Doug Wagner @ Sunwapta

Don’t Grow, Only to Pop Your Business

I recently heard about yet another local business that seemed to be doing really well a few years ago but recently shut its doors.

It wasn’t the economy. It wasn’t incompetence in their craft.

The service they offered is still in demand.  In fact, they were riding a big wave created by other big fish.

They didn’t have to invent a market.

What Happened?

Ultimately, the owner could not figure out how to successfully grow or scale their business.

Burn out.

Or the realization they could make similar money by themselves with much less hassle.

This is the artisan trap.

As Les McKeown (Predictable Success) says, it is a bad idea to cycle between being the visionary and the person delivering the product or service (operator). This is why companies with more than one founder are generally more successful.

When you are busy working in the business you are not working on the business.

Cycling between too many roles gets none of them done as effectively as required.

And the separated visionary and operators roles are essential to growing a business (just as the processor role is essential to scaling it).

I don’t judge these business owners.

I’ll tell you a secret. I’ve done this. In fact, just like most other small business owners, I am still doing it more than I want to. You probably are too.

The Expert Business

When you are working in a business that relies on the amazing or unique talents of its founders; you have inherently built a business that is hard to grow or scale.

But isn’t that why you got into business? So you could apply your skills?

The problem is no one else can do it as well as you can.

So you have to stay involved in everything.

You end up with a model that can only grow to a certain extent; limited by your abilities, personality and sheer willpower.

This is why many expert businesses intentionally stay small. So they can work their craft. Stay in their sweet spot.

To Grow

To grow you have to either find other people who can do what you can do as well as you can. (This is actually pretty hard.)

Or,

You find a way to teach others to do what you can do.

Even better, simplify and systematize what you do so it is even easier to teach.

You can grow that.

But it is still limited to the influence and abilities of the owner(s).

If you can develop leaders who can develop other leaders you can scale.

Scaling can become self-propelling.

And if you are not really ready for scaling… it is like popping popcorn with no lid on the pot.

Pop. Pop. Boom.

Pop Goes Your Business

If you try to grow the business further than the owner(s) has personally grown it will either pop (implode) or shrink back down to its natural state.

Which result occurs depends on a number of factors including:

• Cash flow and capital,
• How over-extended you get,
• Remaining customers and how bad you messed up the relationship, and
• The maturity and ability of the owners to see the mistake and fix it.

And some luck.

(This happened to us too.)

Next Steps for Us

Continue to simplify and systematize. Using Manifast to help us stay on track.

Teach, mentor and coach.

Get help. Help others do this.

Grow then scale.

What are you doing to get your business to grow without popping? Leave a comment.

Hats Off To Randy Gage And Mystique

Randy Gage recently announced he is disappearing from public life.

"Effective today, I’ll stop posting to my Facebook page, Twitter feed, YouTube channel and blog, and am going to disappear from the public stage."

I have recently been thinking about Sally Hogshead's book "Fascinate" and how I could apply it to my message.

My primary trigger happens to be Mystique. So the rest of his message was fascinating to read.

Now back to Randy...

He doesn't tell us what he is doing next; just a lot of possibilities.

And a big problem:

"The exponentially increasing speed of change and technology development will make the next decade the most chaotic one in human history.  We are going to have to find answers to the most perplexing questions humankind has ever had to face."

and the rest of the Mystique:

"For humankind to survive these challenges, it will require a whole new level of thinking.  I’m not at that level of thinking yet, but I’m committed to getting there.  And that is the reason for the adventure I’m about to embark on."

Randy could sit on the beach and sip margaritas the whole time on vacation. He won't though. I believe he is too curious and too much of a life-long learner.

One thing is for sure, you can bet that when he returns his audience will be eagerly awaiting what he has learned.

And his value will have gone up... exponentially.

A brilliant use of Mystique.

Hats off to Randy Gage!

How are you using mystique or the other 6 triggers? Leave a comment below.

I Think You Have An Attitude Problem

Your attitude is the most powerful force in your arsenal to give you the life you want. The good news is that for most people, attitude can be influenced and even controlled by... you.

"Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude."  Zig Ziglar

Chances Are

If you are not happy in your job or role chances are your attitude is the cause.

If you are waiting around for someone to motivate you, chances are your attitude is the problem.

If everything that is not right in your life is someone else's fault, you are playing the victim and that is... your attitude.

