In my observation, experts in human nature like psychologists and cognitive scientists don’t obsess about irreducible simplicity like engineers do. Meaning, they aren’t as rigorous in finding the simplest functional solution, or what I call “simplest functional form.”
Unlike engineers whose inventions must have the most bang for the buck in a competitive marketplace to survive, academics can get away with theories that are too simple, and they almost always get away with theories (and writings) that are too complex.
When it comes to walking the tightrope between too much simplicity and too much complexity, engineers are The Flying Wallendas – the best balancing act in town. Everyone else plummets into the canyon. Simplistic motivators don’t stay on the wire, and neither do overcomplex academics.
The leader’s job is to stay on the wire. If we really want to get things done at work and in life, we need to go after irreducible simplicity.