Quotes About Simplicity

If it's constantly crazy at work, we have two words for you: Fuck that. And two more: Enough already.

If it's constantly crazy at work, we have two words for you: Fuck that.

Clear writing is a sign of clear thinking. Great writers know how to communicate. They make things easy to understand.

El nuevo lujo es el lujo de la libertad y el tiempo.

Pare down to the essence, but don't remove poetry. Keep things clean and unencumbered, buut don't sterilize.

Don't shy away from the fact that your product or service does less. Highlight it. Be proud of it. Sell it as aggressively as competitors sell their extensive feature lists.

Find a judo solution, one that delivers maximum efficiency with minimum effort.

It's the stuff you leave out that matters. So constantly look for things to remove, simplify, and streamline. Be a curator. Stick to what's truly essential. Pare things down until you're left with only the most important stuff. Then do it again. You can always add stuff back in later if you need to.

When you let customers outgrow you, you'll most likely wind up with a product that's basic—and that's fine. Small, simple, basic needs are constant. There's an endless supply of customers who need exactly that.

When things aren't working, the natural inclination is to throw more at the problem. More people, time, and money. All that ends up doing is making the problem bigger. The right way to go is the opposite direction: Cut back.

Plantéatelo así: si tuvieras que arrancar tu negocio en dos semanas, ¿qué dejarías para más tarde? Es curioso cómo una pregunta como ésta te obliga a concentrar tus energías. De pronto te das cuenta de que hay cantidad de cosas que no necesitas. Y que ahora te parece evidente lo que realmente es imprescindible.

If you need to explain something, try getting real with it. Instead of describing what something looks like, draw it. Instead of explaining what something sounds like, hum it. Do everything you can to remove layers of abstraction.

The easiest, most straightforward way to create a great product or service is to make something you want to use.

Not only is this workaholism unnecessary, it's stupid.

The menus at failing restaurants offer too many dishes. The owners think making every dish under the sun will broaden the appeal of the restaurant. Instead it makes for crappy food (and creates inventory headaches).

Keep things clean and unencumbered but don't sterilize.*

Leonard Koren, author of a book on wabi-sabi, gives this advice: Pare down to the essence, but don't remove the poetry. Keep things clean and unencumbered but don't sterilize.

When good enough gets the job done, go for it. It's way better than wasting resources or, even worse, doing nothing because you can't afford the complex solution.

Which features you choose to include or omit have a lot to do with less software too. Don't be afraid to say no to feature requests that are hard to do. Unless they're absolutely essential, save time/effort/confusion by leaving them out. Slow down too. Don't take action on an idea for a week and see if it still seems like a great idea after the initial buzz wears off. The extra marinading time will often help your brain come up with an easier solution.

But we're just as proud of what our products don't do as we are of what they do. We design them to be simple because we believe most software is too complex: too many features, too many buttons, too much confusion.

Southwest—unlike most other airlines, which fly multiple aircraft models—flies only Boeing 737s. As a result, every Southwest pilot, flight attendant, and ground-crew member can work any flight. Plus, all of Southwest's parts fit all of its planes. All that means lower costs and a business that's easier to run. They made it easy on themselves.

It's the stuff you leave out that matters. So constantly look for things to remove, simplify, and streamline. Be a curator. Stick to what's truly essential.

The answer isn't more hours, it's less bullshit.

There's a beauty to imperfection. This is the essence of the Japanese principle of wabi-sabi. Wabi-sabi values character and uniqueness over a shiny facade. It teaches that cracks and scratches in things should be embraced. It's also about simplicity. You strip things down and then use what you have.