I guess my love affair stems from the the humbling appreciation of how much hard work it takes to simplify. It demands grit. It takes smarts and immense patience. It even requires faith—belief that you have the skills to craft something poignant from what initially appears so overwhelming. So I suppose keeping it simple also requires courage.
So why am I blabbering about this in a business context? I think because, ultimately, I see my job as a storyteller, counterintuitive as that may seem. We regularly dig into humongous mega-tons of raw data that would scare the daylights out of any sane person. But that actually gets me juiced. Going into battle, grinding away, and digging out the clear, simple truths.
Simplicity empowers change because it makes knowledge shareable, and that shared knowledge becomes the foundation for preempting chaos, exciting innovation, and creating positive change.
PS – I’m writing this as I sit at the London Zoo, in front of a trippy exhibit called “the most destructive insect on Earth,” the subject of my next blog.