#8 Keep it simple
Most entrepreneurial success stories of our time are examples of someone who successfully simplified something.
But simplification is trickier than it seems.
Photo: Vector Stock
We often fail at creating simple and elegant solutions because:
1. Simple is hard. Making things less cluttered and less complicated requires more time, effort and courage.
As French philosopher Blaise Pascal once wrote at the end of a letter to a friend: "If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter."
2. Our complexity bias. We sometimes instinctively overlook simple solutions and lean towards the complex because they seem "smarter," more "competitive" and "complete." Read more about it here.
So how can we simplify to create attractive high-value solutions?
In the book Simplify, Richard Koch and Greg Lockwood unveil two guiding strategies: price-simplification and proposition-simplification.
A. Price-simplification
It consists of simplifying a product/service to cut prices by 50% or more.
This does not mean making "cheap" products. It's about rethinking the design and delivery of the product to allow higher volume and greater efficiency.
Photo: BluPrint
Think of IKEA, McDonald's, Ford Model T.
Companies that follow this strategy are regularly questioning:
What is the primary function of our products/services?
How can we cut costs?
What can consumers do without or do themselves?
How can we control more of the production process?
B. Proposition-simplification
It consists of making products/services more convenient and easy to use.
Because of the effortless joy it brings, consumers are willing to pay more.
Photo: PAUL SAKUMA/AP
Think of Uber, Apple, Dyson, Spotify.
Companies that follow this strategy are continually questioning:
How can our product/service be easier to use?
How can we be more useful?
How can we be more convenient?
How can we create a more beautifully designed experience?
The Takeaway:
Two strategies:
We can't have it all... and that is a good thing.
In the creative process, there will always be tradeoffs. Resist the urge to please everyone or jam all ideas into a product.
Learn to filter and prioritize initiatives based on your consumer's true needs.
We could all use more simplification.
We have too much stuff, meetings, emials, pressures, expectations, etc…
How can you apply the principles of simplification to your life?
What things can you eliminate and in what do you need to focus on?
Let me know what you think. Hit reply.
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Enjoy your weekend!
María Albert