What is simplicity?
- Simplicity is the virtue of removing the extraneous to reveal the essence.
- Simplicity is the direct alignment with reality and it is the opposite of false and its various manifestations including pretension, prevarication, bloviating, masquerading, exaggeration, denial, grandiloquence, falsehood, or misunderstanding.
- Simplicity is the opposite of excess, and its various manifestations including opulence, extravagance, gaudiness, ostentatiousness, and waste.
What is simplicity not?
- Simplicity is not simple-mindedness, nor is it simplistic. Simplicity grasps the essence that organizes what is apparently complex. It reveals an elegance that often is only understood after examining and comprehending immense complexity.
- Simplicity is not about a life of poverty, but a life of purpose.
How to achieve simplicity as an individual
- Being truthful. Truth is simple, lies and cover-ups are complex. Speak directly, candidly, and straightforwardly.
- Avoiding excuses(Making excuses is very complex).
- Acceptance. Acceptance is simple. Embrace what is.
- Remove the obvious, add the meaningful.
- Simplify bureaucracies to focus on adding value while reducing activity.
- Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.
- Shed your burdens and distractions.
- Value silence and sanctuary. Create silence in your life and take time to enjoy it. Lean to quiet your mind.
- Walk more, drive less.
- Align your worldview to correspond with the real world as it truly is. Adopt a global perspective.
- Want what you have. Focus on what matters.
What are the benefits of simplicity?
- Makes your life and everyone’s life easier.
- Improved Environment.
- Leads to happiness.
- For organizations it has a wide array of benefits. Simpler bureaucracy means things will be done fast.
How can an organization/business achieve simplicity and leverage the benefits of simplicity?
- Simplicity in business means to be focused.
- Simplicity means sticking to streamlined processes that have not only been well-designed, but are also regularly maintained.
- By managing with simplicity in mind, companies will ensure they don’t expend any time or energy on anything but developing the business
How to achieve simplicity as a company
- Outline your goals explicitly
- Regardless, organizations need to prioritize what is most important to them before striving to accomplish more with less. Keep the list of goals short.
- Be focused on enhancing areas of your organization that are making money and ousting those that are wasting it.
- Having fewer projects to focus on will assure that each one is completed effectively and efficiently, and that details won’t get overlooked
- Identify your obstacles
- After deciding upon fundamental goals, organizations should determine the top challenges that are holding them back. i.e which processes are no longer needed/ what is affecting productivity e.t.c.
- Select a Strategy
- After determining the challenges that your organization is up against, choose a simple tool, process, or technology that addresses its problems and aids in reaching goals. If a new solution is wildly complex, employees won’t respond well to it.