Eye of the Storm Series- Part 1
Last week, I addressed the issue of how simplifying is like reaching the eye of the storm…finding the calm amid the chaos.
In my next few posts, I’ll provide suggestions on how to simplify a system. This week, we focus on the first step: assess the system.
Take for example this scene from Office Space:
The humor in this scene is that these things really happen in ultra-complex systems like large corporations. Despite feeling bad for the employee, the fault in the system is obvious, and by no means is it the employees fault. The company created an unnecessary step making the system more complicated.
Simple systems are made complex with the introduction of poor/redundant policies and procedures. The system becomes static, thus making decisions and ideas difficult to implement.
How to Take Action:
For a system to be simple and effective it must be:
Efficient - We live in a fast-paced world and a system that gets bogged down won’t last long.
Dynamic- It must be able to sustain change, this includes adapting to new trends and technologies.
User-Friendly – The reason 37 Signals’ products are a success is how easy there products are to use.
The system must be easy to use from top to bottom. A user-friendly system allows for less time training and learning the system and more time using it for its intended purpose. The first step to simplification is assessment.
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