Editing Simplicity (section)

==In business==
The recognition that too much complexity can have a negative effect on business performance was highlighted in research undertaken in 2011 by Simon Collinson of the [[Warwick Business School]] and the Simplicity Partnership, which found that managers who are orientated towards finding ways of making business "simpler and more straightforward" can have a beneficial impact on their organisation.{{blockquote|Most organizations contain some amount of complexity that is not performance enhancing, but drains value out of the company. Collinson concluded that this type of 'bad complexity' reduced profitability ([[EBITDA]]) by more than 10%.<ref name=col>Ashkenas, R., [https://www.dukece.com/insights/for-stronger-leadership-cut-through-complexity/ For stronger leadership cut through complexity], ''[[Duke Corporate Education]]'', September 2013, accessed 23 April 2023</ref>}}

Collinson identified a role for "simplicity-minded managers", managers who were "predisposed towards simplicity", and identified a set of characteristics related to the role, namely "ruthless prioritisation", the ability to say "no", willingness to iterate, to reduce communication to the essential points of a message and the ability to engage a team.<ref name=col /> His report, the ''Global Simplicity Index 2011'', was the first ever study to calculate the cost of complexity in the world's largest organisations.<ref>{{cite web|last=Carly|first=Chynoweth|title=How to avoid a tangled web|url=http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/public/Appointments/article575337.ece#prev|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314020134/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/public/Appointments/article575337.ece#prev|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 14, 2012|publisher=The Sunday Times}}</ref>

The ''Global Simplicity Index'' identified that complexity occurs in five key areas of an organisation: people, processes, organisational design, strategy, and products and services.<ref>{{cite web|title=More about The Global Simplicity Index |url=http://www.simplicitypartnership.com/what-we-do/how-we-simplify-your-business/diagnosing-your-complexity-problems/more-about-the-global-simplicity-index/ |publisher=Simplicity Partnership |accessdate=13 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425220710/http://www.simplicitypartnership.com/what-we-do/how-we-simplify-your-business/diagnosing-your-complexity-problems/more-about-the-global-simplicity-index/ |archivedate=April 25, 2011 }}</ref> As the "global brands report", the research is repeated and published annually.<ref name=env />{{rp|3}} The 2022 report incorporates a "[[brand]] simplicity score" and an "industry simplicity score".<ref>[[Siegel + Gale]], [https://worldssimplestbrands.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/wsb_9th_edition.pdf World’s Simplest Brands: Ninth Edition], published 15 December 2021, accessed 4 May 2023, p. 50</ref>

Research by Ioannis Evmoiridis at [[Tilburg University]] found that earnings reported by "high simplicity firms" are higher than among other businesses, and that such firms "exhibit[ed] a superior performance during the period 2010 - 2015", whilst requiring lower average capital expenditure and lower [[Leverage (finance)|leverage]].<ref name=env>Evmoiridis, I., [http://arno.uvt.nl/show.cgi?fid=141718 Brand Simplicity, Stock Returns, and Firm Characteristics: Master Thesis], published 27 October 2016, accessed 4 May 2023</ref>{{rp|18}}