How a Company or Nation Get Complex and Unproductive

If a fundamental problem is not solved or resolved at the root, it is typical for us to add more rules to handle the additional varieties and exceptional cases thinking that the added rules will work. I am not so sure.

The Singapore Government is adding new rule to curb the cost of car ownership.

Individuals may need to pay surcharge for second car onwards - Channel NewsAsia

www.channelnewsasia.com

If a fundamental problem is not solved or resolved at the root, it is typical for us to add more rules to handle the additional varieties and exceptional cases thinking that the added rules will work. I am not so sure.

This is how company and government get bigger and more complex over time and everyone think that they are working very hard and productively. 

They do create a lot of work and hence of jobs for 

1. the people to make the laws, 
2. people who monitor the laws, 
3. people who judge the violation if any, 
4. people who argue in courts, etc etc. 

They don't realize that they are the inhibitors rather than the facilitators for the entrepreneurs and the business of those that producing the foods, products and services. 

They just add costs and not value.

For any new rules added, there are many ways to by-pass it.  The Chinese has a saying "上有政策，下有对策", translated, “The top set policies but the bottom has counter measures". It will be just a meaningless spiral to complexity, higher costs and greater inefficiency.

Let's fix the root problem and minimize the rules and complexity. (note: I am not saying that rules not needed. But they need to be minimized to ensure clarity, simplicity in following and enforcement). The costs of extracting the goodies must not be higher than the value of the goodies extracted.

The teaching of Lao Zi's should be studied and followed here. See The True Teaching of Lao Zi’s Dao De Jing in 1 Minute.

Lim Liat (c) 16 May 2013.