Simplicity Practices Everyone Should Adopt in the Workplace

The chief economist of the World Bank, Paul Romer, was reportedly sidelined partly due to staff push back against his demands for them to write more succinctly. Romer was frustrated with the dense, convoluted style of many of the research department’s reports. He pushed researchers to write more clearly, using the active voice to be more direct. A 2015 study by Stanford University’s Literary Lab found World Bank publications seemed almost to be “another language”. The study coined the term “Bankspeak” to describe report styles becoming “more codified, self-referential, and detached from everyday language.” Romer used the analogy of a knife to emphasise the importance of focus in the Bank's reports, saying they had "to be narrow to penetrate deeply".

The challenge is that simplicity is actually harder to achieve than complexity.

"I have made this letter longer than usual, only because I have not had the time to make it shorter" - Blaise Pascal

When I recently asked a group in a training session to describe the Sydney Opera House in two paragraphs, most found this to be a relatively straightforward exercise. However, when asked to describe the Sydney Opera House in two short sentences, most found this more challenging.

The late Steve Jobs spoke about the challenge of simplicity.

So what is meant by simplicity?

In a professional context, there are two relevant definitions:

(1) easy to understand or do

• "For the sake of simplicity, our presentation today will focus on just one solution."
• "The advantage of the plan is its simplicity."
• This is all about clarity, coherence, comprehensibility, directness, and accessibility. It is the opposite of complexity and intricacy.

(2) plain or uncomplicated in design

• "The elegance and simplicity of this solution"
• This context is about unprentiousness and the absence of embellishment. It is the opposite of fanciness, pretentiousness and affectation.

However, simplicity does not mean dumbed down. We have all heard the advice: "explain this so that a five year old may understand it". While the intention is sound, in reality we must avoid over simplication.

Simplicity grasps the essence or core and thus organizes what is apparently complex. It requires a sophistication because it is often only after understanding the complexities and subtleties of reality that the true elegance of simplicity can be attained. Leonardo da Vinci claimed that "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication".

Why is simplicity so important in the professional workplace?

Simplicity is the shortest path to a solution. It allows us to focus on the core message - no distractions; no deviations.

In communication, simplicity helps us to be understood and helps the message to be remembered.

Much of our success in professional life depends on our ability to focus on the right priorities. Simplicity - or the stripping out of unnecessary complexity - provides more clarity and focus.

Perhaps one of the most important benefits for business is that simplicity makes purchase decisions easier for our customers.

Research conducted by the Corporate Executive Board in 2012, defined "customer stickiness" as the likelihood to follow through on an intended purchase, buy the product repeatedly, and recommend it to others. They found that by far the biggest driver of stickiness is “decision simplicity” or the ease with which decision makers can gather trustworthy information about a product and confidently and efficiently weigh their purchase options. [from To Keep Your Customers, Keep It Simple - Harvard Business Review, by Patrick Spenner and Karen Freeman]

Having to decide between multiple factors is taxing on our brains. This phenomenon is referred to by Psychologists as "decision fatigue". Customers who suffer from decision fatigue are less loyal to a brand because they aren’t confident in their decisions and may change their mind several times during the buying process.

How can we adopt simplicity in the workplace?

The first thing to note is that it is up to you - something is simple or complex depending on the way you choose to describe it. Idea: ask a colleague “can you please review my work for simplicity.” This will help you hone your simplification skills over time.

Here are some specific suggestions

1. Think clearly, and then communicate clearly – Spend preparation time up front to clearly establish what you are trying to achieve (the objectives), then story board your presentation on paper.
2. Strip out - focus on things that are most important and disregard things that are least important. Less is more: communicate less, while saying more. Rather than trying to achieve this in one step, start wide (brainstorm stage) and narrow down through re-drafting.
3. Structure your presentation clearly – e.g. Why, How, What (Simon Sinek); 3 steps; etc.
4. Structure your slides simply – simple language; clear visual layout; uncluttered / good use of whitespace; "so what" in title; removing the extraneous to reveal the essence.
5. Use simplicity communication techniques – e.g. easily relatable real world analogies; story telling; repetition (tell them what you’re going to tell them, then tell them, and finish by telling them what you just told them).

As mentioned earlier, simplicity is surprisingly difficult. You may have to progress gradually toward many of the approaches listed above to prepare yourself for simplicity.

The rewards will be well worth the effort.

I'm a Employer Brand Consultant with LinkedIn, based in Sydney, Australia. I post articles mostly focused on Employer Branding, Content Marketing and LinkedIn Strategies. 

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