Simple is better
I was flying home from Chicago last Wednesday enjoying my first-class upgrade. Across the aisle and one row up, was a sharp looking businessman working away on a PowerPoint presentation. I'm not in the habit of watching other people's computer screens, but this one grabbed my attention. I could not read the words, but the slide layouts are what got me. Every slide was loaded with details in boxes with arrows and callouts. There were multiple slides exploding on each level of a massive organization chart. There were complex graphs loaded with text. And as he scrolled through the slide deck, that presentation had to be at least 80 slides long. I thought to myself, "This guy is methodically preparing to bore a room full of innocent people to death."Today's MMWU is not about the evils of complicated, overstuffed, PowerPoint presentations; it is about keeping things simple. If you need 80 slides to deliver your idea or concept, than it is not ready for primetime. If you create a new system or procedure for employees to follow that is overly complex, the chances of getting that new system or procedure to stick are pretty slim. If your marketing message is longwinded, potential customers will stop listening. If performance reviews are conducted from a document the thickness of War and Peace, you will never address the real issues that need attention - or give kudos to worthy accomplishments.
Our work lives are complicated enough. Complicated stuff is stressful, and who wants or needs more stress these days? Here are some no-compromise strategies to embed "simple is better" thinking in your company:
- Distill it until it’s pure: All great ideas and concepts can be distilled into something simple and beautiful that almost anyone can understand. When Steve Jobs introduced the first iPod, he said, "It holds a thousand songs and fits in your pocket." Jobs was a master at hitting the two or three points to explain something totally new. No matter how complex the technology, simplicity and ease of use are core values at Apple. Take the time to boil away the weight and fluff from your ideas and concepts until they are simple and pure - and easy for everyone to digest.
- Think Tweet: Twitter users communicate ideas and concepts in 140 characters. With practice, it is amazing just how effectively you can share a thought in such limited space. The key is thinking your message through to what matters most.
- Respect your audience: It takes time to build a presentation or meeting agenda. Professional keynote speakers work hard at polishing and perfecting their presentations. You have been to enough conferences to know the difference between a professional presentation and one where the speaker reads from notes or off PowerPoint slides. You have also been in meetings that never got to the point or solved anything. Delivering a speech or leading a meeting demands a level of respect for your audience to be organized and on task. Otherwise, you have just been wasting everyone's time. So take the time to prepare a simple format and simple message that everyone will appreciate.
- Team innovation: The power of team is extraordinary. But the creative process that discovers and distills ideas and concepts into something simple and comprehensible can get derailed when too many "innovators" are involved in the process. Depending on the magnitude of the project, it is often better to keep innovation teams small. Two to four people can create and distill a lot of great ideas and concepts into something powerful. Every additional person is another voice and point of view that can slow progress. When assigning groups of people to innovate new ideas and concepts, it also pays to keep the size of the team simple too.
- PowerPoint can de-power: OK, I need to wrap this up where I started. My best speeches are done without PowerPoint slides. When I use PowerPoint, I put one big thought on a slide. PowerPoint is great for charts, but I even work hard to keep charts simple. Too much text or complicated charts and graphs shifts attention to the screen and away from the speaker. It de-powers the speaker. After a while, the audience starts reading the slides to get to the point the speaker never makes. If slides tell the entire story, who needs the speaker?
Simple is better because simple hits the mark faster than complicated. The secret to achieving simple is taking the time and doing the work to achieve it. No Compromise.
- - - - - - - - -
Please share your thoughts with me about today's Monday Morning Wake-Up. Click above to comment.
Pass this e-mail on to your business colleagues, managers and friends. They'll appreciate it.
