The Allure of Complexity

“The definition of genius is taking the complex and making it simple.”

-Albert Einstein

Over my years in the investment industry, there is a common theme amongst most firms when seeking solutions to their issues, and that is, they tend to select complex and costly solutions rather than simple and effective. I suspect one of the reasons is that intelligence is tied to complexity. The more complex the solution the more intelligent it is.

This is far from true. I have seen systems implemented in a poor fashion because the firm failed to properly understand its own operations in which they are dealing with time consuming issues on a daily basis. Some of the solutions selected were to completely drop the existing system and embark on an expensive and resource intensive system search and implementation. Other solutions would be to onboard costly consulting firms who would deliver intricate worded consulting reports with little to no recognizable and actionable items.

In reality, these issues usually require that firms take the simple steps of reviewing their own operations in detail, understanding their purpose and effectiveness, and make the necessary adjustments.  What firms would find is that the solutions would be a lot less costly and far more effective than otherwise.

Simplicity, more often than not, is the true reflection of intelligence.