Book Review for "deComplify" by Gary Michel
deComplify: How Simplicity Drives Stability, Innovation and Transformation
Strategies and Techniques for Change Agents, Strategists, and Innovators
“Simplicity is an exact medium between too little and too much.” —Sir Joshua Reynolds
In 2015, I presented to the leadership team at Trane, led by then-president Gary Michel. They were reading The Amazon Way, and we had a terrific conversation.
In 2022, I reconnected with Gary, then chairman of JELD-WEN. It was worth the wait. Gary Michel told me about his book project titled:
“deComplify: How Simplicity Drives Stability, Innovation, and Transformation.”
He invited me to contribute a book blurb and sent me a signed copy at publication. This edition of The Digital Leader newsletter is dedicated to a book review and endorsement for deComplify.
Invent and Simplify
Amazon’s third leadership principle is “Invent and Simplify.” Simplification is always the hardest and the path to creating better outcomes. deComplify is the book taking this notion of “simplify” to a much broader and more impactful manner.
deComplify is a wonderfully written story of Gary’s lean manufacturing, operations expertise, and leadership style to create culture, management processes, and a competitive business. A business that serves customers, has repeatable world-class operations, and customer-led innovation to sustain competitive advantages.
Gary says in the opening chapter, “Every successful business seeks to outgrow the competition and continuously improve the business to expand profitability. It’s that simple.” (pg 2). It really is just that simple.
With chapters on techniques for team engagement, innovation, strategy setting, and strategy execution, deComplify is a broad playbook suitable for any business.
[Note: Doing a “book club” as a leadership team development activity is an excellent lever for driving change, building chemistry, and getting to know your team better. deComplify would be a great selection!}
Process Debt
One of my favorite topics from deComplify covers process debt. “Technical debt is a term common to software development and coding. Essentially, when software engineers intentionally fail to fix known issues to make a deadline, they are incurring technical debt… This concept of technical debt is relevant to any work that humans do. I call the larger concept process debt because it occurs when we knowingly refuse to correct an error or inefficiency in the interest of maintaining the status quo.” [pg 6]
Process debt is the accumulation of inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and other issues that arise as a result of neglecting to improve or update a process. It typically results from choosing short-term results over long-term solutions. (pg 7)
Most companies do not spend enough thought, skill, or continuous investment in designing the “machine that builds the machine”. When company leadership believes in “just applying AI or technology”, the results will be underwhelming. Without skilled process design, you will get a short-term, expensive, and incremental outcome. True “process design” is how competitive advantage is built.
[Refer to last week’s newsletter to see how this is featured in Amazon’s recent shareholder letter]
Keep the Main Thing, The Main Thing
In the chapter “Commit to the Critical Few,” Gary tackles strategic planning and corporate transformations. “Decomplified strategies are not necessarily easy to create, but they must be easy to communicate.” (pg 101). The first critical habit of Big Bet Legends is “Create Clarity.” Gary gives excellent advice and examples regarding the necessity of transformations, ensuring that they create focus and selective choice to a limited number of priorities and then ensuring strong linkage to execution.
You identify the current state of the business environment, create a clear statement of the strategy, match those to competitive strategy levers, and select the top tactics and strategic initiatives to be deployed. (pg 102)
This is the definition of “Good Strategy.” Transformations and strategies fail for many reasons, but the foundational reason is that they don’t address the real problem facing the business and proceed with a vague notion of both the problem and future state.
Rossman’s Blurb
I was humbled when Gary asked if I would contribute a blurb for deComplify.
For those who wish to remain stuck in theoretical constructs and impractical suggestions, deComplify is not the book for you. But if you crave a firsthand perspective from a proven business mastermind and operator, the book is a gold mine. Filled with dynamic strategies on employing lean design and engaged leadership, deComplify is your roadmap to business advancement, offering a pioneering approach to achieving stability, sparking innovation and leading transformative change. — John Rossman
Gary’s Bio
Gary Michel is the former chair and CEO of JELD-WEN, Inc. Nearly 40 years of top-level experience inform his leadership strategy, approach to business transformations and operational excellence, and lean manufacturing expertise.
Under Gary’s leadership, his deComplify philosophy has shaped iconic businesses and brands like Ingersoll Rand, Club Car, Trane, and Honeywell.
He’s also served as a member of the board of directors of Cooper Tire & Rubber Company. Gary currently serves on the boards of World Shoe Company, Distro AI, and the American Heart Association.
Get your copy of deComplify for you and your team today!
Onward!
John
About The Digital Leader Newsletter
John Rossman is a keynote speaker, innovation coach, and strategy advisor. The Digital Leader Newsletter is a weekly coaching session focused on customer-centricity, innovation, and strategy. We deliver practical theory, examples, tools, and techniques to help you build better strategies, plans, and solutions—but most of all, to think and communicate better.