MADE TO STICK, by Dan & Chip Heath, is a great book for our For Impact world.
In the November issue (just out) of Fast Company, their topic was ANALYSIS OF PARALYSIS.
Here’s a terrific opening line re: strategy:
“If your STRATEGY doesn’t help employees ACT, it’s not a strategy.”
The Brothers Heath talk about being presented more choices, even good ones, can hinder effective action! They go much deeper and give great examples…
In the first paragraph they talk about embracing SIMPLICITY so people can comprehend your MESSAGE. But even more importantly, is the idea that:
SIMPLICITY ALLOWS PEOPLE TO ACT!
I love the fact that they jumped on one of the nation’s top medical/health facilities who were re-vamping its MISSION and GOALS… and had 11 CORE VALUES! As they pointed out, these were all “admirable values” but that “Values are supposed to guide behavior.”… and “You can’t even REMEMBER 11 values…, much less use them to make decisions!” “Practically speaking, having 11 values is equivalent to having NO VALUES.”
“Simplicity is the way out.”
Special Note: They also talked how organizations have evolved ‘STORIES’ to help SIMPLIFY STRATEGY, referring to Evelyn Clark’s book Around The Corporate Campfire: “How Great Leaders Use Stories To Inspire Success”.
You know how big we think this whole ‘SIMPLICITY’ thing is.
