I just wanted to recommend this thought as the theme resonates with me right now - The Laws of Simplicity. Speaking from experience, it really is so hard to get simplicity right…
The natural tendency of people around me is that simple is easy, and that they don’t want anything that’s too simple. It’s in our nature to over-complicate, and start adding features and doodads in an effort to make something look sexier. The approach that I aspire to is a little bit more different:
What is that one thing that I can help people with, and how do I focus on that and make that so simple that it becomes sexy? A reductionist theory in an odd sense. That might not work for everyone intuitively when they are off building products, or solutions… but that approach, as far as I can see, has worked for me (while the former approach of adding odds and ends at a whim without having a clear idea of THE ONE USE for the tool/site/service has been, well, kind of disastrous…).
It’s hard. It’s often much harder to pour your soul into one thing than to dabble in many (that just about sums up men & commitment heh). But I think at least it’ll put me in good stead moving forward.
Thus, I wanna get my hands on the book (I haven’t read it yet, so can’t really recommend it yet).
“It’s in our nature to over-complicate… in an effort to make something look sexier”. well said my friend!
And you know what comes to my head when you say this?
No, its not those eager software engineers who try to add this feature and that feature to their software to make their product more ‘feature-rich’. Its not that product manager who cannot define his products in a sentence.. no…
its ‘company mission statements’ of course! haha… man those things are filled with crap… btw, check out the dilbert mission statement generator if u get the time (google it).. its pretty cool
Left by Prashant Sarkar on February 6th, 2007
well i stumbled upon your blog and i totally relate to your simplicity theory. however i believe it’s easier to commit into one than many, because it’s so much simpler, but men(and women) are generally not happy with one, which is why they involve themselves in so many issues that makes life sexier(that i agree) and hence the commitment problem. i guess simplicity is looking beyond the many problems we have and take a step back look at it as if it’s done. in that sense, it makes things simple, you look only at the end, what you have to do, and why you started it. everything else blurs because you know they will fade when it is done and over.
easy is for the ignorant, simple for the enlightened. =)
Left by cherilyn on March 15th, 2007
aiyo… you must be very busy. Blog more!! you’ve got very interesting insights …
Left by Priscilla on August 6th, 2007
btw, i’ve moved the blog!! realised you still have my old blog.
REgistered www.priscillatan.com but currently in transition.
Can find me at http://charis-jp.livejournal.com/
Left by Priscilla on August 6th, 2007
It’s another way of saying “More is Less”. Perhaps it’s a sign of the times. As the world gets more complex, we tend to ask for simplicity. And it’s not a bad thing at all.
Left by Ivan Chew on September 11th, 2007
I beg to differ. Simplicity requires significant intelligence in order to streamline and dissect unnecessary information, in view of providing a summarized single-minded proposition.
Left by Pat Law on September 12th, 2007