Simplicity vs Complicated and Complex

At any given time while managing, one needs to keep an eye on various continually changing parameters. These may include Inventory, Quality, Accounts Receivables or Money in the Bank. Many managers believe that by doing that they are in fact good managers. However, those activities requires constant energy drain to monitor and react to those changes and the day is finally full of many short interventions on dozens of aspects of the business work day.

A complicated environment is one in which many parameters are present and many of these constantly change. However, many managers work heuristically, by trial and error modifying one parameter at a time and hoping to get a good outcome for their efforts. If that happens, the system may be complicated but usually manageable. However, sometimes changing one parameter influences other parameters

To make an analogy, if you are cold, changing the wind direction may have some influence on reducing exposure to the wind (the good and sought after effect) but at the same time may bring clouds (an unwanted effect) canceling or enhancing certain dispositions. What we have here is more of a complex system in which the system can bring into the equation unexpected effects on which we have little control or that we cannot predict.

The big mistake of many managers today is that they think that are in a simple or a complicated environment while in fact we are almost all the time in a complex environment with many unexpected parameters creating various surprising effects.

So to become World Class managers we need to understand and notice when we face complexity vs complicated or simplicity and change our management style and actions in accordance to this new understanding.

At the end of the day avoiding unexpected or too many parameters saves us entropy, the amount of energy we use with no added value to the company or its shareholders.

At AltoChange.com we perfectly understand that and we have the know how and managerial tools to coach, mentor and change your company and its systems into a world class company with little entropy.