What to do about complexity

There are few things business leaders unanimously agree on . Is cash king or total shareholder returns? Is growth always good or does it lead to reckless journeys in troubled seas? Is diversity critical for an all round view or overhyped wokeism that has had its day?

But I've never heard anyone ask for more complexity. It’s the bane of modern business life. Complexity is like inflammation in the body, it makes the joints vulnerable.

Complexity as an outcome of ’the long tail’ theory has left many companies with a ridiculously long list of products, many of which are unprofitable. Complexity as a result of regulation is the constant topic of conversation in banking. Complexity as a result of systems that don’t talk to each other is the purported explanation as to why change is so slow in insurance.

But here’s a different way to think about complexity. It’s your fault. I’m not a baker, but my daughter is. If we were both given exactly the same task by some master baker in the sky, say baking twelve choux buns of different sizes and colours, she would find it simple and I would find it complex. Complexity is the residual between the task and the skills of the person performing the task. I can’t bake so anything in the baking realm is complex. My daughter can bake so anything in that realm is a piece of cake (sorry, couldn’t resist).

Taking this perspective drives you towards reducing complexity by increasing skills. There’s two ways to do this. Place people in roles that suit them best and develop and enhance their skills.

The first route, placing people where their skills work best, is often stymied by organisational bureaucracy. Imagine your organisation has 20 things it has to get right to secure competitive advantage. Also imagine it has 20 senior leaders. What's the match up like? Are the right people dealing with the right priorities. Often not. Objectives are set a year in advance, budgets are sticky, the organisation simply can’t flex to ensure the right people are pointed at the right problem.

The second route interacts with the first. Whats the best way to build skills? Give people a big, stretching task and some support and they will learn on the job. Occasionally some training might be needed, but I wouldn’t start there. How much thought is given in your organisation to using the challenges to develop skills?

So next time you start moaning about complexity, think of the choux buns. After all, self reflection is the Loch Ness monster of leadership, often spoken about, seldom spotted.