Why simple is the hardest word to say.

There is a weird paradox with human thought: our subconscious will do anything to not think. It includes all thinking. It takes energy, and we really don't want to burn those calories; we want to hoard them like Scrooge McDuck.

We assume, we take shortcuts, find the old answers we have always used.

You'd think the output of this lack of thinking would be simplicity. Oh, dear reader, far from it. It's complicated and messy, especially when trying to solve complex problems. Simple is the hardest thing to do when you are building products. A 1000 no's for every yes.

To have anything to say no to is even harder. That requires listening, truly listening and understanding every point of view or idea. Exploring every avenue, else how would you ever know if it had value? Subconsciously, if the idea is different to your own thinking, then you will dismiss it as worthless. Don't want to waste those calories, or I will need another Mars Bar!

The skill of listening has been mastered by very few, but we are all capable of it if we understand why we don't. The underlying mechanism is more complicated than just calories, and it's a fundamental part of Equal Value Thinking.

Building simple, innovative products is exceptionally hard. If it was easy, many more startups would succeed.

Equal Value Thinking makes it much easier.