This blog post is going to be a part of a series where I share my learnings and experiences on how we can avoid unnecessary complexities and attain simplicity in business.

Recently I had the time to do some window shopping and I took a stroll into an Apple store and the first thing that hit me was the the simplicity of the whole layout. From the way the the products are displayed to the the crisp design of the iPhone or MacBook.

When I took a look at Apple’s product, it was clear to me that simplicity was at the heart of what they do and everyone seems to love it. But at the same time, I am aware that achieving simplicity is not an easy task and it takes the whole organisation to follow suit in order to succeed in this.

I have spent the last 7-years in the telecommunications/software industry and I have learnt that simplicity is not about being simple, it is about giving the impression of being simple.

The more we learn, experiment and grow as a species, we cannot help but make things complex. As a user of complex products, I still prefer simplicity and I would say all of us love companies that provide us with this experience.

And then I wonder, why is it so hard to attain simplicity?

I glanced at the applications we have churned out over the years at B3Networks & Hoiio, some of them have been simple beautiful applications for businesses to get started with their communication needs. But if I were to ask any of my colleagues from the engineering team, they will tell me a lot of complexity went into building it. Or consider, a Snickers chocolate bar what appears to be a simple straightforward chocolate bar which is delicious – consisting of nougat topped with caramel and peanuts that has been enrobed in milk chocolate, is actually a result of a complex process.

Simplicity then, is not as simple. But organisations benefit when they are able to give an impression of simplicity.

There is a concept of flow that I learnt when I was developing the B3Networks Academy’s website or Two Souls One Chai website where a customer is able to land on the website and navigate it seamlessly. Hours and hours of thinking went into achieving this simplicity but the user will not a thing about it.

To sum up this first blog in the “Avoiding Complexities & Attaining Simplicity” series I would simple say this – simplicity looks easy on the outside but is tricky on the inside.

Thanks for reading,