Comments (42)
dark web market deep web drug markets darknet marketplace
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 21st 2024, 5:06:00 am
dark web site onion market tor market links
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 21st 2024, 2:21:00 am
darknet market links deep web search dark market list
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 20th 2024, 10:30:00 pm
deep web drug markets dark web market list tor dark web
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 20th 2024, 9:20:00 pm
darknet market links dark web sites links darknet sites
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 20th 2024, 10:58:00 am
blackweb the dark internet dark web markets
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 20th 2024, 10:24:00 am
deep dark web dark web search engine drug markets onion
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 20th 2024, 8:43:00 am
dark market onion tor darknet darknet site
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 20th 2024, 7:06:00 am
deep web links dark web market darknet markets 2024
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 20th 2024, 2:15:00 am
blackweb official website tor market how to access dark web
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 20th 2024, 1:42:00 am
darkweb marketplace the dark internet best darknet markets
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 20th 2024, 1:09:00 am
deep web drug markets dark web market bitcoin dark web
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 20th 2024, 12:38:00 am
deep web drug url deep web markets dark web site
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 19th 2024, 10:59:00 pm
dark market 2024 dark market url darknet drugs
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 19th 2024, 9:23:00 pm
tor market links deep web drug markets tor dark web
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 19th 2024, 7:19:00 pm
dark web market drug markets dark web dark web search engines
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 19th 2024, 6:46:00 pm
dark market onion dark internet darknet market list
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 19th 2024, 6:12:00 pm
dark web sites deep web search blackweb
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 19th 2024, 5:11:00 pm
darknet market list dark web websites blackweb official website
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 19th 2024, 4:37:00 pm
dark web markets tor marketplace https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ - deep web drug store
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 19th 2024, 4:05:00 pm
black internet deep web drug url https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ - dark web drug marketplace
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 19th 2024, 2:56:00 pm
onion market dark web link https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ - dark web access
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 19th 2024, 1:49:00 pm
dark market onion blackweb official website https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ - tor market url
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 19th 2024, 1:16:00 pm
deep web markets dark market url [url=https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ]darknet markets [/url]
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 18th 2024, 3:23:00 pm
dark web market list blackweb official website https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ - dark websites
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 17th 2024, 4:07:00 pm
dark web market links how to get on dark web dark web links
Posted By: NikeZEp•December 3rd 2024, 4:04:00 pm
darknet drug links darknet links darknet market
Posted By: NikeZEp•November 25th 2024, 9:11:00 am
blackweb official website dark markets https://darknetmarketstore.com/ - darknet websites
Posted By: NikeZEp•November 20th 2024, 6:53:00 pm
tor market url darkmarket url https://darknetmarketstore.com/ - darknet market lists
Posted By: NikeZEp•November 20th 2024, 5:20:00 pm
darknet market tor dark web https://darknetmarketstore.com/ - darkmarket link
Posted By: NikeZEp•November 20th 2024, 11:48:00 am
dark market dark net how to access dark web
Posted By: NikeZEp•November 19th 2024, 11:57:00 am
darknet markets 2024 deep web drug store dark web drug marketplace
Posted By: NikeZEp•November 19th 2024, 10:22:00 am
deep web markets darknet websites darkmarket url
Posted By: NikeZEp•November 18th 2024, 2:08:00 pm
tor market dark market onion how to access dark web
Posted By: NikeZEp•November 18th 2024, 1:15:00 pm
blackweb black internet tor market url https://darknetmarketstore.com/ - drug markets dark web
Posted By: NikeZEp•November 18th 2024, 2:23:00 am
deep web links tor market url black internet https://darknetmarketstore.com/ - darknet drug market
Posted By: NikeZEp•November 17th 2024, 4:34:00 pm
tor markets links dark web drug marketplace tor market url https://darknetmarketstore.com/ - dark web link
Posted By: NikeZEp•November 17th 2024, 3:41:00 pm
free dark web darknet market lists dark markets 2024 https://darknetmarketstore.com/ - dark market onion
Posted By: NikeZEp•November 17th 2024, 2:47:00 pm
darknet seiten tor marketplace dark market list https://darknetmarketstore.com/ - darknet drug links
Posted By: NikeZEp•November 16th 2024, 8:47:00 pm
darknet site tor dark web deep web markets https://darknetmarketstore.com/ - dark web drug marketplace
Posted By: NikeZEp•November 16th 2024, 6:07:00 pm
Great information. Lucky me I discovered your site by chance (stumbleupon). I have book-marked it for later! dark web marketplaces https://darknetmarketseasy.com
Posted By: dark web marketplaces•November 13th 2024, 8:28:00 am
darkmarket 2024 drug markets dark web blackweb official website
Posted By: NikeZEp•November 1st 2024, 1:30:00 pm
Leave a Comment