In Simplicity Lies Genius Henry Houdini won fame as an escape artist early in the twentieth century, challenging and claiming he could free himself from any jail cell within minutes. One day Houdini entered a jail cell in his street clothes. The heavy metal doors clanged shut behind him, and he took from his belt a concealed piece of strong and flexible metal. He set to work on the lock to his cell, but he could not pick the lock. Finally, after labouring for two hours, Houdini leaned in frustration against the door. To his amazement, it swung open! It had not been locked in the first place! When Charles Schwab became President of Bethlehem Steel, he made consultant Ivy Lee the following offer: “Show my staff and me a way to get more things done in less time and I’ll pay you any fee within reason.” And in twenty minutes Lee gave him a simple idea. Lee took a card out of his pocket, handed it to Schwab and said, “Write down the six most important things you have to do tomorrow and number them in order of their importance. Do item one, then item two and so on. You’ll be working on the most important ones first.” Lee waited while Schwab wrote his list. Then he said, “Try this system every working day. After you’ve convinced yourself of its value, have your employees try it. Try it and then send me a cheque for what you think it’s worth.” Two weeks later Schwab sent Lee a $25,000 cheque for that twenty-five-minutes consultation. The advice earned the company $100 million fortune in less than five years. According to Schwab “Sure it was a simple idea, but what ideas are not basically simple? For the first time, my entire team and I are getting first things done first.” Henry Ford remarked, “My effort is in the direction of simplicity…. All could be much simpler than they now are and at the same time be better-looking.” There is a better and easier way to do your work. Find it!
Posted on: Sat, 05 Oct 2013 09:26:58 +0000