A Concept to Challenge Your Status Quo
Warren Buffett once said that humans seem to have a ‘perverse characteristic’ of making ‘easy things difficult’ & Einstein once said there is 'brilliance in simplicity'...
So, why do we, overwhelmingly, tend to fall prey to this disease that causes us to overthink & overcomplicate things?
Well, this phenomenon is known as "complexity bias" that suggests that our tendency to give undue preference to complex ideas, solutions, or explanations over simpler ones can cause us to choose the "hard road" far more often than we need. People with this bias may assume that more complex solutions or theories are superior or more accurate, often overlooking simpler and potentially more effective alternatives. This bias can affect decision-making, problem-solving, and judgment in various contexts.
In many situations there is a perceived sophistication with the complex as people often associate complexity with intelligence, expertise, and sophistication. They may believe that complex solutions or ideas are the result of advanced thinking and deep understanding.
This was the case growing up with a Mother that was an English teacher. She valued "The King's English" at such a high level that, oftentimes, she would slip into judgment if someone didn't know the meaning of a complex word or used it inappropriately. And as I would seek approval from my Mother by exploring more complicated words to use when much simpler ones would have been more effective. Oftentimes this led to confusion and lack of confidence in my command of the English language...
In other situations there can be an overestimation of effort that highlights the belief that more effort and resources have been invested in developing complex solutions, making them seem more valuable or credible. In more pronounced situations this can manifest as a fear of oversimplification. This is where people fear that simplicity may fail to capture the nuances and intricacies of a problem that could cause overly simple solutions to overlook critical details, leading to ineffective or incomplete results. Hallmarks of that fear can be found when we hear phrases like; "this time is different," "that doesn't work in my market," or "my situation is different."
So, what do we do about this?
The first step is awareness of the bias when it appears. The second is to give yourself space to repeatedly ask yourself the question, "how can I further simplify the plan?" until it is distilled to the simplest action that you can control. You can continue to reinforce the simple actions that yield the greatest result by further acknowledging the progress made from them.
