Edward De Bono , famous for his concepts of lateral thinking and six thinking hats, is also the author of Simplicity, an important about the importance and practice of simplicity in work and business.
[From the Great Books Series. Also see The Success Manual - Encyclopedia of Advice, which contains summaries of 100+ Most useful books.]
A look at the main points raised in the book:
Pathway
* What & How of Simplicity
* Why Simplicity
* Barriers to Simplicity
* The simplicity 14
* Dangers of Simplicity
* Simplicity in Daily Life
* 10 Simple Rules
* End Game ….
What is simplicity
* Not
o Simplistic | Over Simplification | Simpletons
* Simplicity is being simple after knowing
o Not being simple without knowing [simplistic]
* Reduce the problem to uncover the solution
* Simplicity should
o easy | understandable | more people | less energy | few – little | Motivate |
* Tree metaphor
Why Simplicity
* Is Simple – Easy to do
* Lower effort in doing
* Simple is elegant
* Simple is powerful
* Lesser errors and mistakes in doing
* Achieve sophistication
* Wide spread and more users
* Easy to maintain and sustain
Barriers to Simplicity..
* Want / Urge to simplify
* Complexity has its values
* Simplistic
* Over simplification
* Simplicity is not easy
* Hiding under change & incompetence
* Easy to understand – ego
14 rules of simplicity
* Historic Review
* Shedding reducing
* Challenged dropping
* Shift in energies
* Doing Afresh
* BPR – reengineer
* Flavored Approach
* Ladder Approach
* Exceptions & Bulk
* Extract Concepts
* Segment –Modularize
* Combining - Merging
* Idealize – wishful thinking
* Feedback - Listening
Dangers of Simplicity
* Simplistic
* Destroying reliability
* Removing richness – boring
* Halting evolution?
* Insensitive
* Difficult to understand
* social Danger
* Economic Danger
* Non Commercial
* Unfair
Simplicity in ones life
* Simple Notes
* 1 at a time
* Verbalize
* Do in small steps
* Do in stages
* Unbundle
* Break down – manageable bits
* Use Concepts
* Working backwards
* Dont seek 100% perfection!
* Parallel Think Do
* Slow down
* Clarify
9. 10 rules of simplification
* Assign high value to Simplicity
* Continuously pursue Simplicity
* Simplicity needs understanding
* Simplicity would tradeoff with other dimensions
* For whom is the simplicity?
* Think Afresh certain problems
* Break down problem into manageable parts
* Work through concepts
* Challenge & Discard
* Develop alternatives & possibilities
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