Complexity is the Mind-Killer

It’s not so much that we invite complexity into our lives. It sneaks in through the back door, disguised as solutions. A new process here, an extra approval there. Each addition seems sensible. But together they form an invisible web that slowly strangles our organizations.

This is how companies grow old and die. Not by a quick shot to the head but by a thousand complexity cuts, each justified by well-meaning additions.

You never truly conquer complexity - it’s as persistent as dust in an old house. The best you can do is sweep it away before it settles into the corners of your organization.

Mistaking complexity for something good is a mistake that I see beginners do. And one that I still do myself.

Masters of complexity are often masters of simplicity. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, he found a company with a confusing lineup of dozens of products. His first major decision? Cut it down to just four computers - consumer desktop, consumer laptop, pro desktop, pro laptop.

By removing unnecessary complexity, this radical simplification not only made it easier for customers to choose, it gave Apple’s teams crystal clear focus. Apple went from near bankruptcy to the most valuable company in the world.

The best leaders I know make it a habit to regularly audit their organization’s complexity. They know that every new process or tool needs to earn its keep. If it doesn’t make things meaningfully better for customers or significantly reduce risk, it probably needs to go.

Here’s the tricky part though. Some complexity is unavoidable. Running a global operation across time zones is complex by nature. Building software that handles millions of transactions is inherently complex.

The key is to spot the difference between complexity that serves a purpose and complexity that just exists because “that’s how we’ve always done it.”

Think of it like packing for a trip. Your passport and wallet? Necessary complexity. The fourth pair of shoes you might wear to that one dinner? That’s just baggage.

And just like with packing, you can’t make smart decisions about what to keep and what to throw out until you understand what’s truly essential. This is where most complexity-fighting efforts fail - they try to simplify everything at once instead of first understanding what complexity is serving a purpose.

So how do you fight back against creeping complexity? Start by asking three questions:

If we were starting this process/team/product today, would we build it this way? What would happen if we removed this entirely? Who is this making things easier for? The company or the customer? I've used these questions myself to remove standing meetings, cut features and, in one case flattened an organisation.

The questions look simple. And that's the point. Complex questions tend to lead to complex solutions. And you have enough of that already.