How can
you not love paradoxes? They're so funny. Simple is difficult. So
true!
This
short article is about Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton. Both
Pfeffer and Sutton are professors at Stanford University. But there
might be a problem. Being that I went to Cal, I guess I'm supposed to
hate the Cardinal.
On a
side note, in as much as we are about to enter college football
season, I can't help but make a funny observation. Berkeley and
Stanford are two of the most acclaimed academic institutions in the
entire world. They also happen to be rivals. Having been a student,
at Berkeley, I can tell you the two schools love to harass each
other.
The
funny thing is what they fight over. Here are two academic
juggernauts and what symbolizes their rivalry? A football game. It's
called the “Big Game” and it takes place in late fall. I consider
it a lesson learned. Sports always have been, and always will be,
more sexy than books. (Maybe I should "Sell Out" and change the subject
of my blog...)
At any
rate, back to the point of this post. Pfeffer and Sutton wrote a
great book titled The Knowing-Doing Gap. As you are probably
aware, in life, people know what they are supposed to do. But, often,
they don't do it. The easiest example would be diet. People know they
aren't supposed to be eating sugary snacks. But we do it anyways. I
digress.
What
Pfeffer are Sutton are concerned with is the knowing-doing gap in our
work lives. Being professors they usually work at the organizational
level. However, their advice is every bit as applicable to
individuals as it is to organizations.
One of
the barriers, to action, is complexity. Because they confuse people,
complex ideas, concepts, and plans encourage procrastination. A
confused mind tends to do nothing. For this reason it is usually a
good idea to keep things simple. The problem is people tend to think
that a successful outcome must be complicated and complex.
Here is
what Pfeffer and Sutton say, “Simple talk is valuable because it is
more likely to lead to action. It is difficult to dispute simple,
direct ideas. One may disagree with a simple idea or a simple
philosophy, but it is transparent at the outset. Second guessing and
finger pointing are largely precluded. Simple philosophies,
practices, and ideas are, ironically, more unlikely to be imitated by
outsiders and competitors. Since most organizations have strong love
for complexity, few will believe that a firm’s success is based on
such simple premises. Consequently, they may not even try to
implement what the successful organizations do.”
The
authors use the word “ironically” when they could have, just as
easily, used the word “paradoxically.” Paradoxes are ironic. And
irony is entertaining. What the authors are saying is that it is
possible to hide in plain sight. Hiding in plain sight is, in itself,
a paradox. And, the reason it works, is because people distrust
simplicity. So, often times, the answer you are looking for, can be
hiding right in front of your nose. It usually is.
A simple
strategy works better than a complex strategy. We know this
intellectually. However, something in our gut makes us suspicious. We
tend to think that hard things (and success is certainly hard) must
be complicated things. What we must learn is that hard and complex
and not necessarily synonymous. A thing can, in fact, be
simultaneously simple and difficult.
Herein
lies a paradox. People like to be effective. And, simple is more
effective. However, at the same time, people have a distrust for
simplicity. It's such a funny conundrum. What I have come to learn is
that humans tend to think, and behave, in predictable patterns. For
this reason, it's important to understand our tendencies.
When we
understand our tendencies we are able to manage them. We are able to
develop devices that help us get to where we want to go. I will end
with two mental devices that have been developed to counter this
human inclination towards complexity. You will probably recognize
both.
The
first one is slightly esoteric. It's called “Occam's Razor.” The
idea is named after a gentleman who lived in the village of Ockham,
England. To paraphrase Occam's Razor, it basically says that we
should always search for the simplest of explanations. Stated
differently, we should not permit of unnecessary complexity to
explain events. Keep in mind that William of Ockham was born in the
13th Century. Meaning, humans have been making this
mistake for a long time. For more depth, you can Google Occam's Razor
and find an interesting little article published by the math
department at the University of California Riverside.
The
other tool, that is useful to combat unnecessary complexity, is the
KISS principle. First uttered by Kelly Johnson, of the Lockheed Skunk
Works, KISS stands for “Keep It Simple Stupid.” Johnson was an
engineer and all too familiar with people's tendency to complicate
things. As you know, Lockheed creates military aircraft and this
makes the KISS principle very important. While at battle, and in the
field, mechanics need to be able to quickly repair aircraft.
Obviously, a simple design better lends itself it quicker, and
easier, repairs. Simplicity is, indeed, highly effective and
functional. When we're making things harder than they need to be, we
should remember to KISS ourselves.
A while
back I wrote this, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, post: Don't trust yourself. And, as I am
trying to convey, I think it's important that we understand our
tendencies. As weird as it may sound, rather than distrust
simplicity, we might want to distrust our instincts.
