Simplicity Drives Action*

Simple Good, Complex Bad With An Important Caveat

Last night, I had a strange experience. It started with watching the training of our filly, who recently lost her eye in an accident, and ended with an odd dream.  As the sun went down, I stood outside the corral for almost an hour and watched in wonder as my son, Joseph, trained our one-eyed filly.  By providing clear, simple directions, Joseph was able to get her to do amazing things.  He can now lead her with a halter and even load her into the trailer. 

I went to bed with the image of that young horse following those simple directions in my head.  I thought I would share this impression in a post the following day. During the night, I had a dream that seemed to suggest I should include a caveat with the post, as bizarre as that sounds. In my dream, I was standing in front of a room of students, teaching them the value of providing clarity and simplicity to drive action in others. In the middle of my lecture, a group of students challenged my assertions and explained that it is sometimes necessary to add complexity to drive more inclusiveness. They gave the example of the American’s With Disability Act. Adding ramps so people in wheelchairs can participate certainly added complexity for businesses, but it was the right thing to do.  Someone in the audience then said, “Simplicity may drive action, but some complexity may be necessary to drive inclusion.”  I wrote it down as soon as I got up this morning.  I never have dreams like this, and I can’t believe I am quoting a fictitious person from my dream in my leadership post, but it seemed profound to me.  I’m sure the fact that our beautiful little filly now has special needs influenced the dream as well.