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Making the Complex Simple - Research

Research references, notes and links

Ash Holliday

Last edited 31 days ago by Ash Holliday.

This page is for

Collecting references I need to mention in the book as footnotes

Notes on what I want to cover or ideas I am exploring

Links to sources of videos, stories, data, ideas found on the web or from using AI

Books to refer to:

Simplexity: Simplifying Principles for a Complex World Kindle Edition

Alain Berthoz⁠

(Author)

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https://www.amazon.com.au/Simplexity-Simplifying-Principles-Complex-World-ebook/dp/B083ZNKPRN/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=⁠

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Three books that can get you on track for building a simple customer experience:

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Insanely Simple by Ken Segall⁠

: “Simple can be harder than complex. You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. Steve Jobs’ obsession with simplicity is what separates Apple from other technology companies. It’s what helped Apple recover from near death in 1997 to become the most valuable company on Earth in 2011 and guides the way Apple is organized, how it designs products, and how it connects with customers. It’s by crushing the forces of complexity that the company remains on its stellar trajectory.”

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Insanely Simple - key takeaways

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The Laws of Simplicity by John Maeda⁠

: “Finally, we are learning that simplicity equals sanity. We’re rebelling against technology that’s too complicated, DVD players with too many menus, and software accompanied by 75-megabyte ‘read me’ manuals. The iPod’s clean gadgetry has made simplicity hip. But sometimes we find ourselves caught up in the simplicity paradox: We want something that’s simple and easy to use, but also does all the complex things we might ever want it to do. In The Laws of Simplicity, John Maeda offers 10 laws for balancing simplicity and complexity in business, technology, and design — guidelines for needing less and actually getting more.”

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The Power Of Simplicity by Jack Trout⁠

: “Renowned marketing expert and bestselling author Jack Trout has a message for managers who are struggling to keep up with today’s ever-changing business climate: ‘Keep It Simple.’ Trout advocates the importance of paying attention to the basics and simplifying processes in order to stay focused on the core business at hand. Through case studies and interviews with successful executives, he shows managers how to cut through the jargon, articulate their vision, and regain control of the vital elements of their business in order to make it thrive.”

The Ultimate Blueprint for an insanely successful business by Keith J Cunningham

80/20 Sales & Marketing by Perry Marshall - Mostly just pulling the idea of the 80/20 to help simplicity

Unassigned ideas

Need to discuss the concept from 0-2 - yes it is ok to be messy here and yes complexity starts setting in, ideally you start 0-1 and clean up but most people really dont start feeling the pain until 2. This is why this books focusses on 2-10

The Quark and the Jaguar

Berthoz, Alain (2018). Simplexity: Simplifying Principles for a Complex World (Function). Kindle Edition.

Books to read and research

Simplicity Jeffery Klugger

The Laws of simplicity John Medea

story Bret -Sydac code uk code base simplification to scale descion

Gabby Horak -

Planning the successful culture - early on

What does a success culture look like

How to build one

Learning culture - how do we learn feedback forward

Very strong value set - Netflix case study Google teams Alassian (Australian) Culture Amp

Year 13 - first year out of school

Started Linked In Reid follow Making decisions

Ricardo Semlener - book???? Maverick -

Daniel Coil - Culture

Lenchioni - Generous speaker his work on teams

PODcast Nick loper Sidehustle show

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`Introduction`⁠
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`What is this book`⁠
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`Who is this for?`⁠
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Understanding Complexity and Simplicity

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`What complexity really is`⁠
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Example from insanely simple Steve Keggal

Miscommunication is where complexity creeps in

Brutal respectful honesty will help this

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Why simple can still be complex

Perplexity:

https://www.perplexity.ai/search/why-can-the-complex-be-simple-Qbx91jIgR2y5mpQfo2Leew⁠

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Waterloo study (listed in above perplexity search)

mentioned in these sites

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https://studyfinds.org/simplicity-brain-love-shortcuts/⁠

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https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-11-simplicity-key-minds-favor-simple.html⁠

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Original study

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001002852400063X?via%3Dihub⁠

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Ockham’s Razor Cuts to the Root: Simplicity in Causal Explanation (Referred to by Waterloo study):

https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2017-54956-007.html⁠

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The parsimony principle (lex parsimoniae in Latin) is typically connected with classic Occam razor in philosophy, which states that entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity. Hence, whenever we have different explanations of the observed data, the simplest one is preferable

