If there’s one acronym that summarizes how you should go about business, and perhaps life in general, it’s KISS – Keep It Simple, Stupid.
Most people like simplicity. They don’t want things to sound complicated because that only makes them feel stupid. As we know, people have an innate desire to fit in and belong, and by keeping things simple, you allow them to do so.
However, there are those who like to keep things complicated. They believe that they sound intelligent as they throw around a bunch of jargon and leave other behind in the dust. But in reality, this is stupid because they’re only pushing people away. If you’re a salesman or an entrepreneur trying to push a great idea, making things complicated for people is counterproductive.
People like to feel that they are in control; no one likes to feel vulnerable. When a new concept is so simple that people can understand it, they don’t feel threatened or controlled by something else. Also, if your concept is simple to understand, it’s simple to talk about it and spread. (That sounds so much like something that Seth Godin would say, it just might be plagiarism. Sorry, Seth.)
Speaking of Godin, I love his books because they are simple. Very simple. You don’t need any previous knowledge of jargon to follow Godin’s concepts because he creates terms to help you out. Godin’s terms aren’t jargon because they simplify things and make ideas stick in your head. Some of Godin’s books are extremely short (The Dip is only 80 pages), but that’s all the space that Godin needs to make his points. If a concept is so simple that readers can understand it in only 80 pages, why should he waste time and resources trying to beat something in your skull?
Sometimes I see presentations (which people collect nice little fees for giving) and think, That’s so simple, I could do that. But I’m not doing it, because I was too busy overlooking simplicity and convincing myself that the solutions to people’s problems must be more complicated. If the problem were that simple, everyone would have seen the solution sooner, right? I think we all know that that way of thinking isn’t exactly the smartest.
Maybe this is why some people don’t “get” Twitter. They see Twitter and think, This is it? This is all I do? 140 characters or less?
Yes, that’s Twitter. It’s very simple. And guess what. It works.
Sure, some things are truly complicated. Like computer programs. But when you talk about a program, do you talk about the algorithms and the code? I hope not, unless you’re talking to a programmer. Don’t spend time talking to me about the new programming language you used. Just tell me how the program makes my life less complicated.
If someone wants you to go into more detail than your simple solution, they’ll ask you to do so. But most of us don’t care about details. We only want results.
If you need an example of something that could use simplifying, just think about economics. Economics isn’t all that complicated. It’s the study of supply and demand and incentives. But economists make it complicated. They speak their own language, throwing around terminology and formulas, and make it incredibly difficult for you to get involved in the conversation. Could this be why more people don’t understand economics?
Using terminology for terminology’s sake can get in the way sometimes. Outside of a classroom, why should you ever use the term cognitive dissonance? That sounds like a mental disorder. Call it what it really is: buyer’s remorse.
Make it easy for people to keep up. Keep it simple, stupid.
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