That’s been one of my mantras—focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”
— Steve Jobs
Renown philosopher and leader of the English Enlightenment period John Locke once apologized to a friend for writing him a long letter because he didn’t have time to write a short one.
The above quote from Steve Jobs echoes Locke’s sentiment, even though it was penned some 300 years later. So what is meant by “simplifying the complex” and how will it impact your business or organization? And where does such simplicity fit in the overall scope and operation of the enterprise?
The concept of simplicity, no matter what product you are selling or services you provide, begins with the AIM or VISION of the organization—or FOCUS. It is surprising how many firms do not actually know what business they are in. As a result, they operate with sketchy ideas and blurred focus relative to the actual value produced by their collective efforts. In most cases clients, customers, and end-users are unintentionally ignored [let’s hope it’s unintentional] in lieu of doting on internal goals, numbers, processes, cost controls, and operating efficiency.
Think about your own life experience. How many times have you walked away from a conversation scratching your head wondering what the heck the person you were just talking to was saying about their business and the value it provides? Technology firms are famous for such over-complicating of the value proposition, but it is commonplace across all vertical markets.
An exercise we use at MindMeld in our organizational development mapping is defining the value of the business using only a noun and a verb. The one caveat in the process is that value must be understood from the customer, client, or end-user’s perspective, not that of the business. While this is a difficult and in many instances painfully agonizing undertaking, as Jobs noted, the benefits far outweigh the effort. This method can also be used for defining individual products and services under the rubric of the overall brand message. We call this building a product or service delivery taxonomy.
The underlying principle is that defining the product or service in terms of why it helps or benefits the client is far more effective than focusing on what you are doing and how you do it. Those aspects are important, but they are secondary to the primary Aim or Mission.
For example, MindMeld operates under the premise of “Discovering and Communicating Value.” Admittedly, we had to cheat a bit by using two verbs to fully convey what we do. But the message remains clear and to the point. This is why we exist—to help organizations identify and capitalize on the inherent value its products and services afford.
If you need help bringing Focus to your business, please do not hesitate to contact me at doug.knuth@mindmeldmarketing.com. Our proven methods for helping you unleash the power of focus result in real and tangible improvements that can impact and continuously improve every area of your organization.
© copyright 2015, Doug Knuth, MindMeld Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved.