Renowned physicist Albert Einstein said - Everything should be made as simple as possible…but not simpler. Although this may sound like a proper paradox, Einstein knew just what he was saying. Keeping things simple is much harder than it sounds. This is because simplicity requires many different factors which we will be talking about in this article. But before then; let’s take a look at how simplicity can turn your business around.

Simplicity as a strategy for business growth

When talking about simplicity, one entrepreneur that comes to mind is Steve Jobs. Jobs had a reputation for churning out aesthetically pleasing products that were very simple to use. According to Jobs, Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication”. Jobs’s love for simplicity can be traced back to many past experiences but the most important thing is how he was able to use his experiences in product design to build a company that was not like any other company at the time.

For Jobs, the goal was to make a product that was simple and intuitive to use. But simplicity can be deceptively complex from a design standpoint. How does one achieve simplicity in business? Simplicity in the context of this article is not a superficial aspect of it, which merely has to do with aesthetics but a deep understanding of the complexity, mechanisms, functionality, and all details or aspects of the business or product laid out in a rather simple manner.

That’s been one of my mantras—focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains

Steve Jobs built his company Apple with this idea of simplicity which can be seen in its GUI, product design, naming, and logos. Today, the company is one of the most successful companies in the world and its products can easily be recognized from that of other electronic device manufacturers.

Many companies have long adopted Jobs’s simplified approach to business and product design and here are 4 ways you can apply this approach to your business for maximum growth.

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#1. It simplifies thinking and makes it easy to identify inefficiency in your business processes

All ideas begin with a thought. If your thoughts are complex and messy, the idea will likely take a similar form. According to Einstein, if you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough. This lack of understanding will be obvious in how your business carries out its services or designs and markets its products. Whether there are inefficiencies or not is often evident in the internal processes of a business.

And no matter how great your business idea may be, it will be looked over by customers who find it difficult to understand or use. This is why when designing a desktop for the Mac, Steve Jobs leveraged the intuition of the average user. This makes it easier for the users to understand how to use the device with minimum effort since it would look similar to what they already know.  One story that exemplifies simplicity in thinking is this.

When designing the iDVD, the Apple team developed a cleaner version from the original one that required a thousand-page manual to use. But while they were proud of their work, Jobs stepped in and demanded an even simpler version. Walking to the whiteboard, Jobs drew a rectangle and said here’s the new application. It has one window, you drag your video into the window and click the button Burn. That’s it. That’s what we are going to make.

#2. It helps you focus on what’s important for the business and dial in without worrying about what the crowd is doing or saying.

What’s more important to the users? Delivering your services in the most efficient way or trying to prove how brilliant your idea is but only making things difficult for the customers? Jobs understood this so well when he said;

You can’t just ask the customers what they want and try to give it to them. By the time you get it built, they will want something else.

Does this mean the adage that the customer is always right, is untrue? Well no, customer opinions should always be welcomed because they can be insightful. What Jobs meant to say is that the customer's want changes and as a business, it will be difficult to keep up with this changes. This is where simplicity comes in.

By keeping things simple, you become adept at focusing on what brings true value to your customers rather than just chasing every trend that customers think is “cool”. This isn’t the same as ignoring them completely. Rather, you learn to see beyond their wants and focus on their needs. Eventually, needs will always outweigh wants. Constantly satisfies your customer’s needs and you’ll see your business grow.

#3. Simplifies communication

Communication can be bogus and how you communicate both with your employees and customers will determine if your business grows, stalls, or fails. One wrong word can make all the difference between a good quarter and a bad one. As the saying goes, the devil is in the details, and this explains why major companies put effort into communicating the value of their products by hosting an unveiling event.

These events are often attended by people who are not necessarily in the tech field, and shared with a broader population who though interested in the product specifications, are not inclined to understand the highly technical aspects. Hence the a need to simplify the more technical aspects of the product. Good communication can also increase efficiency among employees by cutting down on errors and inefficiencies that arise due to bad communication.

At the same time, it also prevents misinterpretation of facts which may arise due to poor understanding on the part of the customers. Both of these outcomes will encourage increased productivity and patronage.

#4. Ease of use

When we encounter something new, our brain immediately tries to find a connection with experience/knowledge. Where none exists, we find this new experience challenging since our brain has to try to make sense of it. Simplicity entails keeping some form of familiarity with business services or products so that customers do not have a steep learning curve. This is one of the reasons behind the success of Apple iPhones especially among the older generations.

The user interface of the iPhone is intuitive and any new customer can jump on the device and within minutes operate it without any reference to the user manual. Intuitive designs should be a priority if your business runs a web or mobile application. Eliminating extra steps can be the difference between losing potential subscribers and having more subscribers.

Conclusion

Indeed simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. But simplicity can be difficult to achieve. However, the effort is justified as it has been proven over and over again that implementing simplicity in business can improve the relationship between the business and its customers, as well as within the business itself. This article outlines 4 ways simplicity can help your business grow; simplifying the thinking process, allowing management to focus on what’s important, clarity in communication, and ease of use.

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