Occam’s Razor and Complicating Matters as a Manager
(originally published March 1, 2008 as part of the Issues Managers Face in the Workplace series)
Ever wonder if people in your organization or on your team are doing tasks just to keep busy? Does it appear that everyone nods their heads in agreement at an idea, then goes about working on that idea in so many different ways? Is all this busy work necessary? Valuable? What is the end in mind and the best path to get there? Rebecca Thorman, guest-writing about Social Media and Next Generation Leaders at Valeria Maltoni’s Conversation Agent blog, shared this story:
Sam Davidson tells a good fisherman story about a man that finds another man fishing and explains to him that if he catches many fish, well then he could eventually buy a boat. He could then catch many more fish, and could buy another boat, and another and another until he had a whole fleet of boats. And he would sure catch a lot of fish then, and with all of that he could then do whatever he wanted.
And the man replies, “You mean, fish?”
Occam’s Razor
The Franciscan friar William of Ockham is best know for his logic theory, “entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem” – Latin for ‘entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity’. He reasoned that one should not waste time on observations or ideas that held little or no relevance to the explanation of a hypothesis or theory. Have you ever experienced a project where people seemed locked into the analysis phase, not finding a way forward to make decisions and implement the idea? This is typically due not to a lack of intelligence, enthusiasm or ideas. The stall in decision making is more that managers don’t know how to separate ideas and focus them on what truly impacts the ‘end in mind.’
More here on Occam.
Simple is not Simplistic
Applying the heuristic maxim of Occam’s Razor does not mean choosing the easy path, process or project. The prevailing philosophy is to choose which path, process or project has the least assumptions and unmitigated complications. Paraphrasing, all things being equal, the simplest solution is best. Simple, as in best defined, tested, risks mitigated, etc. Not easiest. In fact, having a way forward that is defined, tested, risks mitigated: that is usually a harder road! Though not necessarily a more complicated one. Ever solve one problem only to cause another problem? That is what happens when processes, ideas and paths get simplistic instead of just simple.
The Critical Path
Do you have a budget that covers everything you want to do in your department or organization? Do you have enough resources, people, tools, to accomplish everything? Do you have enough time in the day, week, month, year, to do it all? Most of us don’t have enough budget, resources or time. Why would we waste ANY of these precious commodities on unnecessary complications to our projects? Next time you’re working on a project or process with your team, start with the end in mind. Then build back to the current day. You’ll have a plan that will be over budget, need too many resources, and take too much time. Now go back and find the critical path – the work that truly makes it right. This will allow you to compare alternatives without as much unnecessary complications – applying Occam’s Razor!
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Keep your team focused and your projects simple to get sustainable results versus getting lost in the process!
Joe Raasch :: Feb.17.2010 :: Change Management, Employee Engagement, Leadership, Performance Management :: No Comments »