Simplif-iPhone

The iPhone delivers. It really is just that cool and incredibly functional. Here's the thing: It takes a while to get used to just how simple it is. Apple has really done the hard work of simplifying and streamlining the intuitive flow of iPhone functions.
Three days ago, I had had my iPhone for all of about two hours and was having trouble getting my voicemail off of it. My daughter--12 years old--looked at it and showed me that I was already on the page I was looking for. I just didn't have any voicemail. Because I was trying to do too much, I was needlessly complicating the whole process.
Leadership at any level demands the hard work of simplifying. Simple rarely comes easy. Most people we lead don't gravitate toward simple. But simple always works better, longer, and smarter.
• Simplicity assumes relentless authenticity. Trying to be someone I'm not is just too complicated. Life's too short and people just know when they’re being shined.
• Simplicity demands ruthless discipline. In the hands of a leader, the knife of “no” is like a scalpel in the hands of a surgeon who excises dead tissue, tumors, or failing organs.
• Simplicity requires constant evaluation. If a person, plan, or program foments distraction(s), then it will prevent any traction in the right direction.

Every time our team has hit a wall--in growth, effectiveness, leadership--going simple has always been one of the key elements in knocking the wall down. Leaders simplify and help those they serve to simplify. And that's the paradox: Simplicity isn't easy. It's incredibly difficult work. But it is so freeing and empowering, both for the leader who insists on it and for those who choose it.