Thursday, February 28, 2019

KISSed in the Face


Most designs and strategies start off as simple and elegant.  

But then the KISS (Keep It Simple, Silly) qualities of the plan get lost during implementation.  

As Mike Tyson put it, "Everyone has a plan—until they get punched in the mouth."  

The challenge is maintaining Strategic Simplicity®.

Why the "New Jersey" Model of Design Beats The MIT Model


In real-world design, New Jersey style (Worst is Better) beats MIT style.  

The latter model values correctness over simplicity, while the former considers simplicity to be slightly more important.  

NJ style wins, because customers prefer an easy-to-use 9/10 rated product than a more complicated 10/10.

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Streaming and Entertainment Overload

A recent Wall Street Journal article (https://www.wsj.com/articles/oscar-in-the-age-of-entertainment-overload-11550898051) referred to a recent research project at Warner Brothers that found that, when people were confronted with hundreds of movies and shows to watch, they were more likely to default to a comfort choice, like a re-run of Friends.

This behavior is covered in Decision Simplicity (part of my Strategic Simplicity® Framework), which helps clients increase sales by making it easier for customers to make a choice.

When choosing is difficult, customers are paralyzed.  They either don't buy, or retreat to a past choice.

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

The 10 biggest challenges businesses face today (and need consultants for):


Uncertainty about the future. ... Financial management. ... Monitoring performance. ... Regulation and compliance. ... Competencies and recruiting the right talent. ... Technology. ... Exploding data. ... Customer service. My expertise, Strategic Simplicity®, touches all of them.

Monday, February 4, 2019