Simple or Complicated? This Test Reveals The Truth
By Lisa Bodell for Forbes
In a McKinsey survey, 62% of executives, managers and employees reported that org structures and processes make it difficult to get work done. While there are many causes for complexity — rapid growth or fear-based leadership, for example — it’s not a fatal diagnosis. Anyone at any level can start simplifying things within their own sphere of control.
What exactly constitutes a simplified state? After interviewing hundreds of experts and academics for my book, Why Simple Wins, my team and I invented an awkward but effective acronym to remember what simplicity is: M.U.R.A.
“M” is for minimal and refers to the number of steps, features, approvals, pages, etc. standing between you and the completion of something. The Apple brand exemplifies minimal: from the online and Apple store experience to packaging and products. Minimal is also evident in Apple’s decisions to remove the headphone jack from new iPhones and phase out products like the no-longer-relevant iPod.