“Simplicity is a basic need”
A conversation with Andreas Steinle, executive director of the “Zukunftsinstitut” (the Future Institute)
> Is “simplicity” a new trend because modern life has become too complicated?
Andreas Steinle: I wouldn’t call it a trend. It’s more like there’s a need for simplicity. You could describe it as a basic human need. Simplicity helps with proficiency and understanding. We, as humans, strive to keep everything under our control and to “subjugate” the world. We thus want to be properly equipped, because we don’t want to feel helpless and powerless. Of course this pursuit of simplicity has several facets. Simple design, simple technology and simple ways of living – each of these respective facets has another motivation at its core.
> Does simplicity create a sense of well-being?
Andreas Steinle: You could put it like that. If we want to change something in order to make it simpler, it is because something in our present state is bothering us. It could be a gadget, which is too complicated, which we would like to be simpler and more manageable. It could also be that people don’t feel comfortable with the modern world itself. This had already begun during the Romantic period in 1800. The world had become more complex and rational – intellectually as a result of the enlightenment and progress in the natural sciences, and economically as a result of machines and early industrialization. In contrast, the Romantic period offered people a simplification in their perception of the world.
> There has been a recent wave of “simplify-councilors”. This is rather odd: Never before have people’s everyday lives been made so simple with so many fantastic gadgets and modern accomplishments, and yet there is a feeling that everything has gotten more complicated. How can this be explained?
Andreas Steinle: From the point of view of the 19th century, the modern kitchen is, needless to say, a futuristic marvel. Things like electric stoves, refrigerators, hot running water and washing machines are an enormous simplification of everyday life. But what do we do with the freed time and energy with which these innovations provide us? New complications have arisen, which are often the result of all the new possibilities that have been opened to us, and the social conditions they entail. All the regulations, or the paperwork for banks and insurance companies, or the government bureaucracies are felt to be annoying and burdensome. Furthermore, social existence and lifestyles have become more uncertain. Social relations are more self-determined than they used to be. Love, rather than economic necessity, is now central to relationships. But precisely because it has become easier to establish and end partnerships based on one’s own ideals and wishes, new complications have arisen. The result is an increasing number of single parents and patchwork families, with a complicated daily existence.
> Do you see any counter-movements to the complications of modern life?
Andreas Steinle: There is a very important movement, which has been described as “simplexity”. You could also call it the “rain censor phenomenon”. This means that technology is very simple on the surface and ideally acts alone, but it is based on a very high level of technical innovation. Cars increasingly have such technology, from vacuum servos to the many driver assistance systems. Highly automated driving is already on the way, where the car performs complex driving functions automatically. Maybe your car will park itself in the future …
> Simplification through an increasing number of integrated chips and additional functions is continuing?
Andreas Steinle: At a fast pace. A giant wave of innovation is on its way in the coming years, which will carry with it new products and functions that will give us further mastery over our affairs.
> Does this also exist in other realms, beyond proliferating computer technology?
Andreas Steinle: Yes, we’ve been observing a lot of innovation in the service sector, which is basically intended to facilitate a simplified lifestyle. This includes flat-price offers. Several concepts are emerging in tourism, which concern slower pace, tranquility and a certain decrease in demands because, needless to say, the conscious and deliberate cutting-back of the modern world creates the feeling of a simple and stress-free life. When the cell phone, the computer and all the electrical gadgets have been turned off, you can once again breathe freely …
> How does all this play out within businesses? Everyone complains about stress at the workplace, which suggests that things have gotten very complicated there as well.
Andreas Steinle: Absolutely. At the workplace we are a part of many-faceted and many-layered processes, which include complicated hierarchies and communication chains, due-dates, and numerous cross-linked dependencies. The answer to this high level of complexity in the modern work environment is more education and lifelong learning. We have also observed businesses that have taken a large step further and changed fundamental aspects of their organization. Brazilian Ricardo Semler has developed a leadership model for his growing business, Semco S/A, which has become famous for its radical democratization, which could also be described as anti-management. His “management without a manager” places almost all the managerial functions in the hands of the employees, including human resource and wage policies. Two- to five-year plans are also relinquished to the employees in this manner. As a result, flexibility in the organization is increased, and navigation through a complex environment is made easier. Or take, for example, the Danish manufacturer of hearing aids, Oticon, which has developed a form of business organization known as “spaghetti-organization”. Every employee takes on tasks that also belong to other departments. In this way, all employees come into contact with one another, just like cooked spaghetti strings. As a result, not only the flow of information, but the innovation process and employee motivation as well are simplified.
> Thank you for this very interesting conversation, Mr. Steinle!