Outsmarting Complexity

Simplicity as a Strategy: How Reducing Complexity Drives Growth

By Markus Hesse, CEO – Hesse Consulting Group

There’s a moment I remember clearly. I was working with the leadership team of a fast-scaling company—bright, ambitious, highly driven. We were mapping out their current initiatives: strategic priorities, customer goals, process improvements, transformation efforts. Within half an hour, the whiteboard was full—fifteen top priorities, dozens of KPIs, cross-functional task forces stacked on top of one another.

Someone laughed and said, “No wonder we’re exhausted.”

They weren’t lacking talent. They weren’t lacking motivation. What they were lacking was clarity. The real challenge wasn’t strategic direction—it was the creeping complexity that had woven itself into every layer of the organization.

And they’re not alone. At Hesse Consulting Group, we see this pattern again and again across industries and sectors: complexity disguising itself as progress.

But here’s the insight that changes everything: in today’s world, simplicity isn’t a luxury—it’s a strategic advantage.

The Hidden Cost of Complexity

Most complexity doesn’t arrive with a warning label. It creeps in through good intentions. A new system to improve collaboration. A new KPI to track performance. A task force to ensure alignment. On paper, each initiative makes sense. But the result? Leaders bogged down in meetings, mid-level managers lost in reporting, and frontline teams unclear about what really matters.

Worse, complexity often hides behind a sense of diligence or sophistication. More data. More layers. More options. But instead of adding value, it adds friction.

When complexity is left unchecked, it becomes costly. Not just financially, but organizationally. It slows decisions. Dilutes accountability. And—most dangerously—it disconnects people from purpose.

If it feels familiar, you’re not alone.

Simplicity as a Strategic Lever

Simplicity is often misunderstood. People think it means stripping everything down, or avoiding difficult decisions. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Simplicity is about intentional focus. It’s the discipline to remove what no longer serves, and the clarity to concentrate on what truly matters.

When done right, simplicity creates leverage. It enables speed—because teams know what to act on. It increases engagement—because people understand their role. And it supports scalability—because leaner structures adapt more easily to growth.

I’ve seen organizations shift from paralysis to progress by focusing not on doing more, but on doing better. Simplicity enables that shift.

Example 1: Wise

Wise stripped the complexity out of international money transfers. Instead of hidden fees and a maze of rates, the fintech offers one transparent service: moving money from A to B at the real exchange rate. The app shows only what customers need—enter the amount, choose the target currency, hit send. That radical simplicity builds trust, slashes support costs, and has propelled Wise from a London startup to a global payments network in just a few years.

In the fiscal year 2025, Wise shifted £145 bn for 15.6 m users (+23 % YoY), pulled in £1.2 bn revenue (+15 %) and £565 m PBT—all via a three-tap flow: amount → currency → send.

Example 2: Lego

LEGO proves even a heritage brand can thrive on simplicity. After skirting bankruptcy in 2004, the company axed hundreds of niche bricks and refocused on its iconic basic pieces and a handful of clear license themes like Star Wars. Suddenly design, production, and storytelling clicked again—fewer parts, but far more imagination. The result: a dramatic rebound from crisis to industry leader and a revived “click-moment” that unites generations.

For the fiscal year 2024, LEGO published DKK 74.3 bn revenue (+13 % YoY), DKK 18.7 bn EBIT and DKK 13.8 bn net profit—almost double its 2019 sales—powered by a leaner brick catalog and a handful of blockbuster themes.

What Simplicity Looks Like in Practice

Let me give you a few real-world examples.

One client—a multinational leadership team—had a strategy that looked impressive on paper but was difficult to communicate. Together, we reduced it to a three-word rallying cry. Suddenly, it wasn’t just a plan—it was a movement. Everyone knew what they were working toward.

Another organization had been tracking 17 different KPIs to evaluate project success. With our facilitation, they streamlined the list to just three. The result? Faster reviews, clearer focus, and increased ownership from the teams.

And in one of our virtual selling programs, a sales team shifted from overcomplicated CRM documentation to a short, structured call prep framework. Their conversations became sharper, more human—and their conversion rates improved.

These aren’t just surface-level tweaks. They’re examples of how clarity accelerates action.

Cultivating a Simplicity Mindset

At Hesse Consulting Group, simplicity is more than a consulting principle—it’s one of our core values.

Inside our own team, we’ve taken the time to define what simplicity really means in practice. We’ve made it tangible, by giving each other regular feedback on how we show up in meetings, how we communicate, how we make decisions—through the lens of simplicity.

Sometimes that feedback is about helping someone go deeper by doing less. Sometimes it’s a reminder to say something in one clear sentence instead of three. But it’s always in service of creating clarity, focus, and shared momentum.

Simplicity, for us, is a daily discipline. And it shows.

Through our tailored consulting, we work side by side with leadership teams to define fewer, bolder moves—and ensure every layer of the organization understands them. Through our standardized training and tools, we embed simplicity into the fabric of everyday work, whether it’s through project playbooks, decision frameworks, or sales enablement routines.

It’s what we call “everyday simplicity.” It shows up not in big speeches, but in small moments: a clearer agenda, a faster decision, a team that spends more time creating value and less time managing complexity.

Simple is Sustainable

There’s a quote I often come back to:

“Perfection is achieved not when there’s nothing more to add, but when there’s nothing left to take away.”

– Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

In today’s environment—where organizations face more volatility, more tools, more stakeholder expectations than ever before—complexity is increasing by default. But growth doesn’t have to follow the same path.

Leaders who embrace simplicity find that it frees up attention, energy, and creativity. It brings people closer to purpose. And it builds momentum that lasts.

So ask yourself:

• What would your team look like if you cut the noise by just 10%?

• How much more clearly would your strategy land?

• How much faster could you move?

If these questions strike a chord, then maybe now is the time to simplify—not just your structures, but your thinking.

👉 Curious how simplicity could unlock growth in your organization?

Explore how we help leaders and teams focus, align, and accelerate—through our Leadership Development, Strategy & Execution, and Project & Change Solutions.

Let’s make space for what really matters.