Simple is Better

Simple is better. You know it. So why is your office so complicated? When was the last time you spent more than 2 minutes searching for that all important file? Is it with the pending contracts, or with the customer files, or maybe its in that pile on the edge of the desk. What about the contract you just handed to your customer? Does it really need to be 15 pages long, include paragraphs about "indemnification" and require a Juris Doctrate to understand? And how long did you spend explaining it to your customer?

Simple is better! You know it! But simple is harder.

After spending years working with and consulting for government agencies, universities and non-profit organizations, I came to understand the reason why processes, contracts and filing systems become overcomplicated.

1. Complicated contract place the burden of understanding on to the customer.
2. Complicated systems and processes (including filing systems) take less thought and time to establish.
3. The more complicated our processes are, the less likely we are to have to own them.

Let me give you and example. Several years ago I met an administrative assistant who attended a workshop, sponsored by her organization. The workshop was all about creating well-organized filing systems for the office. The key component to this system was the inclusion of a file "directory" to be housed in a red folder in the top drawer of the cabinet. This directory served as the key to finding where a file was located. When a file was added to, or permanently removed from the cabinet, the directory was updated. Additionally, any files removed from the cabinet for usage, were signed out by the user, and signed back in upon return.

Does this sound familiar? It should sound ridiculous! And how successful was this system? I checked the files two months after it had been implemented, and the directory was clearly outdated, sign in's and out's were not happening, and the stack of "to be filed" files had grown to an astronomic number. Why? The system was too complicated.

David Allen (Getting Things Done) writes that if a system is too complicated, or has too many steps, users of the system will avoid using it. If processing takes more than 2 minutes, the process is too long.

Another Example - Last month I was met with a Convention Center and had the opportunity to review their pricing strategies. I've been in the business for 15 years now and have a pretty good understanding of various price structures. In fact, I would say that I have a better knowledge than most of the average consumers. Fair enough? I spent 20 minutes trying to understand the "matrix" of options and packages the convention center was offering to their potential clients. To this day, I still don't understand it. If I don't understand what I am getting, what are the chances their customers do? And if the customers don't understand, the customer isn't buying. The Convention Center has placed the burden of understanding squarely on the shoulders of their customers.

1. Handle things once and only once.
2. Have one and only one filing system.
3. Keep contracts short and free of legalese. If you have to explain it, revise it.
4. Simple packages are good for customers. Matrices of choices are bad for customers.
5. Revise.....Revise.....Revise
6. Remember, you are not your audience.
7. Simple is better......ALWAYS!

Eric Tompkins
Tompkins Event Consultants