Implementation is the ability to get a grip on difficult issues by breaking them down and making them manageable. We refer to this as the application of the "KISS principle." (Keep It Short and Simple). You don't solve difficult issues with difficult answers. For the KISS principle, we adhere to the following premises:
- A complex problem never exists in a vacuum. It is always a tangle of interrelated problems, and it can only be dealt with by reducing its complexity to comprehensible units.
- A complex problem is difficult both in terms of content and in "feel." A person faced with overwhelming complexity is not capable of acting rationally.
- The more people see a problem as "difficult," the more entrenched the problem becomes. As long as we keep thinking of a problem as complex, we will never understand it. Complexity is a phase in the thinking and solution process.
- The history of the problem is useful and interesting. It is part of the context of the issue. The longer the problem has gone on without a solution, the more serious it is. A cooperation problem also arises, because cooperation has failed to reach a solution.
- There are a number of different perceptions of the problem, all of which may be equally valuable. There is no such thing as the perfect solution to a complex problem. Combinations of ideas and proposals help to move things along towards a solution.
- A solution process, once started, is a solution in itself.
Raymond Maas is managing partner of AMI.
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