3 Rules of Simplicity

What separates most successful people is their ability to streamline their decision-making and creative process.

October 19, 2022

When viewing the Sistine Chapel, it's hard to imagine that Michelangelo painted his incredible work of art using only seven colors.

When you listen to Beethoven, it's impossible to believe he achieved musical perfection with just seven notes.

Ernest Hemingway had four simple rules for writing: Use short sentences, use short first paragraphs, use vigorous English, and be positive, not negative. For Hemingway, simple was always better.

Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger say, "We have a passion for keeping things simple."

We tend to believe solving a hard problem or creating something extraordinary requires complexity. We often conclude that simple and complex cannot work together, so we ignore common sense and the obvious answer.

But what separates most successful people is their ability to streamline their decision-making and creative process. They always return to the basic principles that have governed their personal and professional life.

Simplification really comes down to three rules:

Rule 1: Understand what you want to achieve. When Michelangelo and Beethoven began their creative processes, they always took the time to decide what they were actually trying to achieve. They understood the variables they faced and what strengths they possessed to offset any problems.

Rule 2: Understand what matters most. As leaders, coaches, teachers or students, we might be on a downward trend at the moment. We might feel we've fallen short of our goals. To get back on track, we must understand the essentials of what creates success and work hard to improve in those specific areas. Using seven colors or notes mattered, and Beethoven and Michelangelo worked simply to create their masterpieces.

Rule 3: Understand the clutter gets in the way. Not all information is good information. Understanding the key data points will allow you to ignore information that is only in the way.

As Steve Jobs once said: “Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”

Beethoven, Michelangelo, Warren Buffett, Ernest Hemingway and Jobs were all simple and yet moved mountains.

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