If you can't seem to attract or keep enough money to live life at the level you would like; yup another attitude issue.

If you are quick to anger when your children do anything wrong, it is not your children who are busted, you have an attitude problem.

The One Thing

You don't control the world. You control your attitude. 

Or it controls you.

Like a stallion is controlled by a mare in heat.

Your choice.

Leaders Don't Motivate

Do you seriously think that great leaders go around and personally motivate the masses? Change bad attitudes to good ones? All day and every day?

It doesn't scale.

It is exhausting.

They do not go looking for people with bad attitudes and try to forcibly convert them. (That is a different occupation.)

Great leaders attract people who have a the right attitude and share the same or similar view of the future.

They speak to the parts that exist already even if they are underdeveloped.

And encourage and enhance those. And give those people the opportunity to grow. Nudge and guide the promising ones. Help develop other leaders.

And cast off those that don't or won't fit.

It is not a surprise to either party.

It isn't cruel. Forcing people to change to suit "your" beliefs is.

After all, to change "You've gotta wanna"!

This scales.

The Inner Work

You don't have to go it alone:

• You can find an environment that speaks to you. 
• You can spend more time with people who have a positive attitude.
• You can seek help.
• You can do something different.

But the inner work is yours and yours alone.

You need to show up with the right attitude.

If you don't believe that... I think you have an attitude problem. 

PhD Essential for Business Success

After well over 12 years in business I have noticed that one key ingredient is absolutely essential to business success.

In fact, every single time we've run into problems (and I assure you we are not perfect either) I can trace it back to this cause.

Focusing your business on the things that matter most does not happen by accident.

Ensuring that your company stays on course to execute on its vision is not a once a year event.

Ensuring adherence to your core values and culture is not a part-time job.

Delivering your value promise to your customers each and every time is not something you can leave to chance.

It Takes Pig-Headed Discipline (PhD) and Determination

Pig-Headed Discipline (PhD) (Chet Holmes coined this in "The Ultimate Sales Machine") is not learned in a fancy college or university. 

It is not some archaic management technique used to beat employees into compliance.

It is all about deciding what matter most and then doing that... when you would rather be doing something else.

It is about focus, determination and persistence to achieve your goals no matter what. Pushing through when things are difficult. Not listening to the non-believers.

It is required to lose weight and keep it off. It is required to stay fit and eat healthy. It is required for everything you want to excel at.

And it works best when the whole team is involved.

Actually this is essential.

Buy-in and Teamwork

Trying to have a sizable business that is hugely successful but is directed only by a few people at the top will not work. Or it won't when the boss is not watching.

It is best to:

• Hire and train for what matters most,
• Be clear on mission, vision, core values, culture and what is important to clients, 
• Involve everyone possible in innovating around improving those things that are important, and
• Trust your team to do the right thing.

Leadership's Role

Leadership is there to keep the team on the target. To be the lighthouse. This includes reinforcing the message until they are tired of hearing it themselves.

If fact, Joe Calloway in "Be The Best At What Matters Most" suggests that: if your people are starting to recite and mimic your delivery of the message, you are doing it right.

This does not mean it has to be boring (or boaring). Find your own style and what works for you.

Getting Your PhD

Almost everyone is capable of it but not everyone will step up to getting their PhD.

Actually most won't.

Most people will do what they feel like doing. Or what keeps them busy.

But it won't be the most important work.

That is fine. As long as you and your business graduate you will be head and shoulders above your competition.

Add some passion about where you are heading into the mix with the discipline and determination... and being Pig-Headed will be whole lot easier.

Hatching Dragons (and Businesses)

What if you could figure out how to hatch a dragon?

It would be a cool and magical moment.

As soon as you create, the real challenges begin.

• How do you feed a dragon?
• How big will it get?
• Where do you keep it?
• What about the breathing fire part?

Dragons are dragons by nature. They are notoriously independent. And hungry.

The Strategic View

So the most important questions? 

• How do you ensure it doesn't cook or eat you? 
• Or your friends?
• Or other people?

Why did you hatch a dragon?

Might be good to have a plan for this BEFORE you hatch the dragon. Or not... if you like gambling.

Business Is Like Hatching a Dragon

Creating a new business, product or service is only the beginning; no matter how difficult or easy it was.

The ongoing challenge is keeping it alive and dealing with all of the other stuff.

The big long-term questions. 

The strategy beyond hatching the dragon.

