The natural tendency in all human activities is to increase the
complexity of the procedure. But all progress in human activities,
in science, technology, medicine, business, sales, marketing,
and in every other area, comes from simplifying the
process.
The first computer filled a warehouse and consumed as
much electricity as a small town. Today, a handheld computer
or PalmPilot has a hundred or a thousand times the comput-
The Principle of Simplicity—Take the Direct Approach
ing power of that first Univac computer and is operated by a
pair of AA batteries. The simplification of computing capability
has been nothing short of miraculous in the last couple of
decades.
Many surgeries used to require cutting open the human
body, often scissoring through entire bone structures. Today,
the most sophisticated surgeries can be conducted with small
tubes inserted through tiny openings that leave imperceptible
scars.
What used to take entire accounting departments with
hundreds of people and tons of paper can now be done
quickly and efficiently with small desktop computers. The
movement toward simplification continues every day.
The Law of Complexity says, “In any process or procedure,
the complexity of the activity increases by the square of the
number of steps in that activity.” This is my own personal discovery.
But it proves to be true in virtually every field of human
endeavor.
Complexity may be defined as “the potential for additional
costs, mistakes, or time in the achievement of the goal.” The
more steps there are in any process, the more likely it is that
the time to complete the process will increase, the cost of completing
the process will go up, and the number of mistakes
made in completing the process will multiply.
A job as simple as putting together a brochure or arranging
an advertising campaign can have a complexity factor of five or
ten. Most government activities have a complexity factor of ten
or more.
This means that the potential time required, the
potential number of mistakes possible, and the potential cost
of one of these complex tasks can be outrageous. This complexity
factor explains how we get $700 hammers and $2,500
toilet seats in the Department of Defense. Every standard and
regulation was followed, but because of the complexity
involved, the costs were horrendous!
You must be continually alert to ways to reduce the number
of steps in any process of work or goal achievement.
Become extremely sensitive to any process that is complicated,
knowing that the potential time, cost, and number of mistakes
can be enormous. Simplify, simplify, simplify.