Presenting Today
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Erin Boettge
Content Marketing Manager,
BizLibrary
eboettge@bizlibrary.com
Lisa Bodell
CEO and Author
FutureThink
@LisaBodell

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WHY
SIMPLE
WINSLisa Bodell
CEO, futurethink
@lisabodell

COMPLEXITY AT WORK
IS DESTROYING OUR ORGANIZATIONS

Insist on doing
everything through
‘channels.’
1

Make
‘speeches.’
2

Refer all matters
to committees.
3

Bring up
irrelevant issues.
4

Haggle over
precise wordings.
5

Refer back to
matters previously
decided upon.
6

Advocate
‘caution.’
7

OUR ORGANIZATIONS
OUR OFFICE CULTURES
OUR ABILITY TO INNOVATE & ADAPT
COMPLEXITY IS DESTROYING

COMPLEXITY IS KILLING OUR COMPANIES
1
WHY SIMPLE WINS
2
GET TO THE WORK THAT MATTERS
3

COMPLEXITY IS KILLING OUR COMPANIES
1

WHAT DO YOU
SPEND YOUR DAY
DOING?

MEETINGS & EMAILS

UNITERRUPTED
HOURS EACH WEEK
6½<
M T W Th F
Source: Boston Consulting Group

OF EACH DAY
SPENT IN MEETINGS
45%
Source: Bain & Company

28%OF WORKWEEK SPENT DEALING WITH E-MAILS
Source: McKinsey Global

EMAILS SENT & RECEIVED EVERY DAY
100 billion
Source: McKinsey Global Institute
SPENT ON EMAIL EVERY YEAR
600 hours
OF WHICH ARE ACTUALLY IMPORTANT
83 hours

SO BUSY THAT…
Source: 2013 GALLUP GLOBAL SURVEY
NO TIME FOR MEANINGFUL ACTIVITIES
SUCH AS CREATIVE THINKING“
”
LITTLE CHANCE TO DO WORK
THEY ACTUALLY ENJOYED
“
”
LOW LEVEL OF MEANING AND
SIGNIFICANCE IN THEIR WORK
“
”

4968273584

WHAT DRIVES COMPLEXITY
REGULATION &
COMPLIANCE
SCALE TECHNOLOGY HUMAN
FACTORS

WHY DO WE CHOOSE
COMPLEXITY?

THE WHERE AND HOW OF COMPLEXITY
REGULATORY
ORGANIZATIONAL
TACTICAL
BEHAVIORAL

Insecure managers create complexity.
Frightened, nervous managers use thick,
convoluted planning books and busy
slides filled with everything they’ve
known since childhood.
Jack Welch
“ “

Simplicity is making
the journey of life with
just baggage enough.
Charles Dudley Warner
“ “

HAVE YOU CONTRIBUTED TO COMPLEXITY?
YES NO
I often send emails that are longer than 1 paragraph
and/or require significant time to read.
Emails I send usually include more than 3 CC’s or BCC’s.
I expect my employees to put my projects first
regardless of their workload.
I often use business jargon and buzzwords in my
communication.
I require my team members to involve me in all the
decisions they make.

HAVE YOU CONTRIBUTED TO COMPLEXITY?
YES NO
I’m frequently too busy to provide feedback or actions
on reports/presentations that I assign.
I expect employees to follow formal processes no
matter what.
I (or my team) consistently strive to add new processes,
products, procedures to our work. It is rare we eliminate
things.
I hold multiple recurring meetings with my team.
I require my team to create multiple, recurring reports.

HAVE YOU CONTRIBUTED TO COMPLEXITY?
# YES: YOU ARE: DESCRIPTION:
1 to 2 RELATIVELY SIMPLIFIED Aligned, focused on what matters
3 to 4 OPPORTUNITY TO SIMPLIFY
Functioning but impacting morale,
needs review
5+ COMPLEX
Bottlenecks, inconsistencies,
unnecessary work

CONTRIBUTING
ARE YOU
TO COMPLEXITY?

