Simple is effective: Eliminate the unnecessary for the necessary to survive

Whether it be leadership, business or lifestyle, simplicity is a powerful way of increasing productivity and enhancing effectiveness

The core idea of simplification in business is not about reducing effort or commitment. Instead, it is about focusing your energy on the most impactful activities and streamlining processes. In the current world of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity a simplified approach can be significantly value adding. It is all about cutting through the clutter of multitasking and myriad metrics to focus on what truly drives growth and revenue 

Unduly complicated procedures and processes are the primary cause of Sri Lanka’s lack of significant success in key areas such as foreign direct investment (FDI), exports, payment of taxes, new listings in the Colombo Stock Exchange, local investment and, in particular, the lack of participation in economic activity of small and medium enterprises who do not have the resources, knowledge and manpower to satisfy the ‘knowledge’ demands and ‘monetary’ burdens of rules, regulation, policy, procedures and processes. The excessive bureaucracy which inevitably arises out of such complexity is also a fertile breeding ground for bribery and corruption.

It was just the other day that the President of Sri Lanka, Anura Kumara Dissanayake who, addressing the Economic Summit organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, stated that it takes about 80 days on average for the Board of Investment (BoI) to respond to an application and that an investor must get approvals from 82 State agencies. He further stated that from the environmental sector alone, an investor needs to get approval from 11 agencies and that, additionally, further approvals are required from another eight agencies resulting in that part of the process taking a significantly long time. On average the completion of the process takes over two and a half years, he said. He remarked that if Sri Lanka wants speedy economic growth, it must facilitate FDIs, and he pledged that the Government of the National People’s Power (NPP) will introduce policies, regulations, rules, procedures, and processes to drastically shorten the process.

Arjuna Herath, the Chairman, BoI, speaking at the same summit revealed that, historically, Sri Lanka had never achieved the commonly accepted FDI benchmark of two percent of gross domestic product nor the ‘magical’ United States Dollars (USD) two billion except in 2019 when it achieved USD two billion three hundred seventy-two million because of the conversion of debt of the Hambantota Port investment to equity. It is acknowledged that Sri Lanka’s dismal FDI performance is not due to complicated processes alone but also due to other factors such as lack of consistency in economic policies, insufficiency in the leverage of Sri Lanka’s comparative advantages, lack of a future based skills and competency upgradation plan, poor supply chain and information technology infrastructure compared to other regional countries competing for FDIs, archaic labour laws and a painfully slow commercial legal system.

This article focuses on the essentiality of simplified processes.

Keep things simple

‘Keep Things Simple’ was a maxim which was widely practiced at John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH), and it proved to be highly effective in promoting better decision-making, increasing productivity, enhancing clarity, allowing for a greater focus on what truly mattered, improving communications and reducing stress. Presidents, Executive Vice Presidents, Sector Heads, Business Heads, Heads of Functions, and other Executives seeking higher authority approval were expected to keep their proposals succinct, simple, and free of jargon. After all, simple ideas and explanations are easier for decision makers to grasp and remember! 

There is, unfortunately, a widely held belief in management that presentations are more impressive when embellished with complex details and technical jargon. Quantity is deemed a plus over quality. To be simple is considered demeaning and incongruent with the higher-order thinking which senior management is generally associated with. Complexity, on the other hand, is usually associated with intelligence, brilliance and uniqueness! Senior management often offer complex solutions because if things are seemingly too simple it may make their presence and involvement superfluous. Stated simply, simplicity is all about cutting the fluff and getting straight to what truly matters. It’s about clearing the clutter to have greater visibility of the subject and reducing the noise so that the music is more enjoyable.

Whether it be leadership, business or lifestyle, simplicity is a powerful way of increasing productivity and enhancing effectiveness. 

In leadership, simplicity is not a luxury, it is a necessity. Simplicity in strategising, leading and communicating not only increases the probability of success but also leads to the natural creation of high performing teams. When team members understand their roles, are inspired by a shared vision, are on the same page and empowered to ask questions, the path to achieving the organisation’s goals becomes much easier. Team members do not have to get bogged down by every complex detail. They can focus on the essentials that align with the broader vision, mission and purpose. As leaders, our greatest responsibility is to make sure that this path is as simple and straightforward as possible. Embracing simplicity in leadership is about distilling complexity, allowing authentic connections, promoting clarity and communication, prioritising effectively, building transparency and trust, and remaining flexible and adaptable.

