By David Brewster June 2005
Even if you've never seen a Star Wars film, you have probably heard of the 'dark side of the force'. In Star Wars Episode III, the implicit warning is that the dark side can be difficult to distinguish from the good side. This is certainly the case with simplicity, which also has a dark side. Which leaves us with a challenge.
To find the dark side of simplicity, look no further than the world of advertising. Simplicity sells: a simple message is the best way to quickly and easily win over a broad audience. And because simplicity sells, advertisers can be quick to use simplicity with little or no regard for substance.
A classic, if trivial, example: for decades, washing powder advertisers have been promising 'whiter-than-white'. If their promises had substance we'd need sunglasses to put on our underwear every morning. I can't speak for you, but my smalls look pretty much as white now as they always did.
The dark side of simplicity is perhaps even more prevalent in politics. Politicians of all political persuasions tend to prefer a simple catch-phrase (WMD, 'war-on-terror') to a proper explanation. The simple statement 'cuts through' in the age of the ever-shrinking sound bite.
Another cupboard in which the dark side of simplicity lurks is business. If, as happened recently in Australia, you're the new CEO of a major public company, what better way to win over the market than to announce the simplest strategy of all: cost cutting? Cost cutting is easy to understand, so it sells; never mind the consequences.
None of this is to suggest that all simple statements or acts in advertising, politics or business are bad. Our problem is that it is often difficult to discern which simplicity comes from the dark side and which comes from the light: coming from substance rather than expediency.
We need to do two things. First, those of us who value simplicity need to clearly understand the difference between the simplicity of the dark side and that of the light. We then need to ensure that our own attempts to simplify are grounded in the latter.
The difference is, dare I say it … simple. In fact the underlying difference between the 'dark' and the 'light' forms of simplicity is the same as that which differentiates the dark and light sides of the force. It is this: integrity.
Put very briefly, it works like this. Anyone can make anything look simple. But the degree to which you simplify is governed, in the final analysis, by your integrity. Your integrity allows you to simplify that which you know or understand; that which has substance. But it forces you to defer or constrain your attempts to simplify otherwise.
On the surface, simplicity provides ready-to-eat, 99% fat free clarity. In a cluttered and confusing world, simple messages and initiatives are devoured faster than a dog downs his dinner. Our challenge is to create these messages with integrity. May the force be with you.
©June 2005 Business Simplification