Less is More – 12 Quotes About Simplicity

Are you making things too complicated for customers and employees?  Here are 12 quotes about simplicity to remind you that sometimes less really is more. 

12 Inspirational Quotes About Simplicity Remind You Just How Beautiful Uncomplicated Can Be

Think about some of the most successful businesses around today. Chances are, those that came to mind have – or are founded on – strong, simple and easy to understand concepts. These twelve motivational quotes about simplicity for the workplace point to the beauty of the uncomplicated as it relates to business.

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” —Leonardo da Vinci
It seems contradictory; sophistication is defined as being less natural, less naïve and more worldly. But if you think about it, it makes sense. Simplicity is grounded in truth, transparency and honesty.

“Life is really simple, but we insist in making it complicated.” —Confucius
Life is simple – and so is business – but we often make it harder than it needs to be when we lose focus or allow any number of distractions to slow or stall our forward progress.

“As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say.
I simply watch what they do.” —Andrew Carnegie
What someone does is more important than what they say, because actions speak louder than words. And the same is true for your business! Having a great customer mission statement is good, providing a great customer experience is better.

“Simplicity is the glory of expression.” —Walt Whitman
A glance at the marketing materials of most businesses shows a propensity to try to say as much as possible as often as possible to as many people as possible. Less truly is more if you want people to register and remember your most compelling selling points!

“Progress is man’s ability to complicate simplicity.” —Thor Heyerdahl
You may find new business opportunity by complicating – or expanding or enlarging upon – someone else’s business, product or service concept. Adopt an attitude of continuous improvement and look for ways to improve on your own business as well as opportunities to improve upon those of others.

“Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes
– and more notes – it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art.”
—Frederic Chopin
If you’ve ever glanced at sheet music written by masters such as Chopin, ‘simplicity’ would not be the word that comes to mind! And yet, it is out of this very complexity that simplicity of melody and concept come to fruition. The artistry lies in being able to understand how to bring all of the disparate individual pieces into a simple, cohesive whole.

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” —Albert Einstein
There’s a fine line between simple and boring!

“As beautiful as simplicity is, it can become a tradition
that stands in the way of exploration.” —Laura Nyro
Progress, exploration, experimentation and innovation can be messy.
Don’t be afraid to make a mess now and then!

“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary,
so that the necessary may speak.” —Hans Hofman
It’s easy to lose time and waste resources combing through details; and lose focus on the key goal at hand in the process. Be sure that you know which factors are most important to a project, and leave less important details aside until more time becomes available.

“Simplicity is an exact medium between too little and too much.” —Sir Joshua Reynolds
Much to the point of the Einstein quote above, it’s possible to strip too much detail away
and lose the most important takeaways.

“Clutter and confusion are failures of design, not attributes of information.” —Edward Tuft
Before throwing out a business concept, product or service, make sure that you aren’t throwing away a good thing that simply wasn’t positioned, packaged or promoted properly.

“Don’t make the process harder than it is.” —Jack Welch
Marketing 101: Make it as easy as possible for customers to find you and to buy from you! When you have the opportunity to eliminate or diminish complexity in the customer experience or buying process, do so.