My Thoughts

How to Solve Problems Easier: Stop Making Everything So Bloody Complicated

Right, let me tell you something that's been driving me mental for the past fifteen years in this game. Last month I walked into a client's office in Sydney - proper corporate setup, glass everywhere, fancy coffee machine that probably cost more than my first car - and watched their entire leadership team spend three hours trying to solve what was essentially a scheduling conflict.

Three. Bloody. Hours.

For something my 12-year-old nephew could've sorted out on his iPhone during morning tea.

But here's the kicker - it wasn't stupidity. These were smart people. Really smart. The kind who've got MBA certificates hanging on their walls and can quote Peter Drucker like scripture. The problem was they'd convinced themselves that every challenge needed to be approached like they were launching the Space Shuttle.

The Corporate Complexity Trap

See, somewhere along the way, we've developed this bizarre notion that if a solution seems simple, it must be wrong. Like complexity equals intelligence or something. I've seen this in Perth mining offices, Melbourne consulting firms, and Brisbane tech startups. Doesn't matter the industry - we're all guilty of it.

Remember when Netflix just decided to mail DVDs instead of making people drive to Blockbuster? Revolutionary simplicity. Yet most businesses today would've created a 47-page strategic framework document before deciding what colour envelope to use.

I learned this lesson the hard way back in 2011. Had a client with terrible employee turnover - people leaving faster than contestants on Big Brother. Management wanted to conduct focus groups, hire consultants, implement new software, the whole nine yards. Cost them about $80,000 in "solutions."

Turns out people were leaving because the office kitchen smelled like someone had died in there. Fixed it for $200 and a good clean. Problem solved.

Made me feel like a right muppet for not suggesting it earlier.

Why We Love Overcomplicating Things

There's this psychological thing happening here. We've been conditioned to believe that if we're not struggling, we're not really working. If the answer comes easily, it can't be the right one. It's like we've developed an intellectual version of Protestant work ethic.

Plus, let's be honest - simple solutions don't impress anyone in meetings. You can't put "suggested we try turning it off and on again" on your performance review. But "implemented a comprehensive digital transformation initiative"? Now you're talking promotion material.

The thing is, most problems aren't actually that complex. They just appear complex because we've layered so much process and procedure on top of them that we can't see the forest for the trees anymore.

The Five-Minute Rule That Changed Everything

Here's what I started doing with clients about eight years ago, and it's genuinely changed how I approach every challenge. When someone brings me a problem, I set a timer for five minutes and ask one simple question: "If you had to solve this right now, with no budget, no meetings, and no approval from anyone - what would you do?"

The answers are usually brilliant. And simple. And completely doable.

But then we spend the next hour talking about why we can't actually do any of those things. Compliance issues, stakeholder buy-in, resource allocation, change management protocols... We've built these elaborate justification networks that essentially exist to explain why obvious solutions won't work.

Sometimes they're right, of course. Sometimes there really are legitimate constraints. But more often than not, we're just scared of looking like we're not earning our pay if we make things too easy.

The Australian Mining Solution

I'll give you a perfect example from a mining operation outside Kalgoorlie. They had this massive productivity issue with their shift handovers. Complex problem, right? Millions of dollars of equipment sitting idle while incoming crews tried to figure out what the outgoing crews had been doing.

Management was ready to implement digital dashboards, real-time tracking systems, mandatory training programs - the works. Would've cost them more than a small suburb.

Instead, one of the shift supervisors - bloke named Dave, been doing this for thirty years - suggested they just have a five-minute chat at the change room before each handover. Face to face. No technology, no fancy systems. Just "Here's what happened, here's what needs doing, any questions?"

Productivity increased by 23% in the first month.

Dave got a $500 gift voucher to Bunnings.

The consultants they didn't hire would've charged them $300,000.

When Simple Actually Works Better

Look, I'm not saying every problem has a simple solution. Climate change isn't getting fixed with a five-minute brainstorm session. But most workplace challenges? Most business problems? They're nowhere near as complicated as we make them.

I've seen communication training workshops transform entire teams because someone finally taught people how to actually listen to each other. Revolutionary concept, apparently.

The trick is learning to distinguish between problems that are genuinely complex and problems that just have complex symptoms. If your customer service is terrible, you don't need a complete CRM overhaul - you probably just need to hire better people or train the ones you've got properly.

