Rather than invent, simplify. Rather than expand, organize. Strip away noise, excess, and reduce subjects to their core. Clarify, rather than embellish. If invention indicates progress, excessive invention hinders it with confusion. Simplification, in this condition, is a necessity. Simplicity, more and more, exceeds innovation in its value creation.
If I am expressing a personal bias, then I am not alone. The line between opinion and fact is delicate these days, but one way to resolve the difference – a simple way – is to test the market. When the customer speaks, this is an important statement. There is no more factual voice than that of the marketplace in a free economy. Entrepreneurs, take note, the people are speaking.
I give you Exhibit A, Google Buzz, and Exhibit B, the iPad. Exhibit A is rich in features and options, with opt-outs, opt-ins, ways to use, connect, disconnect, on desktop, on mobile, make big, make small, make public or private, change colors, change settings, insert, take out, link, unlink, and all manner of other branches on a decision tree that rises tall as a mountain to no particular end. Exhibit B is a rectangular light device that allows its owner to touch its screen in order to see content.
Exhibit A is free of charge, is instantly accessible, and has about twelve users. It was, come to think, forced upon people, who diconnected it immediately. Exhibit B costs hundreds of dollars and requires a wait in line. Some 500,000 units have been sold in one week. Entrepreneurs, take note, your customers are speaking.
This subject reminds me of a passage from David Markson – champion of simplicity – which passage resonates on more than one level. I paraphrase, unable to find the source material online, but in this passage a minister is giving instruction to his secretary: “A sentence consists of a subject, an object, and a verb. If you have to use an adjective, come see me.”
Nouns and verbs are easy to define, and easy to understand. Adjectives are less straight-forward. You may try this at home: without the use of a dictionary, define “car,” “drive,” and “fast,” each separately, outside the context of the other, and without resorting to synonyms – that would be cheating. Do you see my point? This is a lesson to us all: let’s be careful to not overuse our adjectives. Entrepreneurs, be careful to not clutter up your sentences.
