Chapter Four
SIMPLIFY
Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.
—Albert Einstein
Beware the barrenness of a busy life.
—Socrates
The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.
—Hans Hofmann, Introduction to the Bootstrap, 1993
The sculptor produces the beautiful statue by chipping away such parts of the marble block as are not needed—it is a process of elimination.
—Elbert Hubbard
Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage—to move in the opposite direction.
—E. F. Schumacher
I am convinced that to make something simple is at once the most difficult and easiest skill of all. It is difficult for one who doesn’t have a system to filter through the noise and get quickly to the heart of the matter. Yet it is easy for a person who does have such a system.
Let me give you a quick example.
How many times have you been in a meeting where ideas and proposed solutions to a problem began flying around the room like a windstorm, fast and furious? Then, amid the intense discussion and counterproposals and “what ifs,” a calm, confident voice interjects a summary that is spot-on. It literally takes everyone’s breath away. It is so clear.
Maybe that interjecting voice starts with something like this: “So, let’s take a look at where we are. We have five proposals on the table: Number One, Number Two, Number Three . . .”
The room is quickly silent. ...
