By Holly Burns
Staff Writer

In a world where two morning meetings are called just to discuss the agenda of the afternoon meeting, one man is trying to stop the corporate madness.

Bill Jensen, author of 2001’s Simplicity, is back with a new corporate tome, The Simplicity Survival Handbook.  Boasting 32 ways to “do less and accomplish more,” the book subscribes to the philosophy that most work complexity originates from within the company itself.

The biggest day-to-day problems, complexities and frustrations aren’t caused by outside forces (like the economy or competition), says Jensen, but the ways in which a company’s leaders, managers and employees react to those forces. 

Among Jensen’s somewhat controversial pearls of wisdom are these pieces of advice:

You should ignore most corporate communications. If the communication doesn’t contain an action and a short-term date, hit delete. As a general rule, in fact, you can delete about 75% of your e-mail.

The biggest time waster in your day is going to meetings. This is followed closely by dealing with communication from others, communicating to others, your boss micromanaging or undermining you, and having to make sense of processes designed for company success but not necessarily yours.

Whether it’s words, numbers or graphics, there is power in distilling everything down to one page. The first rule of thumb? If it’s got a staple in it, it won’t get read.

Ask ‘why?’ three to five times when asked to do something. If you don’t, you may be taking on unnecessary tasks. According to Jensen, the conversation should go something like this:

Boss: I need you to drop what you’re doing and take care of this…

You: Why?

Boss: Because the head of Alpha Team needs it by tomorrow.

You: Why?

Boss: Because they’re making a presentation to the senior leadership team.

You: Why?

Boss: Because Alpha Team wants to showcase our terrific work to the senior team.

You: I’m happy to help out and I’ll drop everything else if that’s what you want. But you know, Marco has a presentation he made last week; maybe we should ask him to take this on instead. Or at least we could do this faster, with less effort, by using his materials.

Curious how Jensen’s ideas would be received by the local business community, we asked professionals around town what they thought of his approach to simplicity in the workplace and how they minimize disorder in their own working lives.

Jane Taylor, owner of Priority Management Charleston, part of an international network of independently owned and operated coaching facilities:

“I agree, for the most part, with Jen­sen’s statement that most complexity seems to originate from within the company. What seems to have happened in the past few years is that things are moving so fast that a lot of companies tend to be in a reactive mode rather than a proactive mode.

However, I don’t think people will heed Jensen’s advice to ignore most corporate communications. People are generally scared to throw anything away because they need to cover themselves. I agree that if there is not an action item related to it, and it’s only information, then you shouldn’t focus on it and instead move onto more important things.

As for asking a person “why?” three to five times when asked to do something, by using the word “why,” you’re challenging that person and the validity of what they’re saying.

However, do ask specific questions as to purpose, expectations, reasons, specific due dates and results. It is true that if we don’t explore certain requests further, we could take on projects or tasks that turn out to be whims.”

Patrick Register, dealer development manager for American LaFrance:

“Many hours in a day are burned up talking and not acting. Many days are burned up because e-mail makes it so easy to flip an issue onto another department. Thus, we wait for days and weeks for each piece of a large issue to be resolved, and as everyone hunts for answers and information to develop answers, little work gets done.

As Jensen points out, between the ever popular and unnecessary “CC” in e-mails and miscellaneous corporate communications, a large percentage of e-mail is unrelated to the tasks that I am being paid to accomplish. He has a good point about quickly scanning and deleting e-mail. For that matter, the bulk of the interruptions most of us receive in a day are not directly related to accomplishing the tasks that we are being paid for, but are related to helping someone else find a morsel of information they need to complete a project. I find that by coming in early and closing my door for a few hours, I am able to be a lot more productive, while still being available to assist others during the day.

I find Jensen’s comments on communication, specifically “Know, Feel and Do”—about what you want people to gain from your message—helpful in keeping my communications briefer and more effective.

Jensen’s advice is a little idealized for most of us to be able to utilize completely, but he makes many good points that make his book a worthwhile read.”

Ginny Deerin, executive director of WINGS, a local nonprofit dedicated to developing emotional competency in children:

“I hate meetings, though I realize they are often needed so people can interact as a group. At WINGS we have an insurance policy so that we don’t drift into waste-of-time-and-energy meetings. We often have a staff meeting “over” another task.

For example, sometimes we have them at a laundromat so we can wash, dry and fold our kids’ Tae Kwan Do uniforms while we meet and talk. This way, even if the meeting isn’t productive as a “meeting,” we are productive nonetheless.

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