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/parsimony-principle#:~:text=The%20parsimony%20principle%20(lex%20parsimoniae,the%20simplest%20one%20is%20preferable.⁠

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Agreed but the other side of the coin is it costs more to let it get complicated in the first place then have to simplify

This need to simplify touches everything. The quest is evident in all areas of social and political life, of medicine, science, technology, and day-to-day existence. The complexity of electronic gadgets is disguised by their ease of handling. It takes huge software programs to make computers user-friendly. Tax forms and medical protocols are being simplified, as are administrative documents. Criminal proceedings are being simplified to accelerate them. We can now vote electronically and have a simple choice between candidates we see debating on a television screen. People’s lives are being simplified by creating supermarkets where they can find all the product “solutions” they need. Engineers are trying to simplify the design of “light pipes,”4 and chemists have uncovered simplifying principles for enzymatic and kinetic reactions.5 The result of this frenzy of simplification is accrued complexity. The easier computers are to use, the more bloated the software. Simplification costs. These days, there is a tendency to confuse modernity and simplicity. Oversatiated with the pervasiveness and exuberance of baroque art, the whims of classical architecture, and the extravagant refinements of suits and dresses, the twentieth century welcomed a reductionist movement in favor of the simplest shapes and materials. Typified by the influential Bauhaus school, the movement came to dominate industry and design. Fortunately, we are now seeing a countermovement, and clothing designers, for example, appear to have rediscovered the joy of playing—in the musical sense of the term—with forms and colors, textures and rhythms, and with the flow and folds of material.

Berthoz, Alain (2018). Simplexity: Simplifying Principles for a Complex World (Function). Kindle Edition.

Decision Making

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https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/choice-overload-bias⁠

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Loading www.ted.com⁠

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/decision-making⁠

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Simple is not easy

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https://marissabracke.com/simple-not-easy#:~:text=Some%20examples%20of%20making%20things,the%20business%2C%20and%20no%20more.⁠

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Simon Syniek video on your job is to shape the environment positive, negative simplified or complex

If you want to grow you have to make it simple as Dan Martel - you need to work through people 2-10 million

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/t5ETX6Ruhwc5Deef/?mibextid=UalRPS⁠

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Great notes and quotes on simplicity reasons for the attracting customers + good book suggestions

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https://uxmag.com/articles/what-is-simplicity-theory-why-people-prefer-simple-experiences⁠

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This link has some great ideas for examples between simplicity, complicated and complex

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https://abdulapopoola.com/2018/06/26/chaotic-complex-and-complicated-systems-understanding-complexity-a-system-for-categorizing-problems-and-solutions/⁠

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“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”— Confucius

Most geniuses—especially those who lead others—prosper not by deconstructing intricate complexities but by exploiting unrecognized simplicities.”— Andy Benoit

Interesting blog on ideas why we do complexity, what are the barriers to simplicity; for example, the lack of trust

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https://www.sevenconsulting.com/complex-is-cool-simple-is-scary/⁠

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In mathematics, this is a property known as aperiodicity and the notion of an aperiodic tile set using only two tiles was such a sensation, it was given the name Penrose tiling.

This pattern is life. And as you can see, life's complicated.

It's complicated. But not only is life complicated, life is also aperiodic in the sense that every event, every happening, every decision will make the future unfold differently,often in ways that are impossible to predict.

Yet, in spite of the complexity and in spite of a future that's impossible to predict, there remains an underlying unity that holds everything together and gives rise to everything.

Let's see how that works in a design much like the one Peter Lu found in Uzbekistan.

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`The Power of Simplicity`⁠
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Rough outline:

Why does it go wrong - research:

https://www.perplexity.ai/search/i-am-looking-for-studies-or-fa-0.bUovH1Rw2lsmjUHroVyg⁠

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Loading www.perplexity.ai⁠

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Need to work my way through this research to simply explain: https://www.perplexity.ai/search/i-am-looking-for-studies-or-fa-0.bUovH1Rw2lsmjUHroVyg

Simplicity paradox research this too - this forms the basis of research as to why t goes wrong human behaviour then mix humans forming organisations

Why then complexity - because simplicity actually extremely difficult

Examples of the power of simplicity Cost of simplicity and complexity - https://coda.io/d/_d8GOMw-daX9/Making-the-Complex-Simple-Research_sueh-KvD#_luCZMfVO - Berthoz, Alain (2018). Simplexity: Simplifying Principles for a Complex World (Function). Kindle Edition.

