Happy summer everyone! I hope you’re finding time to enjoy some sunshine and maybe even a vacation. I want to share with you a story from a recent client engagement that perfectly illustrates why clarity beats complexity every single time.
Last week I was working with a MedTech team that was struggling with their new product launch process. They had created an elaborate 47-step process map with multiple approval gates, cross-functional checkpoints, and detailed documentation requirements. The problem? Nobody was actually following it, and their last three launches had been delayed by months.
During our first day together, I asked them a simple question: “What are the three things that absolutely MUST happen for a successful launch?” After two hours of heated discussion, they couldn’t agree. That’s when I knew we had found the real problem.
My thoughts
This team had fallen into what I call the “complexity trap” – the belief that more detailed processes automatically lead to better results. What they actually needed was crystal clear priorities and a simple framework that everyone could understand and follow.
We spent the rest of our time together identifying just three critical success factors for their launches: regulatory approval timing, manufacturing readiness, and sales team training completion. Everything else became secondary. Once they had this clarity, the 47-step process became a streamlined 12-step process that people could actually remember and execute.
What I was reminded of during this engagement is that complexity is often a symptom of unclear priorities. When teams don’t know what matters most, they try to control everything, which ultimately means they control nothing effectively.
How to:
- Ask the priority question: What are the 3 things that absolutely MUST go right for this process/project to succeed? Stop at 3 – if everything is important, nothing is important.
- Test your process with the “handoff test”: Can you explain your process to someone in 5 minutes and have them accurately repeat it back? If not, it’s too complex.
- Use the 80/20 rule ruthlessly: What 20% of your process steps deliver 80% of your results? Focus there first.
Call to action!
Pick one process in your organization that feels overly complicated. Apply the three-step approach above and see what happens when you choose clarity over complexity.
Let’s make work flow by keeping it simple!
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Eli Sharp.
