How Simple Can it Be?

April was characterized by collaboration, and though I have a whole list of blog topics inspired by the work of the past month, I offer one that became the intention I keep scrawled vividly across the top of my to-do list reminding me of how I want to approach all the work I do.

In this case, the intention is framed as one beautiful question: How simple can it be?, attributed to my colleague and frequent collaborator of late, Kristin Cobble. She posed it as a guide for us as we enter a phase of revising a slew of process documents for her organization, Groupaya, and as soon as she said it, I shouted YES and pumped my fist.

Reducing complexity has been a long-held value of mine, but it's an edge I (and many others) have to constantly work, because it's not the inclination of our society and culture, where MORE is treasured: more information, more ideas, more resources, more layers, more methods of communication...and so on. Knowing full well we could all come up with non-examples, I'm going to step out and say that in my experience, more is generally a joy-killer.

So, though I am a long-time fan of the concept less is more, Kristin gave me the elegant question. And I've been delighted by its provocation at every turn. It has helped me draft clear vision statements, speak crisply, trim web copy, create straightforward processes, do less, make choices faster, even make better decisions about what to eat. 

And, in accordance with the theme, this post is short and sweet. How simple can it be?

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The line drawing features Lump, the beloved Dachshund who lived with Pablo Picasso for six years and died just 10 days before Picasso did.