Clarity, efficiency, and focus

Companies which prioritise simplicity are those which value the advantages of speed. They adapt quickly, make clear decisions, and spend less time navigating bureaucracy. They are steadfast in their belief that simple, user-friendly, streamlined processes are sources of competitive advantage, being advantages born out of the clarity they exude and the resultant speed of service delivery and decision making which such clarity enables. Simple, streamlined processes are no longer nice to haves. They are an essential feature in the current fast paced business world. Simplicity in business is all about clarity, efficiency, and focus. It is about making life easier for employees, customers and stakeholders. It is about saying no to what is not needed and saying yes to what truly adds value.

With the rapid growth in both the pace and volume of business, many companies have resorted to multiskilling employees to keep headcounts at levels which are in line with industry standards. Employees are forced to learn and utilise a myriad of technologies and procedures which call for special training. Although multiskilling has been hailed as the magic potion which boosts productivity, it has, at times, resulted in doing a host of things in a mediocre way rather than doing one thing excellently. In addition to a decline in productivity and quality, all this can leave the subject person feeling drained and demotivated. The organisation also opens itself out to potential risks arising out of the inadequate segregation of duties. On top of this, overzealous Boards and Board Audit Committees driven by shareholder scrutiny demand tighter internal controls. Managers usually respond by introducing more layers of safeguards which increase the complexity of the process. 

Mistakes are inevitable as employees attempt to work with a mixture of new and old systems. A good example of this is the Random-Access Management System (RAMIS) which was introduced by the Inland Revenue Department of Sri Lanka (IRDSL) in 2014 to facilitate the filing of e-returns and e-enabled monitoring. RAMIS was never a user-friendly, easy to operate system and it is not surprising that it failed to address the many challenges which the IRDSL faces in widening the tax net, collecting taxes and in meeting the ‘Tax to GDP’ ratios. 

Organisations have become convoluted to a degree where new processes are introduced to monitor existing processes. This is remarkably like past government thinking where committees were appointed to investigate a particular incident and then another committee was appointed to investigate that committee and so on. Often the root cause stares us in the face, but it is so simple and obvious that it does not feel impressive to highlight and we, then, look for more complex reasons. Many organisations find it convenient to add layers of complexity than streamline the processes by attacking the offending areas. Little or no attempt is made to identify the critical impact areas of the process and mitigate them under a principle of cost versus benefit. 

‘Blind’ management response

In most instances, a closer study of the process will reveal that the costs, both actual and opportunistic, outweigh the benefits. The ‘blind’ management response, driven by a path of least resistance, is to hire more employees, introduce multi-step processes and implement expensive multiple software solutions, to name a few. In this manner, complexity is encouraged as opposed to being dissuaded. Complex operating models and complicated organisation structures with overlapping roles which retard speed of decision making and blur accountability are becoming the order of the day. In this scenario performance management is a virtual impossibility thereby depriving the organisation of the benefits of an important productivity enhancement tool.

As a way of avoiding complexity, organisations must employ techniques and concepts such as critical path analysis, Hick-Hyman Law which explains that fewer choices mean faster decisions, Pareto Principle which focuses on the 20% which yields a 80% of the result, Lidwell’s Universal Principles of Design which showcases simplicity as the backbone of usability and Lean Management which is all about achieving more with less, reducing waste, improving efficiency, and delivering value. When processes are stripped down to the essential elements, they become more effective and more appealing to those using them and/or affected by them.

As described before, complexity becomes encouraged, instead of being discouraged in areas ranging from product features, organisational structure, and operating models to website design. As a result, it takes longer than usual to make decisions because information must be transmitted through, and digested by, a host of individuals with unclear or overlapping roles. The outcome is excessive complexity leading to confused and stressed-out employees. It must be noted that customers are increasingly tending to ignore organisations whose messages regarding products/services are long winded and are not easy to understand and whose online selling platforms are difficult to use. 

At its core, “keep it simple” signifies a mindset and approach that advocates for the elimination of non-value adding complexities, distractions, and redundancies in all aspects of life. In the context of productivity, keeping things, simple entails prioritising tasks, decluttering workflows, and fostering a clear and focused work environment. By doing so, organisations and individuals can dedicate their time and energy to essential tasks, through a heightened sense of belonging and accomplishment. 

