Simplicity is an advantage.

I’ve been thinking about this idea of simplicity in business for years now. Following this bouncing ball, right?

• Many people in your office want to tell you how busy they are
• In some ways, “being busy” is the cultural currency of the modern age
• The problem is: busy doesn’t mean the same thing as productive
• Organizations are ultimately judged on some degree of actual productivity, as are individuals

At the same time you’ve got this clash between simplicity in business and everyone wanting to be busy all the time (to showcase how relevant they are), you’ve got this other clash between “logic” (process!) and “emotion” (human beings!). We want to set up workplaces as logical, so we throw heaps of process at almost everything. Business process, though, tends to bury results. Why is that? Humans are emotional creatures, so they respond to emotional triggers — not always process-driven ones.

At this four-way stop of simplicity in business, the Temple of Busy, the need for process and humans wanting to cry when their boss is a wanker … could we find a strategic advantage?

Simplicity in business: Some research!

This is from Stanford University (vetted brand name) and combines work from the School of…