Make it Simple (a OnePageBook)


The next OnePageBook is out - titled, “Make it Simple”.

Simple

It’s about removing the unnecessary and distilling something down to what is really needed. Cutting the crap and leaving the essence.

An event comes to mind; I was sitting in this meeting with a woman from a large corporation heading the work on their new IT strategy. I had been given a 67 page IT strategy draft. Full of fluff and riddled with inconsistencies, errors, typos and distractions. They wanted me to “improve it”.

I told them I would shave the document down to one page and make it so simple that it would pass the 7-story Elevator Test. She started looking worried and asked what I meant by that. I said, “After we’ve simplified this strategy, I will be standing at the bottom floor here with a random 10-year old kid. You will enter the elevator with that kid, explain the full strategy to him while the elevator takes you to the 7th floor - where Brendan will be waiting. The kid will then tell Brendan what your IT strategy is and Brendan will fully grasp it. Or not. That is the test for simplicity. That is the test whether or not your IT strategy will actually be used in the organization or if it simply a paper exercise.”

Her worry turned into fear and then she declined. She wasn’t there to make an effective strategy, she was there to create an impressive document for the Board - as all too many are.

Read the free PDF or get the ebook on Amazon.

As usual, you will find it in the OnePageBooks section.