Who's is accountable (and it's important because it costs you one way or another and you have to choose which it is. (like opportunity cost)

Ownership - Draw on notes from

“Insanely Simple by Ken Segall”⁠

, here Apples story = profitable loyal customer base

Why: Reminder 2nd best not good enough

lead into next topic

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`Better or Bigger`⁠
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What comes first⁠

? Depends where you are on the journey. Size of SME and Life-Cycle

Life cycle appendix: Make a life cycle appendix. Cover product and service - plus description on each stage. Maybe even for size??

Set the scene of small Medium and large

Explore complexity at different stages

0-1 revenue

2-50 revenue

50+

Mid-Chapter Takeaway: Spotting and Managing Complexity as You Grow

Watch your gross profit margin—it’s a reliable signal of your business’s size and efficiency. If it starts dropping, it may be a sign that complexity is creeping in.

Remember, the numbers are just the symptoms. The real causes of complexity often come from how people work together and how your business adapts as it grows.

Growth naturally adds complexity, especially as teams expand and decisions multiply. But external forces—like changing markets or regulations—can play a role too.

Don’t blame people; build awareness. The goal is to spot complexity early and address it, not to point fingers.

Balance is key: In the early days, a bit of mess is normal. As you scale, knowing when to simplify—especially around people and processes—will keep growth from becoming your biggest problem.

Use your gross profit margin as an early warning system, but look deeper to find and fix the real sources of complexity—before they slow you down.

Mention here and we will go into more detail in the BIGGER chapter :

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Loading jfsdigital.org⁠

This may be good in

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`Bigger vs Complexity`⁠
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Rough ideas

Also talk about the Dead land or the dessert in between each stage

Greg crabtree talks about 3 million Dead zone

Find other sources

what do all these mean for complexity good and bad

Clear on your goals - how big do you want to be - maybe this comes in Vision

Break Eggs - 1-2M - fail fast and learn, listen to the customer - Can you break eggs efficiently? lean start up came from this - still doesn't mean you will be successful.

Dunkin donuts, Ikea - listen to your customer (VOC)

Dead zones explore further

Chapter breakdown

Section 1: What is Complexity in Business Growth?

Define complexity: Not just more people or revenue, but more layers, rules, and inter dependencies.

Complexity can be visible (new departments, more products) or hidden (informal workarounds, unclear accountability).

Emphasise that complexity is not inherently bad—but unmanaged, it becomes a barrier to agility and growth. Maybe here we can consider the Monster analogy like the sleeping giant left unattended or something small needs to be guided in growth before it becomes a monster and too big of a problem.

Section 2: Where Does Complexity Hide?

Micro: Simplicity rules, but even here, ad-hoc processes and founder bottlenecks can creep in.

Small: Growth brings more clients, but also more admin, inconsistent delivery, and the first signs of siloed information.

Medium: Departments emerge, communication gaps widen, and processes multiply—often without coordination.

Large: Bureaucracy, legacy systems, and slow decision-making become the norm. Complexity is now institutionalised.

Here we will introduce life cycle and what it does to add complexity and another aspect of growing.

Section 3: When to Tackle Complexity

Early Warning Signs: Slow decisions, repeated mistakes, customer complaints, or staff burnout.

Growth Milestones: Each jump in size (from micro to small, etc.) is a natural point to reassess and simplify.

Before Scaling Further: Address complexity before it compounds—prevention is easier than cure. Emphasise we will look into this in the next section and not spend too much time on it now.

Section 4: The Complexity Monsters—A Preview This maybe better in Section 2 or as 3. Or keep as 4 to summarise and reemphasise them.

The Hydra: Every new process spawns two more.

The Chameleon: Complexity that blends in—hard to spot until it causes problems.

The Minotaur: The maze of approvals and unclear responsibilities.

The Kraken: Legacy systems that drag everything down.

Use these as recurring metaphors throughout the book to make complexity tangible and memorable.

Section 5: Giving Readers Hope

Reassure readers that complexity can be managed and even reversed.

Promise practical tools and stories in later chapters.

Encourage them to start spotting complexity monsters in their own business as they read.