The concept of keeping it simple was popularised by the 14th-century philosopher, William of Ockham via his renowned problem-solving principle, Occam’s Razor which states “if you have two competing ideas to explain the same phenomenon, you should prefer the simpler one”. It underscores the significance of simplicity in resolving complex issues. Perhaps taking a cue from Occam’s Razor, Steve Jobs, the Founder of Apple, observed, “When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop there. But if you keep going and live with the problem and peel more layers of the onion off, you can often arrive at some very elegant and simple solutions.”

Simplicity and bureaucracy can co-exist

Lest this article gives a wrong message – I am not against bureaucracy if it is not excessive. Simplicity and bureaucracy are not mutually exclusive. They can co-exist. Bureaucracy becomes increasingly necessary as organisations grow because it provides a structured framework in terms of a clear chain of command, division of labour, standardised procedures, accountability, fairness, and objectivity for managing complex operations, ensuring accountability, and facilitating coordinated decision-making across different departments and levels of hierarchy. It is an essential approach to achieving large-scale effectiveness. What is important is for the policies, procedures and processes which constitute the framework to be simple. 

Over-complicated processes inevitably result in excessive red tape which could hinder agility, innovation, decision-making and most importantly user acceptance. Overall, the key is to strike a balance by implementing necessary bureaucratic structures while actively seeking ways to streamline processes, promote agility, and empower employees to make timely decisions within their areas of expertise. 

The core idea of simplification in business is not about reducing effort or commitment. Instead, it is about focusing your energy on the most impactful activities and streamlining processes. In the current world of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity a simplified approach can be significantly value adding. It is all about cutting through the clutter of multitasking and myriad metrics to focus on what truly drives growth and revenue. 

For simplification to be effective it must be a part of the organisation’s strategy. “Simplification as an organisation strategy” refers to a deliberate approach by a company to streamline its internal processes, structures, and operations by removing unnecessary complexities and redundancies in improving efficiency, decision-making speed, employee satisfaction, and overall business performance by focusing on key objectives and goals. 

Steps to follow

The steps to follow in process simplification are: 

• Identify the key processes and pain points. Using a Pareto Principle or equivalent, prioritise the processes which are crucial to the ultimate purpose. Focus on areas which are under-achieving because of unnecessary complexity
• Identify the end goal/s of each process. Define what is being pursued, i.e., improving service delivery, enhancing product quality, reducing costs et cetera
• Breakdown the process into smaller, manageable components in understanding how they fit together and in determining what is critical and what is not
• Engage employees in the process. They are the ones who interact with these processes daily, so their insights are invaluable
• Through a good understanding of cost versus benefit and in keeping with principles of risk versus reward, remove those components of the process which are not value accretive. By eliminating the non-essentials, create greater visibility of the remaining working parts
• Standardise and leverage the power of automation. Standardise routine parts of the process and automate them in reducing variability and minimising the extent of human intervention
• Test and refine. Implement the simplified process on a small scale to evaluate its effectiveness. Refine based on the results and feedback. Optimise the process before full-scale implementation
• Flow chart the refined processes in enabling stakeholders to understand and implement. Create clear, concise guidelines which any user can follow. Train the users and discuss the outcomes with all affected parties
• Implement the process and monitor progress. Collect and review data. This real-time data collection helps in ensuring that the process is running as intended and provides invaluable insights which can be used for ongoing improvements. Regular updates and transparent communication help keep everyone aligned and aware, ensuring the process stays on the intended path
• Adapt and continuously improve. Continuous improvement is key to sustaining the benefits of simplification. As your business grows and changes, revisit simplified processes to ensure they are still aligned with organisational goals.

While there is overwhelming evidence to confirm the potency of simplicity, it is not without obstacles. For example, over-simplification by eliminating too much from a process may give rise to quality and compliance issues which could adversely affect the image of the company. Also, process simplification requires commitment, time, effort, and upfront investment, particularly in technology. Companies must prioritise the high impact areas which give the best return for the investment. Further, some employees who are uncomfortable with new technology may show resistance. Open communication is key in overcoming this.

Let us keep things simple and be more effective and more productive and confuse Confucius who said, “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”

(The writer is currently a Leadership Coach, Mentor and Consultant and boasts over 50+ years of experience in very senior positions in the corporate world – local and overseas. www.ronniepeiris.com.)