Trust is the Real Success Accelerator

“All things being equal, people will do business with and refer business to those people they know like and trust.” Bob Burg and John David Mann – The Go-Giver

At first glance the Go-Giver is a book about sales.

I agree. Following The 5 Laws will help you sell more.

The Laws apply to life and business as well.

Because they are largely about being human, building relationships and putting the interests of others first while being open to receiving.

We are focused on Joe and how his story relates to us.

But there is another huge set of lessons in the book aren’t so obvious even though they are in plain sight.

The Story Within A Story

In The Go-Giver, one of the main characters is Pindar. He has achieved Stratospheric Success.

As we go through the story, Pindar introduces Joe to a number of guests. These guests are in fact Joe’s teachers or mentors.

• Ernesto – The restaurant and real estate magnate
• Nicole – The CEO and former teacher
• Sam – The Chief Financial Adviser
• Debra Davenport – The Top Realtor

And there was:

• Rachel, an employee and student of Pindar’s and a coffee genius Pindar saw the potential in.
• Gus, Joe’s boss who turned out to be the understated “Connector” and a major influencer.
• Joe’s arch rival, Neil Hanson, who snatched one of Joe’s best prospects from him just when he thought he needed it most.

The two extra stories within the story:

1. All of the mentors are in fact people who believe in and support each other. They have invested in and grown fortunes together.
2. They all continue to mentor, teach and invest in up and coming Go-Givers to their mutual benefit.

These are the higher level lessons.

It All Starts With Trust

Just as you need to receive along with giving, you need to trust others as well as have others trust you.

It is the foundation of selling.

It is also the foundation of the next level of success; stratospheric success.

The highest levels of success demand you trust and work with others.

You can make a great living working as an independent. You can even build up some decent passive income streams. You can contract out some of the work you don’t want to do.

But to scale your success and build something that can outlast you, you need to work with others.

Create situations where one plus one is much greater than 2.

To do that you need to trust others. And they need to trust that you have their best interests at heart as well.

Win. Win.

The Highest Level of Trust and Giving

The highest level of giving begins when you start to see people with potential and mentor and guide them.

You finally get there when you can trust and invest in others and help them achieve “their” own success.

You don’t always win. You don’t always get it right. There can be some disappointments.

But by betting on people you know, like and trust… the chances of getting it right are much higher.

In fact, much higher than investing in the cold-hearted stock market.

My Favourite Part

By trusting each other, Pindar and his friends made each other a lot of money (and great friendships).

By developing and trusting others (Rachel, Joe and Neil), they ensure that they would continue to both help others and benefit themselves.

Give and recieve. Trust and be trust worthy.

This is the ultimate key to stratospheric success.

And my favorite part of The Go-GIver.

Focus on What Matters Most

Too many businesses get distracted and lose focus from what is important.

I am currently reading "Be The Best At What Matters Most" by Joe Calloway. 

Great book. Well worth the read. Buy it.

But reading the book won't help you.

Applying the ideas to your business will help you immensely. 

Manifast Your Dream Business

I started by asking two questions about our own Manifast brand:

• What matters most to our customers (what is a dream business)?
• What do we need to do well to deliver that to our customers?

Manifast is a combination of business coaching (and consulting) using an online tool to help entire business teams "work on the business".

What matters most to businesses and business owners?

• Get more clients and customers,
• Increase revenue,
• Increase profits, and 
• Reduce overwhelm

What do we need to do well?

• Build the best online tool possible,
• Find and work with great business coaches, and
• Educate and train: internally, coaches and end-clients.

We hadn't truly embraced the last point until we went through this exercise.

We are a training company. 

Embracing it.

What is interesting is that for almost every company out there, to become a great company that can grow and scale you have to become essentially a training company at least internally. Developing your people, reinforcing your culture... you can't afford to leave it all to chance and hope to become great.

And don't forget education based marketing, a well-trained sales force, etc.

How you train is up to you, but...

I bet you are a training company as well.

Custom Software Development

We've also been a custom software development company for over 12 years. Over 150,000 employees in some of the biggest and most known companies worldwide have used online software tools developed by our team.

When I look back at what matters most it comes down to the basics yet again:

• Build great software,
• Really understand the business the client is in so you can add value,
• Deliver it on time and on budget, and
• Make it as painless for the client as possible.

The key is not to build what the client wants but what the clients needs.

(Quite a bit like coaching actually.)

