dispatches from the new world of work

Cool Friend: John Maeda

When Tom got a copy of John Maeda's book, this is what he wrote:

I planned to skim-sample John Maeda's book, then decide to endorse it—or not. I quickly found myself mesmerized—and thence the only issue was deciding what were the strongest words I could muster in support of The Laws of Simplicity. The book is important; and Maeda has made an absurdly complex subject—simplicity—approachable and usable.

Bravo! I hope the people who design the products I'll acquire in the next 10 years take this book to heart.

Maeda is an artist as well as an author, and the founder of the Simplicity Consortium at the MIT Media Lab. You can read his Cool Friends interview here, or visit his websites, www.maedastudio.com and lawsofsimplicity.com.

Cathy Mosca posted this on 12/13/06.

Comments

Things need to get a lot more, not less, "complex" inside before they become "simple" outside - simple and intuitive to use.

Yes, "Simplicity is about adding (and enabling) the meaningful". A note of caution, though - "subtracting the obvious", may make ideas and products dysfunctional.

Jay, from Bangalore
http://ideaburger.blogspot.com

Posted by Jayakumar Hariharan at December 13, 2006 11:19 PM

I loved the quote from John Maeda, "Simplicity is actually a very complex thing". I believe an important value of theory and models is to make the complex a bit more simple by allowing us to organize thought. I do agree with Jayakumar's caution, as the devil often lies in the details, but effective leaders can act in a time of ambiguity by seeking the cause and effect of organizational dynamics. Seeking the simple makes sense to me.

Posted by Mike Neiss at December 14, 2006 7:38 AM

Jay & Mike are on the same page as me perhaps - a RADICAL Minimalist - fortunate to have 7 figure "wealth" - 3 homes - 1 Lexus - 5 pairs of shoes - 3 black jeans - 1 15" flat TV = exact simple "possessions" w/NOTHING extra - including dynamic relations which are updated & trimmed - a continuum.

Posted by sean_minimalist at December 14, 2006 9:17 AM

At the heart of Simplicity is Genuineness or Authenticity ..
Managment Consulting is what I do for a living . In the last 5 years , I have worked with a number of Leaders and Leadership teams in some high growth industries . One Clear differentiator I see between High Performance teams and Dysfunctional teams is the inherent simplicity or the lack of it . Dysfunctional teams do a hell'o lot of shadow boxing , indulge in a lot of Smart Talk crap . End result ?
More reports , More metrics and more reviews and out goes Simplicity and with it meaningful result producing actions .

Remember the 'simple' 3 point Executive Mantra of GE the 9os ? Speed , Simplicity and Self Confidence .
I have this vague feeling that SImplicity being at the center of the 3 point formula is a design marvel .. The other 2 factors on either side will just not be functional or value adding with out Simplicity acting as a Vital glue ... Any comments folks ?

Posted by Rajan at December 14, 2006 11:56 PM

Hi Rajan

Simplicity has been my mantra for many years. C.W. Ceran said â€˜Genius is the ability to reduce the complicated to the simple.â€™ Although I love that quote and use it all the time it does imply that we have to have some special mystical quality to introduce simplicity to our work. The reality is of course that everyone can do something to reduce complexity - there is no great academic concept about simplicity - we can all do it. I believe it is a hearts and minds thing.

You experience mirrors mine about teams. Leaders and teams that stick to simple principles and communicate simply thrive in my experience. Those who spend time producing incomprehensible policies, procedures and reports that no one reads get stuck in the bog of complexity. I am sure Simplicity is more about communication than anything else. I am pretty well convinced the easiest way to introduce simplicity into any organisation is to delegate as much as we can to the people at the front line who are doing the real work. They are in direct touch with our customers and therefore have to speak a language that makes sense. These are three of my simplicity principles as published on my Blog

Simplicity Tip Number 1 - Staff at the front line know ALL the answers ALL the time.

Simplicity Tip Number 2 - If managers have a job at all in 2006 it is to make it easy for front line staff to do their job with freedom.

Simplicity Tip Number 3 - Give all the money â€“ YES ALL THE MONEY to front line staff.

Posted by Trevor Gay at December 15, 2006 5:40 AM

Correction to Simplicity Tip Number 3 - Give all the money â€“ YES ALL THE MONEY to front line staff (AND sean)).

Posted by robles estanza at December 15, 2006 6:57 AM

Robles - you must join Trevor & me on our next "front-liner" comp vacation in Monaco - ALL the MONEY put to fabulous use - as simple as that.

4. "Front-Liner" Life is Easy via All the Money

Posted by sean_money at December 15, 2006 9:06 AM