Seems like in the past couple of weeks I\u2019ve caught myself saying something like, \u201cthis is just too hard,\u201d or \u201cthings are getting too complicated\u201d more and more. I\u2019m sure part of the reason is me \u2014 I seem to become more annoyed at little things than in the past, if that\u2019s possible. Anyhow, it appears that more and more simple things are being made needlessly complicated.<\/p>\n
I ran across a term a few days ago that I especially like, coined by Scott Berkum \u2014 \u201ccomplexifier.\u201d Complexifiers are people that go out of their way to make things more complicated. For some reason, I\u2019ve run into a lot of these people lately.<\/p>\n
In my opinion, just about everything is already complicated enough \u2014 we don\u2019t need to make<\/em> them complicated, or more complicated \u2014 they already are. What we need to to is to make them simpler. We all encounter people every day that seem to take even the most simple task or situation and make it (needlessly) complicated. There\u2019s a phrase, \u201cdon\u2019t make a mountain out of a molehill.\u201d At least one way to interpret that is that it means don\u2019t make things more complicated than they need to be. When I was gainfully employed, people always used the term KIS or KISS (Keep It Simple [Stupid]) but they almost never did. Projects nearly always got more complicated than necessary. Some people over-communicate and complicate matters just to prove their worth to a problem. A few weeks ago, I agreed to have a drink with someone \u2014 it took 2 or 3 phone calls and several follow-up e-mails before this someone decided that the date, time and place had been clearly communicated.<\/p>\n In my experience, I\u2019ve found that in the great majority of cases, the simple solution is usually the right solution. Many\/most people believe that if it\u2019s too simple something must be missing or some critical aspect is being overlooked. Some things may be too good to be true but too simple to be right doesn\u2019t hold true.<\/p>\n In the past, I\u2019ve been accused of taking the easy way out when I pick, or support a simpler solution.\u00a0 The energy used to arrive at a simple solution is probably\u00a0 just as great as that needed to get to a complicated solution. Rarely do you \u201cget out\u201d of any work when arriving at the simpler solution.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve heard it said that life is only as complicated as we choose to make it. I\u2019m not sure I totally agree with that, but I do agree with something I read about making mountains out of molehills \u2014 \u201cWe all have shovels in which we can choose to either pile dirt on our molehills or dig it away from our mountains.\u201d Whoever said that is certainly right. I think we should all attempt to not be Complexifiers and become Simplifiers. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Seems like in the past couple of weeks I\u2019ve caught myself saying something like, \u201cthis is just too hard,\u201d or \u201cthings are getting too complicated\u201d more and more. I\u2019m sure part of the reason is me \u2014 I seem to … Continue reading
\n\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n