If your meetings are unproductive, you don't need new collaboration software - you need someone to actually run the bloody things properly.

The Three Questions That Cut Through Everything

Whenever I'm looking at a problem now, I ask three questions:

What's actually broken here? Not what people think is broken, not what the symptoms suggest might be broken - what's actually, demonstrably not working? Sometimes the answer surprises you. The "communication problem" is actually a respect problem. The "productivity issue" is actually a motivation problem.

What's the simplest thing that could possibly work? Notice I didn't say "What's the best thing" or "What's the most comprehensive thing." Just: what's simple, and what could work? You can always make it more sophisticated later if you need to.

Who's actually got to live with this solution? Because if the people doing the work think your brilliant fix is rubbish, it doesn't matter how elegant it looks on paper. It's still rubbish.

These questions have saved me more time and embarrassment than any methodology I learned in business school.

The Perth Coffee Shop Principle

There's this little coffee shop in Fremantle that I used to visit when I was working with a client nearby. Nothing fancy - just good coffee and decent toasties. But they had a problem: massive queues during lunch rush, people getting frustrated, walking away.

The owner was considering expanding, hiring more staff, redesigning the layout, installing one of those digital ordering systems. Standard business response to a capacity problem.

Then one day I noticed something. The barista was making each coffee individually, start to finish, before moving to the next order. Perfect technique, beautiful presentation, completely inefficient.

Suggested she batch similar orders together. Make all the flat whites, then all the cappuccinos, then all the long blacks. Same quality, same care, but she could serve twice as many people in the same time.

Problem solved for the cost of a conversation.

Sometimes the answer really is that simple.

When Complex Actually IS Better

Now, I'm not completely naive here. There are times when complex problems need complex solutions. If you're designing aircraft engines or managing nuclear facilities, please don't simplify anything based on my advice. Keep all those safety protocols and quality controls exactly where they are.

But in regular business? Most of the time we're not splitting atoms. We're trying to get people to show up on time, communicate effectively, serve customers properly, and not drive each other completely mental in the process.

For that stuff, simple works better than complex about 80% of the time.

The other 20% - when you genuinely need sophisticated systems and processes - you'll know. Because the simple solutions will fail obviously and quickly, and you'll have learned something valuable about the real nature of the problem.

The Accountability Factor

Here's something nobody talks about in all those problem-solving training sessions: sometimes we avoid simple solutions because they create accountability.

If the solution is complicated, involves multiple departments, and takes six months to implement, there are plenty of places to hide if it doesn't work. Lots of variables, lots of people involved, lots of external factors that could be blamed.

But if the solution is "just do this one thing differently," and it doesn't work, well... that's on you, isn't it?

Simple solutions are scary because they're testable. You know quickly if they work or not. There's nowhere to hide.

Which is exactly why they're so valuable.

Getting Started Tomorrow

If you want to start solving problems more easily, try this: next time someone brings you a challenge, resist the urge to immediately start planning. Don't open a project management tool, don't schedule a strategy session, don't begin researching best practices.

Just sit with the problem for a few minutes. Really think about what's actually happening, not what you think should be happening or what the textbooks say should be happening.

Then ask yourself: "What's the most obvious thing to try first?"

You might be surprised how often the obvious thing actually works.

And if it doesn't? Well, you've learned something, you haven't wasted months implementing something complicated, and you can try the next obvious thing.

Eventually, you'll either solve the problem or you'll have ruled out all the simple approaches and can justify getting more sophisticated.

Either way, you're ahead of where you'd be if you'd started with the complicated stuff.

The Bottom Line

Look, I've been doing this for long enough to know that simple doesn't always mean easy. Sometimes the simplest solution requires the hardest conversations or the biggest changes to how people work.

But complexity for the sake of complexity? That's just showing off.

And in my experience, the businesses that thrive are usually the ones that figured out how to make the complicated stuff simple, not the other way around.

So next time you're facing a problem that seems like it needs a task force, a consultant, and a three-phase implementation plan, maybe try this instead: grab a coffee, find someone who actually deals with the issue every day, and ask them what they reckon would work.

You might just save yourself a lot of time, money, and meetings that could've been emails.

Trust me on this one.