The French philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal once wrote to a friend something like this: “I apologize for writing you a long letter, but I didn’t have the time to write you a short one.”
Getting to simple is hard and takes real brain power.
Simplifying the complex takes time and wisdom. It requires true insight into the issue or problem, which is always in short supply, even among so-called experts. Those who fail to understand an issue at its core are doomed to explain it in a way that others won’t comprehend or find valuable.
When a leader truly understands an idea or problem and can emphasize what is at the heart of the issue, complexity melts away and is replaced by something more elegant.
By finding a fitting story, metaphor, or analogy to paint a picture of the core elements, the idea comes into even sharper focus. Explaining the idea by replacing jargon and technical terms with everyday language also aids in creating a parsimonious explanation.
Anyone can take a complex idea and explain it in a more complex way. Leaders who prefer to hide behind complex explanations and obtuse language do so to project a sophisticated self-image that falls flat.
The mark of a great mind is an ability to take what few can truly understand and make it clear and actionable. Getting your thinking clear enough to make it simple for others is of the highest calling for the best leaders. Demand more simplicity from yourself and others. Wisdom requires it.
