The biggest bug of Corporates – Complexities!

Most corporates around world have no clue how complexities are silently and systematically killing them. Factually speaking, the killer bug has been inflicting damage to our private life and the most of public or private institutions too! Look at processes, procedures, policies, perceptions, behavior, basic needs and thinking, compare with what was prevalent say 5 or more years back and you would be amazed to see how these have become more and more complex. Some complexities might be out of necessity; but most of them are not!

Two things have been ever increasing in our world or universe – entropy i.e. heat energy as per 2nd law of thermodynamics and complexities; or may be that the latter is just a consequence of the former!!

How complexities hurt corporates

Complexities hurt on many counts, some of which are:

1. Loss of transparency.
2. Less effective controls and monitoring.
3. Loss of productivity.
4. Push up costs due to higher man hours and time required to complete a given activity.
5. Possibilities to maneuver and manipulate more; hence increased possibility for misuse of the system.
6. Complicated organizational structure.
7. Complex decision making process, leading to inaccuracies and ineffectiveness.

How complexities impact your personality

Many may not have a clue how complexities could cripple their personality, personal life and behavioral patterns, which are bound to get transferred seamlessly to their professional life with corporates or any other platform.

1. You run away from realities.
   This could be most damaging, as you may not, then, get to realities or get to these with great difficulties!
2. Make your perceptions complicated.
3. Make you less agile and flexible.
4. Adversely affect your abilities to imagine and innovate.
5. Create dents in your motivational and comfort levels.
6. Tamper with your confidence.
7. Strengthen your religious convictions and rituals, since these thrive on complexities and relegate the realism needed in your professional life.
   If you go back in history, religious convictions and rituals have evolved mainly from base of mysteries, miracles and mythologies. If these were to be simple to understand, people would have lost faith in same and switch to realism. This is also one reason, why most places of worship do not have easy or simple access. May be it was not done deliberately; but net result is in front of you!
   Would you not be amazed to know that gurus, god men, preachers and proponents of “religious convictions and rituals” have generally very simple living habits; but their thoughts are complex? Ordinary people are not able to fathom and follow, and this is the precise reason why people need to keep revisiting them!
   Now, when you become believers of these convictions and rituals, your behavior and beliefs are also likely to become more complex and you can’t prevent these to play up in your professional activities.

It may be very interesting to know that advancements in science and technology have added fuel in fire of complexities. All branches of science are losing on simplicity and mathematically, these have become maniacs! Is that necessary? Would there be anyone now to discover another or like of simple but profound equation of Einstein E = mC2? No one has an answer, since we are caught in complexities. It is in this context that “Ease-of-Use” techniques, “Simple-to-Operate” products like iPhone, iPads and their equivalents catch fancy of public instantly!

Why and how complexities creep in?

• Pursuit for Excellence pushes you to Perfection. Seldom people know how to be perfect, while keeping it simple!
• Experts and specialists can comprehend complexities; but not simplicities.
• You are so much caught up in complexities that it is hard for you to believe simplicities work better! Your trust in simple things has taken full beating.
• Many managers believe making it simple is no-brainer and would not bring them laurels from management.
• Many executives have misconception that complexities would save and secure their position. They may not want management to have an easy grip on what they are supposed to be good at!
• It is a paradox that complexities keep people engaged at the expense of efficiency! These give purposes, as also problems!! This very paradox drives corporate and common people to befall on complexities, unconsciously though!
• Lot of learning and leadership programs lay good emphasis on productivity, attention to details, focus on quality and so on; but empty on how to do it simple. So, you learn to be complex!

Killing or cutting complexities

1. Campaign against complexities needs to be driven from top.
2. Take only advice of internal experts and specialists; but campaign should be executed by forward looking and flexible employees, who are generalists.
3. To identify complexities, remember following:
1. Complexities never have direct way of taking you to facts and realities!
2. These would always follow circuitous ways!!
3. If you need more than 2 or max of 3 steps to reach to the required data, information, points, problem or issues in relation to policies, procedures, practices, processes, compliances, communication protocols etc. as a thumb rule, that’s complex.
4. Facts, realities or truths are inherently those, which are simple to understand and straight forward to access.
4. Having identified complexities vide point 3, restructure, revamp or reconstitute to make your systems simple.
5. Very often, it is prudent to discard current practices or processes and go for completely new but simple ones.
6. Mentor people to think simple and straight.

Simplicity, in thoughts and tasks, is a beauty, which can help you to revolutionize your professional as well as personal life!!!