Simplicity Wins. It’s That Simple.

Simplicity matters. It’s that simple. Measuring ideas by their complexity rather than their merit is inefficient and wastes time and money.

According to Jim Harrington, author of Business Process Improvement, the virtue of clear and simple communication is evident in the complexity of the following documents:

The Lord’s Prayer        57 words
Ten Commandments        71 words
Gettysburg Address        266 words
Declaration of Independence        1,300 words
U.S. Government Contractor Management System Evaluation Program        38,000 words

Additional Reading:
It’s Time to Eliminate Bureaucracies
What Does Red Tape Cost Your Business?
Enough with the Paperwork Already

If you like this article, subscribe to our blog so that you don’t miss a single post. Get future posts by RSS feed, email or Facebook. It’s FREE. Click your favorite option (top right).

About Frank Sonnenberg

Frank Sonnenberg is an award-winning author and a well-known advocate for moral character, personal values, and personal responsibility. He has written 11 books and has been named one of “America’s Top 100 Thought Leaders” and one of “America’s Most Influential Small Business Experts.” Frank has served on several boards and has consulted to some of the largest and most respected companies in the world. Frank’s newest book, BECOME: Unleash the Power of Moral Character and Be Proud of the Life You Choose, was released June 2024.

Additionally, his blog — FrankSonnenbergOnline— has attracted millions of readers on the Internet. It was recently named one of the “Best Self-Improvement and Personal Development Blogs” in the world and continues to be listed among the “Best Inspirational Blogs on the Planet.”

Comments

c. e. smith says

December 26, 2013 at 11:10 pm

Frank, for the most part, love your posts. Actuallt agree w you on this thesis asserted on simplicity. Dont agree w your supporting data. Lets work on a better argument…

Reply
- Frank Sonnenberg says
  
  December 27, 2013 at 7:42 am
  
  Evan
  
  Sorry this post didn’t live up to your expectations. Maybe next time 🙂
  
  Best,
  
  Frank
Dave Brock says

April 10, 2017 at 10:38 am

Dr. Seuss: Green Eggs And Ham, 50 unique words, but actually one of the best insights to professional selling around.

Reply