Your Situation

I challenge you to take this idea and apply them right away to your situation; your business.

What matters most to you and your customers? Keep the list small. Refine it.

Focus on that and do it really well. 

Forget What You Know: It Is Really All about the Client

What if we take this literally?

After thinking about “Endless Referrals” by Bob Burg a couple of thoughts popped into my head.

Could I train an effective marketing and sales team to generate leads and conduct initial sales calls with just a vague sense of what our products and services do?

Would this be effective at breaking the “it’s all about us” cycle of client abuse?

I was actually surprised by the answer.

Yes, I could.

And it just might be.

Networking 101

Have you ever been invited to a networking event and told to bring a big stack of business cards?

Collecting large numbers of business cards is not good networking.

Giving out large numbers of cards is not good networking.

Great networking is all about the people you are meeting. You put the focus on them by asking lots of good questions. Putting their interests first. Connecting people together.

If you are really good at it, you only have to know what you sell at a very high level.

“We help business owners Manifast their dream businesses.”

Then back to them.

Train my team to ask great questions and avoid talking about us. Check.

Sales 101

You’ve been invited to meet a prospect or client. Off you go with your company, product and services information for a presentation.

Wait.

“You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” ~ Zig Ziglar

So what DO they want?

What do you know about your client’s business?

• What are the organization’s goals?
• How are they progressing on their goals?
• What does success look like?
• What challenges are they facing in the market?
• What are they fearful of?
• What are their priorities?
• What is their culture?

You are dealing with a person. What do you know about them?

• What are their personal goals and interests?
• What is their role?
• What are their professional goals?
• How do they win while helping “their” organization?
• What keeps that person up at night?

You can add more questions but the point is that before you talk about what you can do for them, you need to know what they want.

Otherwise you are talking to the 10% or less who might be buying your stuff today or in the near future.

You are relying on them to make the connections between what you stuff does and what they need.

And maybe, just maybe, they don’t need what you are selling right now.

Maybe they need something else.

Maybe you can still help them get it.

Who will they remember? You will know more about your customers than anyone else.

Train my team to ask really good questions and listen to the answers. Check.

Reality Check

I don’t actually recommend that your marketing and sales team not know what you do or sell. Of course they need to be experts.

But the biggest thing they need to be experts at is figuring out what clients want.

Listening.

Then showing them how they can get it.

But it would not hurt to “forget” about you and your stuff and focus on the client when needed.

Actually it would really help.

Be Different, But Not Too Much!

Sometimes even the experts have a hard time with embracing good business wisdom and instead go with the herd by default.

Be Different, But Not Too Much

We are told to differentiate ourselves from our competitors. Be different from them in some discernible way.

Yet when you are too different some interesting things start to happen.

The experts tell you to be more like your competitors. And "everyone" becomes an expert.

See the problem is that our brains want to match new patterns with what we already know so we can make sense of the information. Put your product or service into categories it already understands. 

If you are too different the brain doesn't know what to do so it discards the extras and tries to match on only a part of the information; often not to your business advantage.

This happens even to the experts; they are human too.

Might As Well Look Like Them Too

Everyone is doing "X" with their websites right now. You should be more like them.

Your office needs to be "Y".

You need to dress like "Z".

If everyone is zigging it must be safe. But sometimes zagging is smarter.

Dream Big, But Not Too Big

We are told to shoot for the stars. If you miss you might end up on the moon.

Actually the odds of randomly hitting the moon are pretty low, not good odds at all... but I digress, it is just an analogy.

The experts will tell you you you are safer driving to the coast or flying to Europe (well now that it is relatively safe). The moon is for NASA, or the Google owners... the pros and the rich.

There are no more big winners in the world. Everything has already been done. Go narrow and tackle a very small niche really well. Be comfortable.

Better to play it safe and survive then aim for the stars and miss.

Creating Great Art

The funny thing is, creating art requires you to be different. To stand out from the crowd.

You need to understand the art of others where it applies. Always learn and make your art better. 

Lesson: One small compromise to reality (without caving in on your dream) is to play to people's inherent desire to fit you to a pattern. Appear to conform is some small way until they are in. Then surprise them with the art when they can appreciate it and learn.

We need big, bold and different.

Not always. Not for everything. Not for everyone. Not all art is popular or makes money.

And that is the beauty of Art.

It is for those who appreciate it.

Not for the critics. Not for the experts.

