Edward de Bono explains that mediocre minds are afraid of simplicity, because they cannot understand that behind a simple idea there is nothing. It seems that people have an urgent need to complicate simple things in their eagerness to justify a decision. In the business environment, it is common to find specialists, consultants and professionals who, in their eagerness to show their knowledge or provide advice, explain everything through complex terms, implausible diagrams and vague concepts. But it is also surprising to find how these jugglers of terminologies become the support of entrepreneurs who need to find - and especially listen to - a difficult solution to an easy problem, since they are convinced that the remedy for all their ills cannot be something simple, but immensely complicated.
I am beginning to believe that there are people who refuse to believe that the optimal way to solve their problems is the one they have in front of their noses, possibly because this would demonstrate their lack of common sense. And the unusual thing is that in their healthy intention to find clarity in the face of problems, they submerge themselves under the guidance of statements, missions, definitions and presentations that only add confusion to the heart. Because the more difficult to understand what is proposed… it means that there was a lot of gray matter behind it. To add insult to injury, this tendency to complication is not only a Latin vice. There are even famous authors who prove it. One of them is Stephen Covey, author of the classic "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People." His proposals are very good, but some of his diagrams are a masterpiece of complication,since it makes use and abuse of the concentric circles, quadrants and little arrows that come and go. Just look at his charts, try to understand them with the naked eye and say: "This guy must be a genius because I don't understand anything, surely I must be very ignorant in the face of such a display of wisdom." Because let's be clear: a graphic is used to better explain - synthetically - an idea, but it has never been created to confuse things. Otherwise, it does not work.a graphic is used to better explain - synthetically - an idea, but it has never been created to mess things up. Otherwise, it does not work.a graphic is used to better explain - synthetically - an idea, but it has never been created to mess things up. Otherwise, it does not work.
Now, I transcribe some wonderful examples from day to day:
- "The commercial mission, which must be reflected in the corporate expression of our organization, must appeal to the eloquent reduction of the economic transaction by potential buyers." Translation: Our slogan should be: LOW PRICES. "We must implement a merchandising strategy that maximizes the exposure of our product portfolio on the visual horizon of customers entering the category of high pedestrian turnover." Translation: Let's fix the window that faces the street. "From the semantic point of view, I express my concern and I will have to investigate whether the ideal resource to transmit our messages is to appeal to creative pieces that are manifested through a prosopopeia, hyperbole or metonymy." Translation: I'll see what the heck I write in the ads. "Listen to me,his medical picture shows the appearance of a bulge of sebaceous origin at the apex of his olfactory prominence ». Translation: Hey, he got a pimple on his nose.
So I suggest starting a crusade against the tendency to complicate things. Start telling these people: "Be clear because you don't understand anything." Or even shorter: "Speak simple." We can start with business and political speeches, followed by university professors who judge theses based on the number of pages written, continuing with professionals from various branches (doctors, journalists, lawyers, advertisers, etc.) who make the words difficult their daily bread, and ending with many consultants and advisers, who as Peter Drucker well defines, are nothing more than traffickers of confusion. Complexity is not to be admired. It should be avoided. Simpler, impossible.
