Simply Effective

FIVE

Curbing Complexity-Causing Behaviors

THE PRECEDING CHAPTERS HAVE DISCUSSED three major ways that managers unwittingly contribute to complexity—in how they design organizations, how they manage the product and service portfolio, and how they evolve processes for getting work done. But managers also contribute to complexity in subtler and less visible ways—in how they provide guidance, leadership, and direction for an organization. This chapter brings some of these hidden and largely unconscious personal behaviors to the surface, so that you can deal with them more effectively—and become a force for simplification in your organization.

A Tale of Two Managers

Andrea and Andre work as managers in the same company—and their behaviors illustrate ...