The noise is a merely a distraction while you learn to make Great Art.

Blow Up The Walls That Hold You Back

We all have them, the thoughts and beliefs that limit our potential to achieve our dreams. These are the bricks that we use to build walls in our mind; the ones that limit what we can and can’t do.

The thing is most of them were put there by ourselves.

Yes Sergeant!

Back when I was just out of high school and in basic officer training (Canadian Air Force) I was quite shy and introverted. I jumped into an environment that requires anything but. Besides the nightmares the biggest things I learned is that I am capable of a lot more I than I thought and I don’t quit. I guess they saw the potential in that because they kept me.

After that experience I also realized how easily most people quit.

Blowing Up the Walls

As I read “Just Blow It Up” by Dixie Gillaspie, I felt like Dixie was talking to me. In fact I felt as if I had been hit by a virtual two by four in the virtual noggin. As much as I believe I can do just about anything I set my mind to, the topics and questions in the book made me rethink it all and come to a deeper understanding of how I built my walls.

I know Dixie as a Master Go-Giver Coach, a Coach and as a friend. So I know that after the tough parts of discovery, Dixie was not leaving us in the lurch. Ultimately the goal was to move us forward.

The book is divided into four parts with each part progressing from how Dixie got into this, to how your bricks are built, to the walls they form and ultimately how to remove those walls.

Just the right balance of stories and humor to keep it entertaining, allow us to connect, and at the same time, enough theory and tools to not only dig into what makes up your own brick walls, but ultimately blow them up.

For instance, growing up I would never have contemplated starting my own school (John David Mann actually did it). The snippets from the Dynamite Dialogs were priceless, intimate and real. You will have to get the book for the scoop but Bob Burg, Bill Ellis and Richard Bach made some appearance among others.

While this is predominantly a book about personal growth and mindset, the exact same principles can be applied to your business as well (for your entire team).

Blow up your brick walls, embrace your full potential, decide on your destination, and then Manifast your dreams.

I know that whenever someone tells me I can’t or I am not good enough to do something I get stubborn and “I can too, just watch me!”

The key is to do it because you also "want to".

Scheme or a Viable Business

The key attributes of a viable long-term business are:

1. Deliver more in value than you take in payment from each client,
2. Serve enough clients to sustain the business vision and need, and
3. Keep more money than you spend delivering the value to clients.

If all three of these are not true you don't have a viable business. If you can sustain it indefinitely you have a long-term viable business.

If point 1 is not true you are running a scheme. Tricking your clients into buying. At best incompetent or selling junk. At worst, a fraud or a thief.

If you are trying to build a business to ultimately cash out your customer becomes the investors who will buy it.

If you know that all three points are not true or likely to be true in the future you are selling a non-viable business.

You are delivering less to your customer (the investor) than you are taking in payment. This isn't hard to understand.

If you hide this fact, legal or not... you are running a scheme.

The world needs less schemes and more viable businesses.

Human Emotions Are A Key Part Of Business

Your strongest memories are tied to your strongest emotional experiences. How you will initially respond to events in the present is tied to those memories.

This is not just about your childhood. These memories are being formed today.

At work. In your business. By everyone on your team.

The Strap

Back when I was going to school in rural Manitoba they still used "the strap". I got the strap 3 times from grade 1 until grade 4.

By today's standards, what I did to get the strap would seem trivial. Kids do those things all the time now. Back then, kids that finished their assignments quickly and then got bored needed to be controlled lest chaos ensued and anarchy rule.

I don't judge the teachers or principals. They did what was considered normal then. What was done to them.

The point is that all these years later I can vividly remember those incidents.

And wonder how avoiding the strap influenced the rest of my life at some level.

Positives

Events in the past that have a strong positive emotion are also remembered well. 

This is because we are programmed by how our brain works to survive and thrive. That is to avoid danger and seek out rewards.

Negatives outweigh positives. (Remember the 10x rule?)

If we didn't survive then you couldn't get the reward anyways.

This kept us out of the mousetrap. At least it did for the ones who passed on their genes.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Your reward might not be rewarding to me at all.

A big awards gala complete with public recognition, acceptance speeches and a trip to a big professional convention might terrify me.

Then again, it may be highly motivating.

It depends on which emotions come to the surface. 

Are they neutral? Big waste.

Are they strongly negative? Highly damaging.

Are they highly positive? Bingo! Everyone wins.

