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24Principle · Group 3

Simplicity

Keep strategy simple

“What everyone involved understands and remembers without explanation survives friction, time pressure and change better than any elaborate plan.”

Every plan has to pass through many heads and hands.

Group 3: Knowledge, Uncertainty and LeadershipT1 Classical Theory of War
Go to the in-depth section ↓
On the left, a dense web of fine teal lines and frames; on the right, three bold golden arrows. Mist-blue grains trickle down on both; in the web they get caught and lines snap until nothing moves anymore, while they bounce off the arrows. Finally, a long chain of small dots travels from frame to frame and falls apart, while a short stroke of three golden dots arrives unchanged at the last frame.
In short

What everyone involved understands and remembers without explanation survives friction, time pressure and change better than any elaborate plan.

What it’s about: Every plan has to pass through many heads and hands. It gets passed on, shortened, misunderstood and carried out by people who weren’t there when it was made. At every stage, something gets lost. A simple plan loses little in the process; a complicated one loses exactly the parts that matter.

In depth

The principle in detail

Three steps through the principle: grasp it, place it, put it to work. Open each topic on its own.

The core messageCore statement and 3 clarifications
In essence

An assignment that fits into one sentence survives being passed on, time pressure and disruptions better than a long one.

It does not say
That a long plan is more thorough. Often it is just undecided.
It does not say
That every situation is simple. If you artificially simplify a difficult situation, you overlook important things.
It also says
A simple rule holds only if it stays the same and is not hollowed out by a constant stream of new exceptions.
The explanationSimplicity doesn’t mean thinking little.

Simplicity doesn’t mean thinking little. It means thinking until the essentials fit into a few words, and then not constantly rephrasing them.

The question

Which two or three things absolutely have to happen, and does everyone know exactly what they are?

The signs3 signs when you heed it · 3 when you overlook it
When you heed it
  • Your people can repeat the most important assignment without notes, and almost in your own words.
  • Newcomers to the team understand the procedures without a lengthy orientation.
  • The message sounds the same today as it did three months ago.
When you overlook it
  • Anyone who asks for clarification gets a longer explanation than the first time.
  • Each department describes the plan a little differently.
  • Important steps are forgotten as soon as things get hectic.
The backgroundFrom Carl von Clausewitz’s “On War” (1832), Book I, Chapter 7 on friction, and the classic principles of war.
  1. 1832
    OriginCarl von Clausewitz

    On War

  2. 2006
    SupplementedPeter Pronovost and colleagues

    103 intensive care units, mostly in Michigan: after a checklist was introduced, the median rate of …

  3. 2009
    SupplementedAlex B. Haynes, Atul Gawande and colleagues

    Eight hospitals worldwide, before and after the introduction of the World Health Organization’s checklist …

  4. Tradition T1
    TraditionClassical Theory of War

    Carl von Clausewitz, Antoine-Henri Jomini, Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, Frederick William Lanchester

    See the tradition on the Origin page
Read more: the full background

From Carl von Clausewitz’s “On War” (1832), Book I, Chapter 7 on friction, and the classic principles of war. Supplemented by the checklist studies of Peter Pronovost (2006) and Alex B. Haynes (2009) and Gerd Gigerenzer’s research on simple rules of thumb.

The research5 sources: 2 primary studies, 1 classic, 1 review, 1 report · 1832–2023 · with limitations of the research
5 sources1832–2023 period2 primary studies1 classic1 review1 report
Strength of evidence
  1. weak
  2. moderate
  3. strong

Short checklists and simple rules of thumb are well studied; that simplicity in general survives friction and change better is an extrapolation, and neither checklist study uses a control group design.

  1. 1832
    Classic
    Carl von Clausewitz

    “On War” (in German), Book I, Chapter 7, “Friction in War”: small incidents, fatigue and misunderstandings add up to a friction that slows down every plan.

  2. 2006
    Primary study
    Peter Pronovost and colleagues

    103 intensive care units, mostly in Michigan: after a checklist was introduced, the median rate of catheter-related bloodstream infections fell from 2.7 per 1,000 catheter-days to 0 after three months; the decline lasted for 18 months.

  3. 2009
    Primary study
    Alex B. Haynes, Atul Gawande and colleagues

    Eight hospitals worldwide, before and after the introduction of the World Health Organization’s checklist: complications fell from 11.0% to 7.0%, deaths from 1.5% to 0.8%.

  4. 2011
    Review
    Gerd Gigerenzer and Wolfgang Gaissmaier

    “Heuristic Decision Making”: simple rules of thumb that deliberately ignore information can be as accurate as elaborate methods in uncertain situations.

  5. 2023
    Report
    NPR

    Southwest canceled about 16,900 flights in December 2022; in 2023, the U.S. Department of Transportation imposed a record fine of $140 million.

Where the research reaches its limits
  • Simplicity is not an end in itself.
  • Some tasks really are complex, and if you artificially simplify them, you overlook important things.
  • A simple surface can hide growing complexity behind it.
  • Southwest Airlines experienced this in December 2022, when its crew scheduling collapsed after a winter storm and about 16,900 flights were canceled; for this, the U.S. Department of Transportation imposed a fine of $140 million in 2023.
  • The benefit of checklists depends heavily on the culture in which they are used; as mere forms, they achieve little.
  • Both checklist studies compare before and after without a control group, and the effect cannot be attributed to brevity alone.
Read more: what research shows

In Book I, Chapter 7 of “On War,” Carl von Clausewitz describes friction: countless small incidents add up to a resistance that slows down every plan. To this day, the U.S. armed forces count simplicity among their nine principles of war: clear, uncomplicated plans and concise orders, so that everyone understands them thoroughly. The benefit of short checklists in medicine is well documented. In the Keystone project led by Peter Pronovost and colleagues, the median rate of catheter infections in more than 100 intensive care units fell to zero within three months. The study by Alex B. Haynes, Atul Gawande and colleagues found fewer complications and deaths after a surgical checklist was introduced in eight hospitals. Gerd Gigerenzer and Wolfgang Gaissmaier show that, in uncertain situations, simple rules of thumb often perform as well as elaborate models.