Next Steps

The following chapter, "Better vs Complexity," will explore how striving for “better” (not just “bigger”) changes the complexity equation, and how to balance ambition with simplicity.

Expand on economic engine and complexity next then go into the next sentence to lead to employee directly👇

While revenue and profit matter, they don't inherently create complexity. High-revenue, low-employee businesses (for example SaaS) scale with minimal complexity, and High-employee, low-margin businesses (for example, manufacturing) face intense complexity despite modest revenue.

Life-Cycle: Link to life cycle appendix

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Story - Growing pains - growth with problems = bigger problem⁠

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Loading zoviz.com⁠

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Loading www.entrepreneur.com⁠

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Better vs Complexity

Simplicity is the ultimate efficiency. (from insanely Simple Ken Segall Chapter 2 notes)

Chapter Purpose: Better vs Complexity

This chapter serves as the crucial conclusion to your argument: fixing complexity before pursuing growth is not just wise—it’s essential for sustainable success. It’s the “why” behind all the practical steps, showing that striving for “better” (in systems, processes, and clarity) is the foundation for healthy, scalable growth.

Why Fix Complexity Before Growth?

Complexity is the silent killer of growth. As businesses expand, complexity creeps in, often unnoticed, until it begins to slow decision-making, hinder innovation, and inflate costs.

Growth amplifies existing problems. If your business is already struggling with inefficiencies, bottlenecks, or unclear processes, rapid growth will magnify these issues, making them harder and more expensive to fix later.

Efficient scaling requires simplicity. True scaling means increasing revenue and impact without a proportional increase in costs or headaches. This is only possible when complexity is under control—otherwise, each new customer, product, or employee adds exponential strain.

Key Arguments for the Chapter

1. Growth vs. Scaling: The Efficiency Factor

Table 1

Table 1

Growth (Without Fixing Complexity)

Scaling (After Reducing Complexity)

Revenue and costs both rise

Revenue rises faster than costs

More people, more problems

Leaner teams, clearer processes

Quality and customer experience suffer

Quality and experience improve or hold steady

Decision-making slows

Decisions remain agile and fast

There are no rows in this table

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Scaling is about doing more with less. Fixing complexity first lets you add customers, products, or markets without breaking your business model or burning out your team.

2. The Multiplier Effect of Complexity

Unchecked complexity multiplies risk, cost, and confusion.

Each new process, workaround, or system adds invisible weight. Growth then multiplies that weight, making it harder to adapt, innovate, or even maintain what you have.

Companies that don’t address complexity before scaling often face stalled growth, declining margins, and frustrated staff and customers.

3. The Benefits of Tackling Complexity First

Faster, more confident decision-making

Lower operational costs and fewer errors

Stronger customer experience and retention

More innovation and adaptability

Smoother, more sustainable growth trajectory

What Else Can This Chapter Do?

Preview the payoffs: Use real-world anecdotes or mini-case studies showing businesses that paused to simplify and then grew faster and more profitably.

Offer a checklist: Help readers self-assess—“Are we ready for growth, or do we need to fix complexity first?”

Frame the mindset shift: Emphasize that “better” isn’t the enemy of “bigger”—it’s the enabler.

Set up the next chapters: Promise practical tools and stories for hunting and eliminating complexity, reinforcing that the journey to “better” is the path to sustainable “bigger.”

Sample Section: The Complexity Readiness Checklist

Do we have clear, documented processes for our core activities?

Are decisions made quickly and with the right information?

Is our technology integrated and scalable, or are there manual workarounds?

Can we easily see where money, time, or effort is wasted?

Are customers and employees consistently satisfied?

If you answered “no” to any, focus on “better” before chasing “bigger.”

Closing Challenge

End the chapter by inviting readers to commit: “Before you chase the next big milestone, ask yourself: have you made your business better, or just bigger? The rest of this book will show you exactly how to make ‘better’ your growth superpower.”

In summary: This chapter is your final argument for why simplicity, clarity, and operational excellence must come before ambitious growth. It reassures readers that fixing complexity is not a detour—it’s the fastest route to the kind of growth every SME wants: sustainable, profitable, and rewarding.

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`The process`⁠
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`You can't change a plan if you don't have a plan`⁠
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But my Business is different⁠

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`Plan Do Check Act`⁠
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`The process`⁠
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Reference Albert Einstein once said, “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions.”