Know Your People

There is no easy path to creating a great business culture. There is no easy path to great leadership and management. There is no easy path to employee engagement and retention. All of these pieces must be aligned.

It takes work.

You need to know your people as individuals.

Know what motivates them. Know how they best take correction. Care about them as individuals.

Tie their personal goals and motivations to the organizational vision.

Rewards and recognition don't have to be expensive. They just have to strike the right chord. Maximize the impact for your limited resources.

Human emotions are inseparable from business. You can pretend otherwise.

Or...

Consciously choose to match the person's emotional response to the outcome you actually want to achieve.

The Business Owner's Dilemma

Your business is a tool to get your products and services in the hands of clients or customers in exchange for payment.

Hopefully you've also tied it to a great mission or purpose.

You need to have all of the following in place:

• A great product or service
• Cash Management
• Marketing
• Sales
• Customers
• Client fulfillment
• People
• Processes and Systems
• Strategy

The dilemma for every business owner is allocating scarce resources in the proper balance.

Get it right and your business can take off. If the balance is off...

You and everyone else will be drawn to what you like to do. Or the problems (if you don't avoid them). Or where you get the most buzz.

What is is not getting done?

Resources are always limited. 

And the scarcest resource is normally you!

Allocate yourself wisely.

The 3 Sales Books You Need Most

We recently hired a Sales and Marketing professional so I asked myself, "What are the 3 sales books that influenced me the most in the last year or two?"

So here it is, the three books (well actually it is 5) that will form the core of our initial Sales training program.

The 3 Sales Books You Need Most

The Go-Giver

The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann and the 5 Laws of Stratospheric Success should form the foundation of a company's way of thinking. The 5 Laws cover everything from creating value to receiving a sale. This is not just about sales. Everyone in your organization should understand them.

Go-Givers Sell More and Endless Referrals are two books that flesh out the details of how to put it into practice and are also highly recommended.

Disregard one of the Laws at your own peril.

Disclosure: The Go-Giver resonated with me so much that I decided to become a Certified Go-Giver Coach. None of the book links are affiliate links. I only recommend what I believe in.

The Ultimate Sales Machine

Written by the late Chet Holmes, The Ultimate Sales Machine is worth the cost of the book just for the part on Core Stories. Pig Headed Discipline (PhD), Dream 100 Clients and the rest of the focus on how to build out a sales machine are priceless.

Don't try to become Chet or follow his exact methodology. Adapt the materials for your own style but realize you need to do the hard work and have the PhD to make your sales organization and business world class. You have to build the machine (processes, systems, training, coaching and other best practices) to ensure predictability of your team. 

Selling with Noble Purpose

Selling with Noble Purpose by Lisa Earle McLeod applies the same key messages in "Start with Why" by Simon Sinek to your sales team. It also gives you a whole lot of tools to implement it. Your purpose needs to serve the customer not yourself, management or shareholders. It ties in nicely to the previous two book recommendations and brings it all home.

Let me be clear, this is not a a touchy feely HR thing. Sales teams (actually entire organizations) that tie their work to a purpose, (strong) mission or "why" outperform those that don't by a very significant margin. 

In case I am not being clear enough for the nuts and bolts types; this translates to more revenue and more profit.

Putting It All Together

How you put it together:

• Understand and embrace the 5 Laws from the Go-Giver,
• Reinforce and focus on your mission or purpose as it applies to the customer with your sales team,
• Use Pig Headed Discipline to build your sales machine using the lessons from all 5 books.

I am sure I will be adding to the list over time, but this is a great starting point for any sized organization looking to build a world class sales team.

What books have most influenced your sales team building and success?

The Complexity of Simplicity

Sometimes simple is simple. Sometimes making things appear simple is complex.

Things should be as simple for your clients as possible. They already have enough challenges without your products and services adding to them.

Our Example

We recently built a complex web-based tool for a customer. We designed one of the features to be super powerful.

But that required 12 plus different buttons to control that power. We were going to have to write a small user manual to explain how to use it.

It felt wrong.

So we redesigned it.

It now has three buttons and no user manual is required. The small bit of functionality we took away will never be missed. We had added complexity for no real value.

Complex to Simple

Creating perceived simplicity is elegant and takes work.

Real work. Real understanding.

Saying no to some things.

Taking on the complexity yourself and hiding it from the client if you have to.

Discipline.

What are you doing to change the complex into simple?