Sometimes you see a cool new tool that you think will be a good addition to your stack for simplifying or speeding things up. You find more and more, and although they all prove to be individually useful, after a while you end up with a labyrinth of overlapping and somewhat redundant tools. Sometimes there isn't even an issue to solve, but the promise of 'productivity' is too enticing, and so now this tool is just sitting around... Or worse, sometimes it creates issues that weren't even there in the first place. Now you need another tool to solve that newly created issue.

The Real Cost of Complexity

Not only is all of this unnecessarily overwhelming, but also quite expensive! From these case studies compiled by Utkarsh Mishra (ERP ROI in Small Manufacturers), we can see that these ERP systems (an Enterprise Resource Planning system, so basically a business management software that connects all these complex business processes into a single system) are actually a lot more effective than multiple fragmented tools frankenstein-ed together.

These are some of the things you need to pay and manage with this sort of setup:

• Software Licensing: Multiple subscriptions every month even though the features overlap 80%.

• Training & Learning: If you're not guiding employees through onboarding, documentation, and ongoing support, then you're probably trying to figure out how to use all these tools yourself. It always takes a while before you're fully 'settled-in'.

• Integration: It's great that you have all these tools at your disposal, but when you need some of them to work together and it just doesn't seem to be working, getting support is sometimes more costly than the tools themselves.

• Context Switching: We've seen (and experienced ourselves) that moving between multiple platforms/software throughout your day disrupts your work, rather than aids it.

• The Multiple Choice Paradox: When you go to a restaurant and the menu seems to be never-ending, you have a harder time deciding what to go for than if you were presented with only 5 options. If you've got 3 tools that are able to perform the same task, every time you need it done you're going to spend time deciding which one will do it the best for this specific scenario. A lot of tools now are packed full of various features, and there is bound to be overlap if you have multiple of them.

So, sometimes it's the very things that are marketed to us as 'productive' and 'efficient' that end up draining your budget, wasting time, and just making things unnecessarily complex or redundant.

The Psychology Behind Complexity

Well then, if the answer is so clear, why do so many logical people do the not very logical thing and choose complexity?

Instinctually, when there is an issue, our brain instantly wants to add something rather than remove or simplify what is already there. It feels more 'productive', even though we know that's not the case. Or a lot of people mistake breadth for depth. For example, we always see long feature lists for every new software that comes out, making comprehensive solutions appear more valuable than focused ones. Sometimes we worry that simpler solutions lack the capabilities we need, so we'd rather have that long list of functions there "just in case", because complexity signals sophistication, and we all want to invest in advanced technology. Although, most of the time, a simpler alternative delivers better results.

The Competitive Advantage of Simplicity

Up to 30% of the money you spend on software is wasted on forgotten, unused, and redundant tools. By reducing the number of software you are using, you reduce the complexity, and therefore the costs. Tools are necessary, and so instead of just getting rid of them all, it is better to pick and choose the ones that promise not just a comprehensive list of features, but the quality and practical use of them.

While it is easy to fall into the habit of obsessing over more features, more integrations, more options, mastering simplicity will long term provide more than any frankenstein stack can. When your software is concise, everything seems clearer, moves faster; you're spending less, and you can focus on what really matters: creating true value. In an over-complicated world, choose simplicity.