The simplicity beyond complexity.
Oliver Wendell Holmes said many wise things, but perhaps none wiser than this:
I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity,
but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity.
Consider:
- We often like things to be simple-simple, because then they’re easy to understand.
- I’ve seen many smart people retreat to complexity as a shield for not knowing what they’re talking about, or else get stuck in complexity because it was easier than breaking free into the simplicity beyond.
- The most impressive minds I’ve ever encountered belonged to individuals who were able to explain the deepest topics in language shorn of all needless jargon and obscurity. They drew on a rich basis of knowledge to convey something simple in its exposition, but profound in its implications.
Now, think about your own business, your own expertise:
- Have you — or those around you — tended to oversimplify?
- Have you been basking in complexity?
- Have you shied away from working out the profoundly simple (richer, unsettling) implications of the way you work, of your company’s trajectory, of your career?
What next steps does this exercise suggest for you? Leave your thoughts in the comments, and later I’ll post my own thoughts.
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(Photo by Gaetan Lee.)
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As an IT Manager in the SMB space – I consider it crucial that I simplify – over simplify if necessary.
I consider it a failure if I cannot speak in the english language and in business terms – not geek speak.
It may take longer – it may take more effort – but it is an absolute requirement.
Was it not Mark Twain who said “I didn’t have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote a long one ….”
Most of my work consists of corporate efficiency training, a fair bit of which entails classroom presentations. I continually struggle to make the training as short — and simple — as possible.
The key efficiency concepts are so simple that they seem to require almost no explanation (for example, stop checking email). And yet, when I don’t devote enough time elaborating on these simple ideas, the message doesn’t penetrate.
Is there a category for simplicity on the far side of simplicity?
Elliot — The Twain quote is spot-on. As I’ve progressed in my career, I’ve increasingly come to believe that getting my point across is ALL my responsibility. Except for those very rare cases when I believe that a person willfully misses my point, I assume there’s always a better way for me to express myself so that I cannot be misunderstood.
Dan — I’m looking for that category, too! I wonder if a lot of your pupils have difficulty understanding not because of the complexity of the topic but because of their habituated / emotional connection to their current ways of being?
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What I would like to know is the context in which that quote on symplicity was said. I’m just not sure to understand what he means with “This side of complexity” and “the other side of complexity”, so I hope the context would help… And this is why I came here, looking for an answer to this question… If someone has more clues, thanks.