It just seems so simple...

 

It is pretty clear that successful and innovative people have a set of skills which sets them apart from the rest. Part of that skill set is an ability to connect things which would normally seem disparate or unconnected. Research done by Harvard has termed this as “associating”. In my own experience, I have found that some of the most interesting people I meet and talk with have a vast expanse of things they have done and experienced. Those same people seem to be the most successful in their careers and personal lives, too. I recently had the opportunity to spend some time with a top manager for my own employer, and several times during that time I would ask myself, “I wonder if this is what it would be like to meet Steve Jobs in person?” Listening to this leader was so intriguing. He was wise with knowledge and drew inferences to all of his seemingly unrelated experiences. He referred to his experiences playing tennis, mountain climbing, being a licensed airplane pilot, traveling to and living in foreign lands, and much much more. I could have listened to this man talk for hours. Given the stories about Steve Jobs and my own encounter with a corporate leader, I have no doubt in my mind that Gregory Berns was on to something huge when he said:

 “To see things differently than other people…bombard the brain with things it has never encountered before.”

I am immediately reminded of schema theory as I begin to understand Berns’s theory about iconoclasts thinking. Schema theory presents that all information we take in is categorized into units, or schemata, and that the compilation of those units affect the way we interpret information. As new information is received, our perceptions and interpretations continue to change.

My eyes were opened when Carmine Gallo discussed that Steve Jobs did not believe in focus groups. It really made sense that it isn’t about convincing folks to buy into something they don’t need or want, but it is about figuring out just what it is that they need and want before they even know they need or want it. Steve Jobs recognizes that current consumers are not necessarily going to realize their own needs, so it is up to the company to figure it out and introduce them to it and “fill a gap that customers didn’t even know they had”.

So, instead of offering a zillion and one options of the same product, the idea of simplicity really makes sense to me. I use this theory with my own children when I offer them choices of clothes, or snacks. I give them a choice between only a few items rather than just opening the cupboard or the closet and saying, “What do you want?” They make a faster and more definitive choice when I don’t give an overwhelming amount of options. Therefore, it is realistic that this same thing applies to consumers. Offering too many options or variants in a product can just be daunting and the consumer will walk away with nothing rather than spend time trying to choose.

                I find myself with many ‘a-ha’ moments whilst reading about Steve Jobs and others like him. I think, “This stuff seems so simple; like common-sense, you know?” I am left wondering why we, the people, tend to over-complicate everything.