reflections : keeping it simple

A friend of mine in 12th grade was famous for?writing pages after pages during exams, alleviating the stress levels?of all of us around, while another one would always make sure to wrap well before time. More than often the later outscored the former.

Sounds familiar ?

As a little kid I was once left overawed when one of my lofty cousin explained what she had - barbecued?eggplant with sautéed onion, garlic, steamed green peas, roasted tomato, dollops of oil and sprinkled with coriander.?

The demystification happened several years later.

While ideating or problem solving, often?industry leading acronyms, terms and jargons are well celebrated, somewhat indiscriminately - lets take an ABCD approach to do a MNOP analysis using a PQRS methodology and XYZ technique.?

A serious web of mystique woven all around.?

Having walked this path many times, it is undeniable that while, all the complexities are?great?in their own merit and bring their own usefulness?and effectiveness, more than often they do not completely cross the threshold of being just an academic or theoretical.?

In a mid-career big ticket experience , under adverse conditions, where resources were less and time in hand was even lesser, came the big learning -

keep it simple!!

According to Merriam-Webster, keeping it simple means making something easy to understand or do, not going into too much detail, and sticking to the point.

The beauty and essence of simplicity is that it's easily?identifiable, relatable, communicable, measurable, decisive, replicable, resolvable and of course adorable!

Swim lane process?maps or complex architectural diagrams probably store a great deal of information, but a simple linear flow drives the message faster and?more effectively. My tech stack can have many boxes and lines and arrows, achieving many things through many milestones, but that complexity doesn't help in any way unless there is always a simple critical path that can connect with the end customer.?

The flow and flavour of any random average legal or policy document have always been of intrigue to me. So when I had the unique opportunity to handwrite (actually keyboard-write!) a bunch of policies for an organisation - Handbook, HR, Financial, Regulatory - the entire set, the mantra inevitably became to just keep it simple.?

That somehow was instrumental in laying the foundation of a rich org culture - but will save that story for later edition.

The best thing about Keeping it simple is that it is so simple to achieve.

Every intent has a core to it - the ultimate objective, if that is clear it's not so difficult to trim out the rest of the flab. Identify the core, stick with it!

Sometimes associating an analogy helps to make it relatable.

As a people leader in an organisation, we're mostly equipped with a lot of tools and guidance, to help us manage better, lead better, stay consistent. These tools do bring a great deal of executional value for sure. However, what's more important?and crucial is awareness of ground realities with people - that's the core.?

A simple and sincere (and regular) one on one connection does not have an alternative.?

A simple vision statement can propel wonders in a?transformation journey.?

But many a times we've seen vision statements so loaded and so well articulated, that it becomes a detailed action plan.?Actually, the UK Government's?Nuclear Industrial Vision Statement is..well.. 58 pages long!!

My lofty cousin probably mixed up the entire recipe?with the name of the dish, but a "baingan bharta" does need no introduction - as simple as that!

#reflections #keepitsimple