Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Brad Feld spoke to Tim Ferriss about the difference between Simple, Complicated and Complex.

I never spent time reflecting on it. It is a very interesting question, isn’t it?

He explains it like this.

Simple could be like making coffee. 2 ingredients are required, coffee and water. Pretty straight forward, I even grasped this at the beginning of my journey as a barista. It has a definite outcome, coffee. 

Complicated is like making a plane. We need additional competencies and skills to build an airplane. There is is definite outcome. Once we have figured out how to work out our problems, the results are the same in the end. We have a flying plane.

The best example for Complex he shared was raising children. There are different skills to acquire, competencies to master and processes to execute. However the outcome is not definite for every kid. 

As a Limitless Leader, one should learn to improve one’s skills in identifying if a problem/challenge/opportunity is Simple, Complicated or Complex. Addressing these will require different approaches, different expectations. 

As I see it , the Complex category will be infinite in its scope and requires vulnerability, agility, collaboration and infinite curiosity.

How would you score yourself on these 4 elements on a scale of 1 – 8?

1 = I don’t understand the word 😱

8 = People pay me $10K/day to show them how to be these words 😉

If interesting, please like. If valuable, please share. Mahalo for being part of the Journey!!!

Tito Kang

The Journey Is Limitless. The Growth Is Possible. The Journey is BAMDIGIOUS!!!