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Simple

Conquering the Crisis of Complexity

Alan Siegel and Irene Etzkorn
Twelve, 2013
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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Concrete Examples
  • For Beginners

Recommendation

Exasperating automated phone systems, impenetrable product packaging, complex appliance instructions, indecipherable contracts and one-sided click-through agreements are only a few examples of the complexity that makes life frustrating and difficult. People find complexity maddening, and it hampers the smooth flow of business and government. Companies that have taken a stance against complexity, such as Apple and Trader Joe’s, have enjoyed unparalleled success. Anticomplexity advocates Alan Siegel and Irene Etzkorn elegantly express the case for simplification. Although readers will nod their heads in agreement with this indictment of complexity, the writers should have followed a bit of their own advice by providing outlines, summaries or bullet points. Nevertheless, getAbstract recommends this manifesto about simplification for a measure of comfort and as a practical, workable vision of a better way.

Summary

Too Complex to Handle

The products you use, the companies you buy from and the communications you receive overwhelm you with complexity. For example, the average credit card contract fills many pages of small type. The US tax code is thicker than the New York City phone book. Because of the length and complexity of such agreements, consumers pay unanticipated fees for credit card usage, don’t understand their insurance policies, and return appliances and electronic gadgets due to indecipherable instructions. Complexity in health care has even more dire consequences. For instance, patients become ill or even die because of poor labeling or unfathomable directions.

Despite rumblings of discontent, for the most part, consumers tolerate pervasive complexity because they feel they have no choice. However, as the “complexity crisis” reaches a crescendo, people want to understand and control the forces that affect them every day. Complexity is not the only option. A viable solution awaits: Simplicity.

Simplification benefits consumers, reduces costs, promotes customer loyalty, increases efficiency and provides a competitive advantage for business. The popularity of ...

About the Authors

Alan Siegel, who ran a simplification project for the IRS, works at Siegelvision where Irene Etzkorn is chief clarity strategist. She writes and speaks on simplification practices.

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