We want it all. And we want simplicity. But keeping it simple while accessing everything is virtually impossible.
Simplicity is great. It is also hard to achieve.
People like simple and accessible. We love going to a website and finding what we need is right there.
When much of society went virtual in 2020, we had to determine how to make the virtual encounter as simple as the in-person encounter.
But we also had to continue putting out “the public face” of the organization.
And we needed to provide links to the relevant information about a multitude of things, from COVID protocols to virtual options to ongoing groups.
We have had to add to our data stream and add new streams of information to the existing one.
In short, at the time when we’ve needed to make things more simple, we’re also doing it with more complexity.
And this reveals the problem.
The Simplicity Paradox
We can’t be simple and still offer everything.
Putting it all in one place makes it more complex. The one-stop-shop reduces the number of stops, but the experience itself takes more time than any one stop.
It seems that what people are seeking from simplicity is the convenience of the corner store with the variety of a mega-mall.
Simplicity isn’t an antidote to complexity—it is its opposite.
If you want things simple, then you have to be fine with what you can’t do. Otherwise, find a different way of dealing with complexity.