IT Strategy

Simplicity Minded Management

February 18, 2008 by Raj Sheelvant

Organizations as they gets larger, add layers of complexity to their organization structure to deal with increasing complex external landscape (Also read my other blog titled Globalization and Managaing Complexity)

Ron Ashkenas in his HBR article “Simplicity Minded Management” writes on how to strip complexity out of organizations. He says that a simplification strategy must also be treated as a business imperative, not a soft, “nice to have” virtue but a key contributor to bottom-line success. One way to do it according to the author is to engage employees across the organization in process simplification, particularly at the grassroots level. “Complexity can and does hold back business innovation, create confusion and cause employee frustration,” Ron says. “With increasing demands on business performance and tight labor markets, no company can afford unnecessary complexity slowing down their business and causing unnecessary pressure during the talent war.”

Check out the author’s simplicity checklist

Make simplification a goal, not a virtue

• Include simplicity as a theme of the organization’s strategy

• Set specific targets for reducing complexity

• Create performance incentives that reward simplicity

Simplify the organizational structure

• Reduce levels and layers

• Increase spans of controls

• Consolidate similar functions

Prune and simplify products and services

• Employ product portfolio strategy

• Eliminate, phase out, or sell low-value products

• Counter feature creep

Discipline business and governance processes

• Create well-defined decision structures (councils, committees)

• Streamline operating processes (planning, budgeting, and so on)

• Involve employees at the grassroots level

Simplify personal patterns

• Counter communication overload

• Manage meeting time

• Facilitate collaboration across organizational boundaries

For me, the most interesting observation the author makes is that in every organization the complexity begins with the individuals. What that means is ‘you and I’ are responsible for the complexity around us at work! We are part of the problem. Ron says that one way to create simplicity is to seek feedback from colleagues, managers and peers at work. Ask them how is your task creating complexity for them. Seek suggestions to simplify work for them. I am going to take this advice to heart starting right now!

Click here to take a survey on an interactive tool to find out if your organization is too complex and listen to the interview with Ron Ashkenas.

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5. Managing Complexity due to Globalization