Simple

February 4, 2013
In this enjoyable paean to the virtues of simplicity, Siegel and Etzkorn offer their wisdom on simplifying the delivery of information. As they point out, “the principles of simplicity apply to every interaction—whether printed, electronic, verbal or visual.” Their information-delivery philosophy can be summed up in three words: empathize, distill, and clarify. Using real-world examples—such as the thinking behind Oxo’s bestselling measuring cup, N.Y.C. Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s creation of the 311 telephone system, and the Cleveland Clinic’s patient-centered care model—the authors break those three words down into workable business strategies. They advise executives to perceive other’s needs and expectations; make their offerings easy to understand, use, and benefit from; and boil down and customize what’s being offered to meet needs. The authors also sound a rallying cry to consumers to demand clear, concise information, and illustrate that while corporatespeak may be popular with lawyers, without plain, easy-to-understand offerings, corporations will have to battle for customer satisfaction. This practical guide should be required reading for businesses large and small. Agent: Sloan Harris, ICM.

February 15, 2013
Brand-identity consultant Siegel and colleague Etzkorn make a strong, appealing case for simplicity. Who but those who make their living off such monstrosities hasn't been bamboozled by the tax code, credit-card agreements, insurance policies, hospital bills, car loans or mortgages? The authors believe in the promise of simplicity: clearness of intention, accessibility, trust and satisfaction. To achieve simplicity, they emphasize three principles: empathy--"a willingness and ability to look at a contract, application, product, or service with a sense of the person on the other end"; distillation--the Google home page is a good example; and clarity, which requires organization and visualization. Siegel early on identifies himself as the writer of the book, and his voice rings throughout as brash, but not bullying, trustworthy and easy to agree with. He brings loads of case studies, including JetBlue, Southwest, Oxo, Google, Apple, Philips, IBM, the Cleveland Clinic and Kaiser Permanente. The authors get into a bit of a twist trumpeting social media as a grassroots tool for bringing simplicity into the mainstream--the clog and bloat of Facebook and the endless blogs is often anything but simple. Readers may have had vastly different experiences with some of his examples of simplicity, including, for example, the budgeting software Mint, hardly "simple" to begin with and praised for the fact that "users view their own data, but they can compare their financial habits with others in the same city, state or country"--i.e., beginning to enter the world of complexity. Nonetheless, the authors provide a mostly cleareyed assessment of the importance of simplicity in business. The authors make their case simply but with vigor and dash.

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