Over the last ten years elegance has emerged as a trend which is quickly picking up speed in the fields of architecture, design, innovation and strategic business leadership, as it provides a powerful key for managing complexity.
But quite
frankly, when I discuss the concept and benefits of elegance with business entrepreneurs
and executives, I often get a blank stare as a response.
It seems
that for most people, elegance is a relatively meaningless word, which is best
left to the creators of fashion and haute couture, as well as their marketing
gurus and the editors of glossy magazines.
According to
my experience, most business leaders would view elegance as a largely
irrelevant concept.
Until
lately, that is.
For in the
last ten years we have seen more and more disruptive concepts, technologies and
products launched into the world markets, which have changed the way in which we
live, work, and create value.
The IPhone,
with it’s deceptively simple, elegant design and it’s complex, rich
sub-structure completely revolutionized the world of mobile phones and
hand-held devices.
The Google
search engine, with it’s clean, uncluttered design and meaningful search
results pretty much blew away most of the potential competitors.
The list of
great examples for new, successful, disruptive solutions, products and
technologies which make use of the key concepts of elegance is growing quickly.
„So what is the secret sauce?“ some executives have asked
me.
There are
several aspects to the power of elegant design, but to paraphrase Patrik Schumacher of Zaha Hadid
Architects, one of the key benefits of true elegance is that it allows for complexity
to coincide with a relative reduction of complication by means of integrating
multiple elements into a coherent system.
Swiss watchmakers can teach us a lesson about elegance in
this respect. A really good watch should have a surface structure which is easy
to understand, that allows for intuitive navigation. But below the surface, the
inner works of a truly great watch will include a grand complication, representing the most complex achievements
of haute horlogerie. You and I don’t need to understand the inner
works of a watch to be able to use it. If it is elegantly designed, it’s use
will require virtually no explanation.
Thus, elegance
provides a means of articulating complexity in a way that enables easy
comprehension and intuitive navigation.
In an
increasingly chaotic, complex economic context, business leaders and entrepreneurs
need to manage complexity by mastering such elegant techniques in order to make
better decisions and create increased business value.
Elegant
business decisions, solutions and innovations combine a simple
surface-structure with a rich, complex sub-structure.
The resulting business-leadership techniques may seem simple and obvious at first sight – but don’t be deceived!
This type of simplicity is rich, complex and deeply satisfying.
And as in the cases of Apple, Google and many other elegant innovators, this approach can help you to create disruptive changes to your advantage in the markets you operate in.
The resulting business-leadership techniques may seem simple and obvious at first sight – but don’t be deceived!
This type of simplicity is rich, complex and deeply satisfying.
And as in the cases of Apple, Google and many other elegant innovators, this approach can help you to create disruptive changes to your advantage in the markets you operate in.