The related principles04 Kernel of Good Strategy · 09 Economy of Force · 18 Friction · 22 Mission Command
FrictionMission Command

To go deeper, see 18 Friction (simplicity is the most important answer to the resistance that slows down every plan) and 22 Mission Command (if you specify only the objective and intent, you need an assignment that can be understood in one sentence)

Kernel of Good Strategy

04 Kernel of Good Strategy uses a good diagnosis to make a confusing situation simpler

Economy of Force

09 Economy of Force shares the idea of limiting yourself to a few things and committing your resources where they count

Read more: the full text

To go deeper, see 18 Friction (simplicity is the most important answer to the resistance that slows down every plan) and 22 Mission Command (if you specify only the objective and intent, you need an assignment that can be understood in one sentence); 04 Kernel of Good Strategy uses a good diagnosis to make a confusing situation simpler. 09 Economy of Force shares the idea of limiting yourself to a few things and committing your resources where they count.

The action steps5 action steps: Write your next assignment down in one sentence first.
  1. Write your next assignment down in one sentence first. If you can’t, you haven’t thought it through yet.

  2. For every procedure, identify the two or three steps that absolutely have to happen, and make sure everyone knows them.

  3. After a week, have someone who had to pass an assignment on repeat it back to you, and compare.

  4. Check new exceptions before you allow them: Does this exception make the rule harder for everyone?

  5. Stick with a wording that works instead of rephrasing it at every opportunity.

The reflection questions3 questions for you or for a conversation
  1. What is your most important assignment in one sentence, and would your team say the same sentence?
  2. Which rule in your area has been so watered down by exceptions that hardly anyone knows it anymore?
  3. What is left of your plan when it really counts at night, in an emergency or under time pressure?

Take your time with one question. Write down your answer – or talk it over with someone you trust.

To finish
The picture to rememberThe animation once more, with an explanation
  1. On the left, a dense web of fine teal lines and frames
  2. On the right, three bold golden arrows
  3. Mist-blue grains trickle down on both
  4. In the web they get caught and lines snap until nothing moves anymore, while they bounce off the arrows
  5. Finally, a long chain of small dots travels from frame to frame and falls apart, while a short stroke of three golden dots arrives unchanged at the last frame
Strategy Check

Does your assignment fit into one sentence?

Get your profile across all 12 groups in about 10 to 15 minutes.

Start the Strategy Check
In context

Group 3: Knowledge, Uncertainty and Leadership

Guiding question: What do you know, and how do you lead when you don’t know?

Stage 2 of 5: Understand the situation

Where the 92 principles come from: eight traditions of strategy, from classical war theory to dealing with uncertainty.

More about the origin

Background: WEGVISOR’s own selection from the strategy literature · More about the origin

Examples

The principle in practice

From the different spheres of society.

Education

Peter Pronovost, the Checklist and Simplicity

Every year, thousands of people in intensive care units die of infections caused by central venous catheters. The physician Peter Pronovost counters this not with new technology but with a checklist of five steps that everyone already knows. In Michigan, the median infection rate falls to zero within three months.

Simplicity
FaithFamily

Martin Luther’s Small Catechism and Simplicity

In 1529, Martin Luther sums up the Christian faith in a few chief parts with short questions and short answers. He writes not for scholars but for the head of the household, who is to teach his family. Precisely because the Small Catechism is so simple, people have been learning it for almost 500 years.

Simplicity
Business

Southwest Airlines, the Boeing 737 and Simplicity

Since its first flight in 1971, Southwest Airlines has relied almost exclusively on one aircraft type, the Boeing 737. Every pilot can fly every plane, every spare part fits everywhere, and every training course applies to the whole fleet. This simple decision becomes one of the most enduring business models in aviation.

Simplicity
Business

Movie: Jiro Dreams of Sushi

David Gelb’s documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” (2011) portrays Jiro Ono, who serves only sushi in a restaurant with 10 seats. For him, limiting himself to a few things is not poverty but the precondition for mastery.

Simplicity
FAQ

Questions about Simplicity

What does the principle of Simplicity say?

Simple plans and clear assignments survive disruptions, time pressure and being passed on better than complicated ones. What matters is that everyone involved understands and remembers the essentials without explanation.

Where does the principle of Simplicity come from?

It is one of the classic principles of war, which the U.S. armed forces still list today. The background comes from Carl von Clausewitz and his theory of friction in “On War” (1832).

What examples are there of the principle of Simplicity?

Peter Pronovost’s checklist against catheter infections, Martin Luther’s Small Catechism and Southwest Airlines’ uniform Boeing 737 fleet.

How well is Simplicity supported by research?

Evidence: moderate – short checklists and simple rules of thumb are well studied; that simplicity in general survives friction and change better is an extrapolation, and neither checklist study uses a control group design.

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