This content summarizes Yves Morieux's TED Talk "As work gets more complex, 6 rules to simplify," delivered at TED@BCG San Francisco in October 2013.
Morieux discusses the negative impact of increasing complexity in today's organizations and argues that traditional management methods are now obsolete.
He proposes six actionable rules for creating "smart simplicity" to improve employee engagement and productivity.
The talk targets business leaders, managers, and professionals facing workplace complexity.
Action Items
No action items were specified in this content.
The Problem: Complexity and Disengagement at Work
Modern organizations have become highly complex, resulting in employee disengagement and dissatisfaction.
Traditional management structures and processes struggle to address these challenges, often leading to more bureaucracy and inefficiency.
Employees are often left to navigate confusing organizational interdependencies on their own.
Six Rules for "Smart Simplicity"
Yves Morieux introduces six rules that can help organizations simplify work and boost engagement:
Rule 1: Understand what your colleagues actually do—improving knowledge about others’ roles and responsibilities.
(The content mentions only Rule 1 explicitly; the other five rules are referenced as part of the talk's core, but not listed.)
These rules aim to help organizations adapt to complexity by encouraging cooperation, clarity, and smarter work methods.
Speaker and Further Resources
Yves Morieux is a consultant at BCG, researching how corporations can function effectively in complex environments.
He is the co-author of "Six Simple Rules" and recommends further reading such as Thomas Schelling's "Micromotives and Macrobehavior."
TED Institute collaborates with corporations to develop and share innovative ideas like those in this talk.
Decisions
Introduce the six rules of "smart simplicity" to manage complexity — Based on recognizing the limitations of traditional management in today’s complex work environments.
Open Questions / Follow-Ups
The complete list and detailed explanation of the six rules are not provided in this content; viewers need to watch the full TED Talk or access additional resources for the remaining rules.