Can you solve for Complexity without Simplicity?
Do you know how to design teams with diverse strengths…including Simplifying…for creative problem-solving?
THE IRONY OF COMPLEXITY…to solve for COMPLEXITY
In ‘Rebel Ideas, The Power of Diverse Thinking,’ bestselling author Matthew Syed makes the case that Teams are needed to solve problems because individual capabilities are insufficient in our increasingly COMPLEX world.
Yet the most common MISSING STRENGTH for CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING I’ve seen on teams over the past 11+ years as a Kolbe Certified Consultant, from organizations of all sizes, across industries, is…
SIMPLIFY…
It’s not a new problem. I recently found the Kolbe Synergy Report from our Gatorade Leadership Team from 2001. With 15 cross-functional leaders, not a single leader had the instinctive approach to Simplify in problem-solving!
I was a speaker on Leading for Innovation at the 2025 Influencer Innovation Summit in Chicago this week. Not a single summit attendee had the Simplify strength.
The lack of Simplicity to solve for Complexity is an epidemic…it’s an essential strength!
“INDIVIDUALLY PERCEPTIVE BUT COLLECTIVELY BLIND”…
This is Matthew Syed’s description of the challenge of Collective Blindness, when we don’t have diverse approaches to solving problems together.
In fact, cloned creative problem-solving strengths actually…
AMPLIFY BLIND SPOTS & INERTIA on Teams…
We can’t solve for Complexity without Simplicity.
If you want to understand how to design and lead teams with diverse creative problem-solving strengths…and fill the blind spot of Simplicity…let’s talk.
