Over-simplification is not structure

“Computer’s work with smoke. If smoke comes out, it doesn’t work anymore.”

Old joke I really like. Haven’t thought of it why. Actually, it represents oversimplification and its dangers really well for me.

It can be really detrimental to you if you lose important details before a decision. The interesting part is the reverse is equally true. Too much details may lead to indecisiveness, freezing up, debating forever.

If you want to build a computer, the above joke line won’t help you much, so it is way oversimplified. What am I going to use it for, price-performance comparisions of CPU, GPU, motherboard, benchmarks, etc. You need to dig really deep.

If you need to decide on modernizing a large amount of computers and budgeting for it, a few more details may be enough, without digging to rock bottom. Probably you would ask for the suggested specifications and should dig deeper if you really need the more expensive graphics card or not. Still requires a level of understanding, with way less details, e.g. you won’t care the exact MHz of DDR4 or DDR5 rams, only how many GB it holds.

If you want just a replacement or quick fix to your broken computer, the aforementioned joke may be perfectly enough for the level of knowledge you need.

As a leader, specifying which level of details you are interested in is crucial. Your team can bring you the hundred page procurement analysis, or a single slide of comparing three specifications, cost and use-cases. If you are unsure what your leader needs, ask clarifications. They may not even thought of the ambiguity, but will appreciate the forward looking. One less meaningless loop of misalignment in everybodies day.

However, structuring like above can lead to detrimental oversights, if you are the expert, you know the pitfalls and traps better than your leader. Bring them to the spotlight with options to avoid or mitigate. E.g. “specification B is cheaper, however a part in it breaks down twice as much then specification C”, is a great callout to inform a decision.

Could write up a few examples around software, digital products, and so on. Expertise is valuable, expertise well communicated is even more.

What over-simplifications you have done before that lead to an important learning?