{"id":43,"date":"2006-09-18T15:18:00","date_gmt":"2006-09-18T20:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.leadershipintherealworldblog.com\/?p=43"},"modified":"2006-09-18T15:18:00","modified_gmt":"2006-09-18T20:18:00","slug":"oversimplifying-the-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.leadershipintherealworldblog.com\/index.php\/2006\/09\/oversimplifying-the-issue\/","title":{"rendered":"Oversimplifying the issue"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIdealism increases in direct proportion to one’s distance from the problem.\u201d<\/strong>
<\/em>John Galsworthy, English novelist and playwright<\/span><\/p>\n

A customer recently shared this quote with me based on a topic we had covered prior to a break. I had to share it with you\u2026 Have you seen Galsworthy\u2019s wisdom in action?<\/p>\n

We are a culture that loves the sound bite. Wrap the concept up in a 10 second blip\u2026 that\u2019ll do just fine. From a cultural standpoint, think about how we oversimplify issues. For example, you\u2019re either a liberal or a conservative. You\u2019re either for saving the lives of millions of people through embryonic stem cell research or you\u2019re a religious whacko. It would appear there\u2019s no middle ground or shades of grey.<\/p>\n

\"AndyIn business, think of how many times training classes or articles state we need to \u201cdo the right thing\u201d, \u201cput the right people on it\u201d, \u201cask the right questions\u201d. A recent article recommended that prospective leaders make sure they \u201cdo the right thing at the right time\u201d. Uh, thanks for the insight.<\/p>\n

At 30,000 feet, everything looks pretty simple. As Galsworthy states, \u201cIdealism increases in direct proportion to one\u2019s distance from the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Think about projects that, once you dig into the requirements, are not as simple as they might have seemed on the white board with the sales & marketing folks. How about an employee who is struggling with his performance but has some real world challenges going on in his personal life? Or maybe you can think of processes that are a good idea but require changes to the culture to allow for acceptance?<\/p>\n

Start digging into issues a little deeper and we\u2019ll often find there\u2019s less black and white and more shades of grey. It becomes more apparent that answers aren\u2019t quite as easy as we may have thought.<\/p>\n

For example, the whole stem cell debate has caught my interest. Did you know that while the politcally active mud wrestle about funding of stem cell research, adult stem cells are being used to treat over 67 diseases… today<\/em><\/strong>? And there\u2019s promising research (here\u2019s one example<\/a>) that may make embryonic stem cell usage irrelevant some day.<\/p>\n

In business, the reality is some things are black-and-white. There are generally accepted accounting principles that need to be followed. It\u2019s not all shades of grey. Also, we need to simplify at times. In fact, I\u2019ve found many an aspiring leader who failed to influence a situation because they presented too much detail to their executives. They should have provided more headline, less encyclopedia.<\/p>\n

We can often win when we do a good job of simplifying.<\/p>\n

But oversimplifying can be deadly. This blog entry is a call for you to be wary of oversimplifying.<\/p>\n

Suggestions: <\/p>\n