WHY SIMPLE WINS
2

 HEALTHY
 MORE PRODUCTIVE
 MORE COMPETITIVE
KEEP OUR ORGANIZATIONS:

PROFITS DECLINE
OF PROFITS
1/10
$237B
FOR TOP 200
GLOBAL FIRMS

300,000
HOURS
LOST PRODUCTIVITY
$15MM

LOWER ENGAGEMENT
13%
SATISFIED NOT FOCUSED
ON CREATING
VALUE
87%
COSTING
$550B
ANNUALLY
RESULT: LACK OF PRESENCE, COMPLACENCY

87%
DID NOT FIND
SATISFACTION
AT WORK
13%
ACTIVELY ENGAGED
IN THEIR JOBS

ZOMBIE
COMPANY

To get the culture right,
you have to get the work right.
“
“

3…HOW YOU CAN GET TO THE
WORK THAT MATTERS

DEFINING SIMPLICITY
STEP 1

DEFINING SIMPLICITY
DOCUMENTATION SIMPLIFICATIONS MANUFACTURING SIMPLIFICATIONS
Design Simplifications Process Simplifications
General Simplifications Program Simplifications
Systems Simplifications Procedural Simplifications
Travel Simplifications Platform Simplifications
Initiative Simplifications Product Development Simplifications
Reporting Simplifications Packaging Simplifications
Financial Management Simplifications Training Simplifications
Workplace Simplifications Work Simplifications

DEFINING SIMPLICITY
DOCUMENTATION SIMPLIFICATIONS MANUFACTURING SIMPLIFICATIONS
Design Simplifications Process Simplifications
General Simplifications Program Simplifications
Systems Simplifications Procedural Simplifications
Travel Simplifications Platform Simplifications
Initiative Simplifications Product Development Simplifications
Reporting Simplifications Packaging Simplifications
Financial Management Simplifications Training Simplifications
Workplace Simplifications Work Simplifications

DEFINING SIMPLICITY
DOCUMENTATION SIMPLIFICATIONS MANUFACTURING SIMPLIFICATIONS
Design Simplifications Process Simplifications
General Simplifications Program Simplifications
Systems Simplifications Procedural Simplifications
Travel Simplifications Platform Simplifications
Initiative Simplifications Product Development Simplifications
Reporting Simplifications Packaging Simplifications
Financial Management Simplifications Training Simplifications
Workplace Simplifications Work Simplifications

DEFINING SIMPLICITY
Minimal
Understandable
Repeatable
Accessible

AAccessible
RRepeatable
DEFINING SIMPLICITY
Understandable
UMMinimal

IDENTIFY AREAS TO SIMPLIFY
STEP 2

IDENTIFY AREAS TO SIMPLIFY
DESIRED WORKTYPICAL TASKS
o Creating new
product sales
report
o Setting up
progress
meetings
o Brainstorming
new revenue
ideas
o Attending
client meetings

LOWVALUEHIGH
COMPLEX/VALUABLE SIMPLE/VALUABLE
COMPLEX/NOT VALUABLE
X SIMPLE/NOT VALUABLE
?
VERY COMPLEX VERY SIMPLESIMPLICITY

STREAMLINE DECISION-MAKING
STEP 3

KILL STUPID RULES
STEP 4

WALK THE WALK
STEP 5

CODE OF CONDUCT
STEP 6

Simplification Code of Conduct
I COMMIT TO SIMPLIFYING EVERYTHING I DO.
This means I will:
1. Eliminate redundancies and unnecessary work – and empower my team to do the same.
2. Not create false urgency.
3. Push back if I think something is unnecessary.
4. Use clear, jargon-free language when I communicate.
5. Keep my emails, documents, meetings, and conversations short.
6. Be decisive and limit the amount of information I need to make a decision.
7. Empower others to make decisions without me.
8. Make information available to others (unless illegal).
9. Say No whenever possible.
Signature Date

Do with other people’s
time as you would have
them do with yours.
A NEW GOLDEN RULE

• Hired Chief Simplicity Officers
• Formalized programs and simplification teams
• Made simplification a core part of their
corporate strategy
• Taken back their time and eliminated
distractions
SMART COMPANIES ARE DOING IT

How will you get to
the work that matters?

THE JOURNEY OF A
THOUSAND MILES
BEGINS WITH A
SINGLE STEP.
LAO TZU

Lisa Bodell
CEO, futurethink
@lisabodell
www.futurethink.com

FutureThink QuickWin Series
1. Absurd hero
2. Backcasting
3. Busting Paradigm
4. Customer Day in the Life
5. Do Better Thinking
6. Follow Smart People
7. Futures Wheel
8. Getting Ahead of Emerging Issues
9. Little Bigs: Change the Environment
10. Little Bigs: Eliminate
11. Little Bigs: Pictures Not Words
12. Pain to Gain
13. Scanning for Change Using Twitter
And Many More…….

FutureThink Tool School Series
1. Assumption Reversal
2. Forced Connections
3. Hunting Ground
4. Kill a Stupid Rule
5. Pain to Gain
6. Plus 3, Minus 3
7. Portfolio Balancing
8. PPCO
9. The Art of Brainstorming
10. Who Else? Where Else?
11. Within Adjacent and Beyond

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