather than pursuing and maintaining simplicity. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 30 August 2023.

Simplicity is often overlooked in the world of business, yet it is the key to success. When we strip away the layers of complexity, we can find the heart of the problem and develop a simple solution.

Of all the things, I marvel at how almost everyone wishes to make life easier for themselves, yet their actions tend to point to the opposite. Businesses, despite their size, strive to maximise profits and doing so through various means including selling more, increasing prices, reducing quantities or features while prices remaining the same or simply reducing costs. Yet, when one looks closer, one can easily find many contradictions, leaving one wondering if simplicity is not a consideration and an everyday focus by many in business to attain those revenue targets and cost reductions. Simplicity seems easy to attain yet becomes hard to achieve especially if considered after the fact.

Simplicity ought to be the focus always in the business just as changes made to a solution are subject to the review of their impact on the business and other solutions before being implemented. So should questions about simplicity be asked. Left unchecked, the result would be complexity that would be difficult to untangle later. Understandably, it is difficult to foresee the evolution of a solution because the unpredictability of life and reality dictate that adaptations be made.

However, instead of just expanding the solution such that it has grown so much and has become too complex to be simplified necessitating that a new solution be pursued, deliberate questions ought to be asked to seek confirmation about simplicity. That way, one would be getting the mindset within the organisation to be focused on ensuring simplicity than only on solving a problem. It would force solutions to problem to also answer the key question about simplicity.

Maintaining simplicity is key in business because complexity can be detrimental in an organisation. Notable adverse effects of complexity being difficulties of introducing change, maintaining and supporting the solution; costs of and quantum of resources consumed by the solution; the impact on the availability of experienced technical skills required to maintain such solutions; and sometimes the inadvertent creation of single points of failure in resources.

The more complex a solution is, the more it will cost to develop and implement. The undesirable effect of complexity is resultant increase in time to market. Complexity slows the development process resulting in the business taking longer to get a product or service to market. Elimination or avoidance of these issues through the pursuit of simplicity immediately results in benefits accruing to the business. Simplicity also increases and improves the quality, availability, stability, performance and adoption of solutions. It lowers costs by making solutions less expensive to develop and implement. It shortens time to market because a solution can be developed and implemented more quickly, allowing businesses to get to market faster. It increases efficiency by making it easier to use and understand the solution leading to increased efficiency and productivity. Greater customer satisfaction can be attained from the pursuit of simplicity because customers often prefer simple, easy to use and understand solutions.

Though in hindsight opportunities for simplification can be identified, its pursuit can also mean experiencing some delays in the delivery of solutions. Sometimes organisations find it easier just adding onto existing solutions than subjecting them to reviews that could cause them to be reengineered. Considering the ingenuity of human beings, instituting that all modifications to solutions should show options for maintaining their simplicity can be one way of avoiding costly reengineering later. Reengineering stems from organisations considering simplicity mainly when solutions have gone far down in complexity and have become difficult to maintain. Even if organisations may prefer implementing new solutions when it has become too difficult to change existing and complex solutions, new solutions cannot easily and readily replace old ones.

Because of the complexity, new solutions become additions rather than replacements for old ones, resulting in rapid rise in costs of owning and maintaining those solutions. Other impediments to simplicity include the fear of change, bias in favour of complexity, lack of resources and pressure of delivery.

Fear of change occurs when others in the organisation resist change preferring to stick with the status quo because of the familiarity and predictability of approaches and outcomes. Complexity bias occurs when others in the organisation believe complexity is necessary for success, particularly in “locking-in” customers to prevent them from switching easily to competitors. Businesses can sometimes lack resources to implement simplicity or pursue simplification. Pressure to deliver can make it difficult for the organisation to overcome the momentum of an existing complex system.

Though looking in from the outside things may not be as they seem from afar, Apple, IKEA, FlySafair and Toyota are examples of companies pursuing simplicity in their strategy and operational activities. For example, Apple’s clean and uncluttered designs of their iPhone and iPad represent the company’s pursuit of simplicity and intuitiveness in those products. IKEA, as a furniture retailer, is known for its simple and affordable products. FlySafair, like its international counterpart in Southwest Airlines, is known for its simple and efficient operations. Though some may dislike the design of Toyota vehicles, the manufacturer has stuck to their formula of producing simple and reliable vehicles. The vehicles offer little customisation and avoid using sophisticated “bleeding edge” technology.

Simplicity is not just a nice-to-have in business, it is essential for success. Companies, like those mentioned above that have embraced simplicity have been rewarded with increased efficiency, lower costs, increased sales and profitability and greater customer satisfaction. While it may not be easy to overcome the challenges of implementing simplicity, the rewards are worth the effort.

If you want to be successful, better keep it simple!