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Home > For Free > Articles > issue4vol6
Three Options for Dealing with Complexity
By David Brewster October 2006
Every time I ask managers to tell me what makes their lives more complicated, the list seems to get longer. A favourite current gripe is the burden of regulation. Many managers are stuck in a quagmire of rules, regulations and report-writing imposed by both government and the corporate head office. How to cope?
Clint - not his real name - was the housemate from hell. It was like living with a caveman. We don’t think he killed his own food though the smell from his room gave cause for wonder. He wouldn’t wash up, couldn’t cook and didn’t shop. And the way he left the bathroom!
My two other long-suffering housemates and I would complain endless to each other about our situation. Clint had turned what should have been the relatively relaxed art of student cohabitation into something much more complicated.
The day came when we had finally had enough. While Clint was out at a hunting and gathering lecture, or whatever he was studying, we called a crisis meeting. We convened at the kitchen bench with our fifth coffees of the day.
The first suggestion was that we simply remove this complexity by evicting our problematic boarder. But removal was not an option. His father owned the house we were staying in. He wasn’t a boarder – we were.
The next thought was that we could escape the complexity by removing ourselves from the house. Problem was, as cash-strapped students, we were on a good thing. The rent was cheap. The location was perfect: we had a pub right on the corner. And we had exams coming up. There was no time to move.
So we couldn’t remove Clint. And we had chosen not to escape him either. The reality finally dawned on us. We had only one option: to manage the situation as best we could.
With that realization it seemed the air suddenly cleared. By putting aside the remove and escape options, we were forced to look at our challenge anew. We saw that the emotional energy we had been spending on complaints to each other had been a poor investment. Proactive management of our circumstances would be a much wiser way to spend our efforts.
This new mindset gave us the latitude to think more clearly and creatively. We struck a balance between ignoring the more Neanderthal of our mate’s habits (mostly) and finding creative ways to change him (occasionally). And we moved on.
The way we came to terms with Clint is the same thing you need to do as you face your various complexities. Examine each on its own merits. Give it the ‘remove/escape/manage’ test. Consolidate your options. And then move on.
And if Clint has found his way into your office (you’ll know who he is) ask him about the famous mouldy coffee mug incident of 1985.
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