Photo by ThrasherDave

Simplicity is an acquired taste. Mankind, left free, instinctively complicates life. - Katharine Fullerton Gerould

One of my coworkers was seeking authorization to spend funds in advance of the receipt of a contract.  In other words, he wanted the company to foot the bill for some long-lead-time material so that he could make his deliveries to his customer on time.  The contract award was bogged down on the negotiation of terms and conditions, and the customer had instituted a faster-than-normal delivery schedule.   Not wanting to disappoint the customer, my coworker took the proactive step of securing the funds.  But that’s not the point I’m writing about.

Photo by Matt Ryall

The art of simplicity is a puzzle of complexity. - Douglas Horton

See, he had to fill out an authorization form.  It included cost projections, an estimated date of when we would receive the contract from our customer, and a termination liability profile.   It also included a box that needed to be filled in called “Maximum Potential for Future Income”.  There were convoluted instructions for filling in the box that would have made Rube Goldberg’s head spin, including a confusing formula.  We stood around staring at it like a bunch of chimpanzees contemplating a shiny object.  After running the numbers, and making a few phone calls, it became apparent that what they were looking for was a projection of net income.  Why they didn’t just label the box “Net Income” is beyond me.

Photo by miss_rogue

Progress is man’s ability to complicate simplicity. - Thor Heyerdahl

Unfortunately, this is but one example of over-complication that I’ve run into at work.   I’ve had to read and re-read procedures to get to the basic points that they contain.  On more than one occasion, we’ve found situations that were not addressed in these wordy procedures.   The writer of the procedure would have been better served by explaining the standards in plain language, rather than talking like a Philadelphia lawyer.  My car lease has less words in the fine print!

Photo by caesararum

Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. - Edsger Dijkstra

So, I beseech you. Keep it simple.  What you gain by forgoing the flowery dialogue will help speed things up significantly.  In the example that I used, no less than 6 people were involved in figuring out what “”Maximum Potential for Future Income” meant.  Everyone at work already knows how smart you are.  Save your fellow chimps some time by cutting to the chase and keeping it simple.

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