Is ‘Chief Simplification Officer’ Your Next Title?
Black office professional with glasses and yellow button-down shirt smiles confidently.
By Lisa Bodell for Forbes
Icelandic dairy company Siggi’s is the latest brand to create the role of Chief Simplification Officer (CSO). And while the announcement may be a slick PR stunt, the job listing credits the company’s culture shift toward simplicity as being “rooted in the idea of freedom and flexibility."
The growing need for CSOs has been embraced by the world’s largest beauty company L’Oreal, tech start-ups like CodeXTeam and IAIAO — and every-sized company in between. Through the process of researching and writing Why Simple Wins, I interviewed more than 100 leaders across the world, including several CSOs, and discovered common tactics used by the most effective simplifiers in leadership.
If you’re in a senior position and find yourself on a crusade against complexity, explore the simplifying steps below. They can provide a framework for simplifying in your current scope…and give you real-world experience toward a future role as CSO.
1. Articulate a simple vision. Simplification is more likely to take hold when others are invested in your cause so invite colleagues and employees to weigh in. Sample survey questions could include: “In one sentence, what does simplification mean to us?” And “how could a simpler way of working impact our org or the overall business?” And “which tasks from your team are you willing to suspend in service of simplifying?” Incorporate everyone’s insights to questions like these — and give credit where it’s due when you share the vision enterprise-wide.