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Ten commandments of simplification

Irene A. Etzkorn, Simplification Practice Advisor, Siegel+Gale, LLC

If you are inspired by the stories of individuals, companies, and agencies that have successfully achieved simplicity but aren’t a born simplifier yourself, you might wonder what you might do. Start by emulating the traits and practices of those who have the “gift.” After all, if all of life can be lived by complying with just Ten Commandments, it seems fairly certain that simplicity can be achieved through an equally manageable number of rules.

1. Establish executive support
2. Value naivete
3. Bake simplicity in
4. Create limits
5. Consider all dimensions of simplicity
6. Promise simplicity to the marketplace
7. Customize content
8. Anticipate needs, don’t just respond
9. View simplicity as a journey not a destination
10. Don’t let systems and legal rule

    1. Establish executive support

       When top management believes in simplicity and transparency and won’t tolerate deviation from those beliefs, employees cannot use mumbo-jumbo as a shield. If executives don’t make clear that clarity is the expectation, employees can tend to take the easier path of complexity. Simplification requires real commitment by top executives‚Äîclear calls with employees; direct, forceful speeches; no doubletalk at employee pep rallies.

    2. Value naivete

       The great simplifiers all look to outsiders for inspiration. At Philips Electronics, when they sought to transform an engineering-dominated company into one guided by “sense and simplicity,” they created an Advisory Board with representatives from medicine, transportation, and fashion. At Chubb Insurance, where they transformed property casualty policies into customized, plain English documents, they simply took writing out of the hands of lawyers and put it in the hands of professional writers. At ING Direct, they deliberately recruited non-bankers who questioned and challenged the status quo. In each of these instances, the companies recognized that familiarity leads to myopia and that people who are not subject matter experts can bring a fresh perspective that will be closer to that of customers. So, don’t view your lack of subject matter expertise as a limitation when trying to simplify something. The questions that occur to you may spark the simplification solution.

    3. Bake simplicity in

       Unfortunately, simplification is more often used as a cure rather than a vaccine. Simplifying often lays bare the inanity of an underlying process, product, or service. The classic example is that the more you explain the federal tax code, the more evident and ridiculous special-interest exemptions, credits, and deductions become.

       Like preventive medicine, permeating the product development process with the notion of simplicity saves companies from having to cure complexity at later stages. Features, benefits, even the name of a product, should convey simplicity. Google’s “zero-based” approach of requiring justification for any modifications or additions to its pristine home page avoids “creeping complexity.”

       Try this test‚Äîif you find yourself apologizing for how complicated or bureaucratic something is, don’t just keep explaining it in different ways. Reexamine the process or product itself. If the politicians responsible for Medicare Part D had done this, they would never have inflicted prescription drug coverage on seniors in such an incomprehensible manner.

    4. Create limits

       Many companies just don’t know when to stop. Proliferating features and product variations ensure excessive cost and customer confusion. Simplifiers, like ING Direct, limit their product line to savings, CDs, funds, and mortgages so that the customer is not overwhelmed by choice and the bank can easily serve its customers. They also realize that fewer products, processes, and communications translate to cost savings. ING Direct operates nationally with a staff of just 1,000 and operating costs are about one-third of traditional banks. Similarly, AARP Financial recognized the limits of human decision-making capabilities and limited their investment choices accordingly.

    5. Consider all dimensions of simplicity

       Companies only scratch the surface of simplicity if they focus on plain language and clear design. Considering less obvious dimensions of simplicity‚Äîspeed, convenience, customization, etc.‚Äîis the key to creating a “wow” factor for customers. For a search engine, speed is a critical measure of usefulness. Similarly, the convenience of being able to cash in loose change at a Commerce Bank even if you aren’t their customer, makes them seem easy to do business with. Consider clarity, utility, and aesthetic appeal to achieve holistic simplicity.

    6. Promise simplicity to the marketplace

       By advertising a promise of simplicity, companies often force themselves to live up to it. Philips promised the market with an aggressive and widespread ad campaign touting “sense and simplicity” so it couldn’t regress without losing face. It’s also a clever way to encourage recalcitrant employees who may be comfortable with the status quo to embrace new, simpler ways of doing business.

    7. Customize content

       Customizing content based on customer’s information needs is a brave decision. Customization is a form of simplicity because it involves winnowing down information and increasing relevancy. Tailoring a cell phone instruction manual so it only includes the features you purchased makes it shorter and easier to understand. Through customization, even the largest company can achieve the illusion that they are speaking to you and only you.

    8. Anticipate needs, don’t just respond

       The old adage about “not knowing what you don’t know” is quite true. Companies can help customers by anticipating their questions and providing educational information rather than only mandated information. Nothing is more frustrating than having to live through a circumstance to find out what you really needed to know. Companies that deal with the infrequent events of life‚Äîillness, natural disasters, death, major financial events‚Äîcan do much more to educate customers about the benefits and consequences of choices.

    9. View simplicity as a journey not a destination

       Chubb recognizes that maintaining clarity is a never-ending process and that additions and changes must be integrated with, not appended to, existing documents. Intuit values customer testing and recognizes iteration as a valuable tool, not as a costly nuisance. Once something has been simplified, it should be revisited periodically to ensure that technology, legal changes, or marketplace conditions haven’t necessitated updates.

    10. Don’t let systems and legal rule

        Great simplifiers don’t let systems capabilities and legal limitations dictate communications features; it’s the other way around. The most common mistake I encounter is major companies allowing the Legal department to tyrannize the rest of the company. Lawyers should be viewed as subject matter experts, not writers. They should be asked to edit for legal sufficiency only.