Planning Complexity

Ockham’s Razour states that the simplest explanation of a strategy is the best or put another way the explanation that describes a phenomenum with the least number of assumptions is the superior. Although simple solutions are usually superior it does not mean that the simplest approach to solving a problem is the best and for this reason Ocham’s Razour is widely misinterpretted in the context of strategy.

Strategy planning should be comlpex, the deeper you look into something the more complicated the picture becomes and therefore to get to the root of a problem your strategy has to reflect the complexities of  complex phenomena. The solution should be simple yes but the strategy engender thinking that encapsulates as many variables in the equation as possible.

Take Quantum Physics as an example. If you want to understand what is going on at the sub atomic level with a degree of accuracy you need to delve deeper into sub atomic particles where the mathematics becomes exponentially more complicated.If you didnt delve into greater detail like this you would not have a clear understanding of the elements at playand your solution would be lacking.

The same applies for strategic planning – the smaller details need to be acknowledged and the thinking kept complex. Simple thinking will not fully take stock of the complete picture of what is happening and so as in the above example any solution derived from it will also be lacking.