Elegant Simplicity

“Everything, everywhere, all at once” was declared by the Chief Executive as the strategy for an airline during an organisation design project. The intention was to excel in every area simultaneously.  However, this approach led to stressed leaders, rising costs, and an expanding middle management layer. Corporate services subsequently struggled to hold together an increasingly diverse and complex organisation. The unintended consequence? More middle managers were hired to keep things glued together, often bringing their own pet projects, which added further complexity and cost.

This isn’t an isolated case. Across many organisations, leaders find it difficult to say no, stop products or services, or let go of pet projects. The result is a lack of focus and a steady increase in organisational complexity. This got me thinking about how we add complexity to our organisations.

Why We Add Instead of Subtract

Recent research published in Nature reveals a cognitive bias: when solving problems, people tend to add rather than subtract. This tendency is even stronger under pressure, when time is short, or when we’re not reminded that subtraction is an option. Our brains find additive changes easier, while subtractive changes require more effort and deliberate thought.

Simplicity as Sophistication

In 1977 Apple advertised their Apple II computer with the slogan, “Simplicity is ultimate sophistication.” This echoed Steve Jobs own philosophy, saying, “It takes a lot of hard work, to make something simple, to truly understand the underlying challenges and come up with elegant solutions.” Stripping away complexity to create something intuitive and elegant isn’t a compromise—it’s a higher form of design.

Applying Elegant Simplicity to Organisations

I believe this idea applies just as powerfully to organisational design and leadership. “Elegant Simplicity” is the foundation for the conversations and webinars we’ll be hosting in the coming months. Our aim is to move beyond talking about problems, to focus on practical insights leaders and practitioners can apply in their work.

Upcoming Topics

We’ve invited a range of thought leaders to join us in exploring these themes. Together, we’ll address not just the challenges, but also the practices that lead to healthier, more adaptive organisations. Topics include:

• Does the culture reward simplification or celebrate complexity?
• Elegant Simplicity: Why Less Really Is More
• The Neuroscience of Complexity: Why Leaders Struggle to Subtract –
• AI as a Simplifier: How Technology Can Reduce Organisational Noise
• From Chaos to Clarity: Designing Operating Models for Simplicity
• Healthy Organisations, Healthy People: The Human Case for Simplification
• Beyond the Org Chart: Whole-System Design for Elegant Simplicity
• Leading in Complex Times: Finding Clarity Through the Noise 
• The Future Is Simple: Why Adaptive Organisations Win in Uncertain Times 
• Simplifying Customer Journeys: How Elegant Simplicity Creates Loyalty and Trust
• HR 3.0 and Elegant Simplicity: Designing People Functions for a Human-Centred Future 
• Why Elegant Simplicity Beats the Organisational Silver Bullet