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https://killerinnovations.com/einsteins-secret-to-effective-problem-solving/#:~:text=Albert%20Einstein%20once%20said%2C%20“If,problem%2Dsolving%20that%20many%20overlook.⁠

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Devil and the detail⁠

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`Defining Your Business Focus`⁠
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Your goals business and Personal

Primary business focus

Target market

Customer

Business model

Building Sand Castles

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`Business Building blocks`⁠
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📚Lego - when to use glue (Part 1)

Stakeholder Management

Strategy Execution: Beyond the Buzzwords

Strategy Execution just a fancy term or something else?

📚Wall to wallet (a Strategy Execution story)

Mindset (yours, the customer and of course the team)

Insanely simple Steve Kegal

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Mindset quotes from Simon Synek

Rather than shiny object syndrome

https://coda.io/d/Tropical-MBA_d_m7Mbwa-9V/742-Shiny-Object-Syndrome_sub7SxXk#_luS2zDAh⁠

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Value Chain

A word on data

Graph on Financial Performance Improvement https://hbr.org/2019/04/the-positive-effect-of-operational-efficiency-on-financial-performance

We only improve what we...?

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Measurement madness⁠

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Simplifying and Optimising Business Models

Business Optimisation

Simplifying Business Models

📚The Lean Startup & what we can learn

Statistics on Business Model Simplification

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/the-need-for-simplicity-in-strategic-planning⁠

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Pragmatism in Business Problem Solving

Pragmatic Decision Making

Falkland's Law: 'When there is no need to make a decision, Don't make a decision

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Loading www.hulkapps.com⁠

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Pragmatic decision making vs systems dancing in the system slow informed vs urgent but don't have it all -

Pragmatic Problem Solving

📚Pragmatic Solutions

Problem and impact

how to ask better questions

add in a short section on “ how to ask better questions “ This is something I have been doing and working on my whole career.

Problem & Impact

Kidlin's law states: If you write the problem down clearly, then the matter is half solved.

Essentially this is generally a correct statement (assuming its clear and correct)

Everyone would have you follow this to better enact this law (see link to help describe) - but these are what you need to do after you have a clear problem satement (and they do not even consider therefore or better understood as impact).

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Loading medium.com⁠

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What you need to do first is understand the Narrative - Which is why we have only just gotten to the Problem statement - without a good sense of how your complex business works you will never write a clear problem and therefore statement

The gap between now and future

You can't fix it all

The 80/20

The Importance of Root Cause Analysis

Beware the low hanging fruit

“There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they're falling in.” ― Desmond Tutu : https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/5943.Desmond_Tutu?page=6

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`Fixing Symptoms vs Root causes`⁠
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📚 Fixes that fail

📚 Shifting the burden - balance between short and long term

Root Cause

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`Finally the Fix`⁠
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Solving the Root Cause - it was not what we expected⁠

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Tools & when to use

Tools & how to use

📚 The halfway point

Diagnosing Complex Business Problems

📚 Gemba not just a fun game

Solutions, executing & integrating

📚I have tried that before, it didn't work!

Always more than one way

Executing & Integrating

Tactics for shiny objects syndrome :

https://coda.io/d/Tropical-MBA_d_m7Mbwa-9V/742-Shiny-Object-Syndrome_sub7SxXk#_luS2zDAh⁠

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Atomic Habits Chapter 20

Summary

when following this process it will keep the team motivated if

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But when it comes down to it, those who succeed stick to it even when ist boring

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Leveraging Technology for Efficiency and Growth

Leveraging Technology to fix problems

📚Power tools aren't always quicker

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`Leveraging Technology for Growth`⁠
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Technology Leverage⁠

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Charts on Business Efficiency Tools

https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/3983540/chart-2021-project-management-magic-quadrant⁠

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https://www.dell.com/en-us/dt/perspectives/digital-transformation-index.htm⁠

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Breaking Down Silos and Building Culture

Building Culture

📚Breaking Down Silos

Effective Change Management

📚But that's how we have always done it!

📚Diversity Dilemma

Transparency and Trust in Leadership

Transparency Builds Trust

Simon Sinek Transparency quote https://www.linkedin.com/posts/simonsinek_transparency-doesnt-mean-sharing-every-detail-activity-6906611933743837184-poPV/

📚Transparency Triumphs