From Complexity to Simplicity

by Simon Collinson, Melvin Jay

Start a simplicity revolution!
Complexity is one of the biggest challenges facing modern business. It is slowing companies down, costing them over 10% of their profits and harming employee morale. Yet very few people are offering practical advice on how to solve this problem.
From Complexity to Simplicity will equip you and your business with the understanding, tools and inspiration you need to identify and eradicate harmful complexity from your company or organisation. Based on cutting-edge research, it takes you through real business case-studies and offers a practical 'how to' approach to tackling this growing problem.
What is complexity? What is simplicity?
The true financial costs of complexity
The impact of complexity on managers,
employees and different parts of the business
How to change the behaviours that create
business complexity
How to identify where complexity is
hurting you most
Clear guidance on how to remove harmful
complexity from processes, organisation
design, strategy, product and service
portfolios
How to reduce the everyday complexity
of work life
From Complexity to Simplicity will show you how to start your own simplicity revolution and achieve business success. So keep it simple and make more money!

Genres: Management

305 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Jamie Bowen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite the type of complexity book I was looking for, but nevertheless it was an interesting and worthwhile read. The book almost feels like a continuous improvement manual, with processes of how to diagnose problems, get to root cause, prioritise etc. Indeed the book mentions "Lean" methodology and the pros and cons, ironically the "Simplicity" methodology is very similar, if nobody thinks DMAIC when reading it then I must have missed something.

[Daniel B · Rating 3 out of 5]

The irony of this statement in a book entitled "Complexity to Simplicity" was not lost on me:

"C=[A+B+D] > X
i.e. change can only occur when factors ABD are stronger than the cost of change (X)"

I am not joking, this is a real quote from the book.

The irony doesn't end there, it is often unnecessarily complex in my opinion. Though in fairness, complexity is by definition a complex topic!

I do recommend it to anyone interested in better business. It is an underrated problem, and hats off to the Authors for the theme and a decent book.

The principles are sound, and the tools provided within the book are practical and useable for anyone in any business.

[Bert Janssens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent framework that focuses on what to do but not on how to do it.