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According to Steve Jobs, “Simple can be harder than complex: you have to work hard to think clearly and make it simple.” It seems obvious that simplicity helps a company succeed. And yet, it's surprisingly difficult to achieve.
When simplicity is such a challenge, you need to be intentional about it. That's why many successful companies prioritize simplicity as a value. Ikea's focus on simplicity is evident in its designs, its catalog, its shopping experience, and more. One of Nike's 11 management maxims is “simplify and go,” with teams focused on adapting quickly to new technologies and fashions.
I believe that simplicity is a driver for brilliant innovation. In fact, my journey as an entrepreneur started with the idea of simplifying a complex and bureaucratic process. Today, the success of that idea has created new challenges. We serve millions of customers in over 100 countries with many different needs – to meet them all, we would need a lot of different features. So we need to find the simplest ideas that improve the experience for the largest number of users.
Related: Why you should embrace simplicity as a strategy (and 3 ways to do it)
Simplifying innovations is a recipe for success
Some people believe that to be an entrepreneur you have to create breakthrough technological innovations, but in fact there is a lot of room for innovation based on new technologies, simplifying them and packaging them for specific use cases.
When you think of two of the technology giants of our time, Google and Apple, it's fair to say that neither invented their core technologies. Apple wasn't the first company to develop a home computer or a mobile phone, and Google wasn't the first company to develop a search engine. They made existing innovations simpler and easier to use, and that was a recipe for success.
This is especially relevant right now, in the midst of a revolution driven by generative AI. There are definitely tremendous opportunities in developing new AI-driven technologies, but there are even more opportunities in finding ways to package these technologies into user-friendly software for specific use cases.
To do this, you must first master the technology and then put yourself in the shoes of your potential user. Try to understand what is really useful about the innovation and what obstacles people might have to overcome when using it.
The key is to find a way to simplify the technology so that it is easier for your target users to understand and use. If you do that, you have a winner.
Work smarter by simplifying communication
Another aspect of any business where simplification is extremely important is communication and processes. As companies grow, it becomes more difficult to get everyone on the same page or ensure continuity between departments. Poor communication leads to misunderstandings, which in turn can lead to mistakes. The more people involved in a project, the more likely it is that workflows will become more complicated. All of this slows things down, wastes time, and limits your ability to influence the business.
Let's start with communication. Using consistent, simple language across the company is crucial to helping people understand each other. For example, try to use less technical jargon and fewer three-letter acronyms, or explain them when you do. By creating organized archives of historical documents and plans, you'll make it easier to onboard new employees, and everyone will be able to find important information quickly when they need it.
Create a culture of transparency where different departments share their plans with each other. Create frameworks to facilitate this, such as quarterly reviews or providing roadmaps. Employees can't actively participate in everything that happens in the company, but by helping everyone participate passively, you ensure that everyone is on the same page and can encourage ideas and collaboration between teams.
When you need to communicate, encourage your teams to do so as directly as possible. By simplifying communication and making it easy to understand, discussions are more focused and decisions are made faster.
Related topics: The key to effectively communicating important messages is simplicity
Put simplicity at the heart of your product
A simplification mindset can also be applied to product development. By making small incremental changes, sometimes with test groups of users, you can use the “inspect and adapt” method to understand their acceptance and any problems and continue to innovate accordingly. From time to time, you can combine all of these small changes into one big product update that you roll out to everyone.
Example: A company added significant value to its product through new features and versions. In theory, this was great for users, but some found the interface overwhelming and the new pricing options confusing. To use a metaphor, some people are happy to be given ingredients for their own meal, but most would prefer the chef to do the cooking so they can enjoy the end result.
After understanding this through their feedback, the company introduced a change to its interface that helped users achieve the desired end result without having to work hard for it themselves. By simplifying it, the company maximized the impact of the value of all the new additions to the product.
Related: Keep It Simple: Why Simplicity Is Key to Your Brand's Success
Richard Branson once said, “Any fool can make something complicated. It's hard to keep things simple.” Simplicity doesn't happen by accident – you have to be intentional about it. You have to make it clear and the focus for the whole company. You have to put it at the center of everything. And if you succeed, the impact will be enormous.
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