#######################################

     KEYZINE: An e-zine for LEADERS:
   ABOUT THE PEOPLE PART OF BUSINESS
             Volume 74, May 2007
  Publisher: © Key Associates, 2007
              ISSN # 1545-8873
           http://www.mkkey.com/

#######################################

                         

This Issue: "Simplify"

Contents:


"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary, 
so that the necessary may speak."
                                       - Hans Hoffman

"Our life is frittered away by detail...Simplify, simplify, simplify."
                              - Henry David Thoreau

 "Simplify, simplify, until all contamination from relative 
contradictory thinking is eliminated.  Then one does nothing, 
yet nothing is left undone.  One who wins the world does so, 
not by meddling with it.  One who meddles with the world loses it."
                              - Tao Te Ching, Lao-Tzu
 
"What's man's best friend (besides the dog)?  The wastebasket."
                              - Business Week

**************************************
WHAT'S HOT IN LEADERSHIP
**************************************
PROMOTING VALUE-ADDED ACTIVITY.
 
STREAMLINING PROCESSES AND ACTIVITIES.

FOCUSING ON THE IMPORTANT.

LIVING SIMPLY AND WELL.

***************************************
MAINTAINING YOURSELF AS A LEADER
***************************************
Time is a valuable commodity that we cannot 
manufacture more of.  There will never be enough 
time to do everything you have to do.  In fact, 
most people are working at 110-130% of their 
capacity.  And the average executive has 300-400 
hours of reading and projects on back-log (Tracy, 2001).  
This means you will never be caught up.  

If you truly believe what is said--that 40-60% of 
our budgets are filled with waste--doesn't it 
behoove you to clean up your organization?  
What if you conducted a campaign to streamline 
and simplify across the board, starting in your 
own work-space and business life? 

**************************************
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
**************************************
How do I begin to clean up the tangle?

Question everything: WHY do we do this?  
WHO uses this?  WHAT do the end users 
really need and want from us?

Simple formula: Remove one piece of 
non-value-adding activity a day and add 
one act of grace.

 

How do I embark on a journey to simplicity?

The principles of reduction, organization and 
efficiency are not about blindly trimming away, 
but making best use for.

Simple, adj. 1: without embellishment; 
2:clarity of form and thought; 3: fundamental.

John Maeda has said that "the intellectual 
approach to simplicity is to reduce details, 
whereas the intuitive approach to simplicity 
is to add subtlety. The beauty of subtlety is 
that it is usually weightless, hard-to-detect, 
and, by most accounts, invisible. In other words, 
it is the style of something gained from nothing."

 

My well-being is tied to my livelihood.  Does this 
mean that less money makes happiness?

For many, money is the only measure of their 
success and self-worth.  At the same time, 
many feel they are sacrificing their happiness 
at the alter of their ambitions.  True, money 
is important, and influences all aspects of out lives.  

But what if we focused on how we spend our energy?  
How can you create money today, that will 
"add value" to your life and to the universe?   
Your focus becomes having life energy rather 
than trading money for our life's energy.

 

Paper is my nightmare.  Suggestions?

Move paper out, trying to handle each piece 
only once. (this goes for electronic pieces as well).  
“TRAF” it.  T=TRASH it; R=REFER it; 
A=ACT on it; or F=FILE it (or READ it).  
The companion tools are: a wastebasket, 
a referral folder, an action box, a to-be-filed box, 
and a reading folder.  Better yet, stop it at its source.

**************************************
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
**************************************
Maeda at MIT educates us on the laws and links
http://weblogs.media.mit.edu/SIMPLICITY/

The Simple Living Network, with online discussions and free newsletter
http://www.simpleliving.net/main/

Learn how to live life simply and well
http://theguidetolivingwell.com/?GAW1

Key Associates offers instruction in how to 
 streamline your organization
http://www.mkkey.com/courses2/Creativity.htm
and reduce stress in your workforce
http://www.mkkey.com/courses2/LeadershipCourse.htm

**************************************
OTHER USEFUL WEBSITES 
**************************************
The laws of simplicity
http://lawsofsimplicity.com/

RealSimple: Life Made Easier (magazine, TV, website)
http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/homepage/flash/0,23022,,00.shtml

Full of advice for a frugal, simple life
http://hometown.aol.com/dsimple/

Former Key-zines on related topics:
Volume 19, October 2002 - Lean Does Not Have to Be Mean
Volume 39, June 2004 - Bureaucracy
Volume 50, May 2005 - Picture of a Process
Volume 71, February 2007 - Lean Organizations
Volume 72, March 2007 - Mindfulness

**************************************
ARTICLES/PUBLICATIONS                              
************************************** 
De Bono, Edward.  Simplicity.  Penguin Books 
Ltd; New Edition, 1990.

Breathnach, Sarah Ban.  Simple Abundance: 
A Daybook of Comfort and Joy.  Warner Books, 
1995.

Levine, Karen.  Keeping Life Simple: 300 Tips 
& Ideas.  Storey Publishing, LLC; New Ed edition, 
2005.

Maeda, John.  The Laws of Simplicity (Simplicity: 
Design, Technology, Business, Life).  The MIT Press, 
2006.

Pierce, Linda Breen.  Simplicity Lessons: 
A 12-Step Guide to Living Simply.  Gallagher Press, 
2003.

Rohr, Richard.  Simplicity: The Freedom of Letting Go.  
Crossroad General Interest; Revised edition, 2004.

St. James, Elaine.  Living the Simple Life: 
A Guide to Scaling Down and Enjoying More.  
Hyperion; Reprint edition, 1998.

Tracy, Brian.  Eat That Frog!  21 Great Ways to 
Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less 
Time.  Berrett-Koehler, 2001.

Wheatley, Margaret & Kellner-Rogers, Myron. 
 A Simpler Way.  Berrett-Koehler, 1999.