KISS principle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation , search
"K-I-S-S" redirects here. For other uses, see Kiss (disambiguation).
KISS is an acronym for "Keep it simple, stupid" as a design principle noted by the U.S. Navy in 1960.[1][2] The KISS principle states that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated; therefore simplicity should be a key goal in design and unnecessary complexity should be avoided. The phrase has been associated with aircraft engineer Kelly Johnson (1910–1990).[3] The term "KISS principle" was in popular use by 1970.[4] Variations on the phrase include "keep it short and simple", "keep it simple and straightforward" and "keep it small and simple".[5][6]
I have heard the phrase “keep it simple stupid” most often in reference to those struggling with recovery from addictions or other “dis eases”, but it certainly is a good reminder for all areas of my life. Many of us are very aware that we have a tendency to complicate the simplest issues. I recall once talking with a colleague, another psychotherapist, about the fact that I was, at that time, still smoking cigarettes. Over the years I had quit numerous times for up to a year. Yet, I always returned to smoking. As is true for any addict I would first have an occasional cigarettes with friends and then maybe one a day and then… As a nicotine addict, I never successfully managed to be one of those people who could have an occasional cigarette. Soon I was back to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. Yet, I was well aware that I disliked the taste, hated the mess, detested the fact that I was affecting the health of other people, was setting a poor example as a father, and was spending an increasing amount of money. Obviously, there were many reasons to let go of this nasty, expensive habit. I said to my colleague, “There must be some other psychological reason why I am so reluctant to do what I need to do to let go of this habit. Perhaps I need to see you or another therapist in an attempt to uncover and deal with those underlying issues.” She laughed and asked me what, as an addiction counselor, I did not understand about addiction. “ Then she reminded me, “Keep it simple stupid.” Another time I hired a therapist to try to help me figure out what decision I should make about a relationship. For six months I saw this very competent therapist and endlessly went over the pros, cons, what ifs, and buts and. The plain and simple fact was that I needed to take the risk of making a decision. I was looking for a no-risk way of deciding. Again, I was reminded, “Keep it simple stupid.”
Today, I have been a non-smoker for many years. At a certain point I accepted what I told others. I simply made a decision to not pick up the first cigarette,
I did also marry the person. It did not work well as a marriage but the friendship survived. It was not very complicated to take a risk, be okay with the outcome, and do the next right thing. Yet, for a very long time I convinced myself that this was a very important, complicated decision.
Often, I have been hired to consult with the staff of a facility to evaluate how the system was working and what could be done to improve it financially or in terms of insuring that staff spent less time grumbling and more time being helpful to clients/customers. I almost always stared with:
· Reviewing the mission of the organization.
· Asking staff and clients/customers the extent to which they thought the organization was achieving its mission.
· Asking staff if they agree with the mission.
· Asking staff to complete a holistic health care questionnaire for themselves.
These were very simple questions and, yet, several things happened when I asked these questions:
· Often no one had looked at the mission statement for some time and could not recall what it said. Sometimes, the only copy that could be located was a framed copy hanging in the lobby which no staff member had read for some time,
· The staff would get angry about having to fill out a questionnaire about the status of their holistic health care plan even though they frequently asked clients or other employees to do this.
· Generally the consensus was that the focus needed to be kept on a clear mission and reinforcing or rewarding behavior, which helped to achieve that mission.
The interesting fact is that often these were very same individuals were able to address very similar issues with others in a very straightforward and helpful manner. They would often suggest to clients/customers that they, the clients/customers, were complicating a basically simple issue. The important question was: What prevented the staff from applying these tools to their approach to being clear about and achieving the mission of the organization. They obviously knew what to do, but they were unable to get enough distance to objectively view the situation, unemotionally articulate the goals and objectives and create a plan for getting themselves and the team back on track.
My job was to help them identify the individual trees in this forest and to very simply identify problems and state clear, simple goals and objectives. When the emotional component was left out of the equation, the problems seemed very simple. Part of the process was to set or suggest some initial rules/boundaries. These might include:
· No blaming. No member of the team set out to create an unhealthy and unhappy work atmosphere.
· Decide if mission needs changing.
· Stand back and very simply state the behaviors, which will help, achieve or work towards achieving the mission.
· Give us permission to fail.
· If a plan does not work create a new one.
· Keep the goals and objectives simple and workable.
When we opened a private practice in Wheeling in 1990 we attempted to follow these guideline.
The philosophy and mission of the private practice was very simple. Basically, it stated that the goal was to create a space where it was safe for the staff to continue its healing journey and then to invite others, who were clients, to join us in continuing their healing journey. Healing was seen as a life long process for all of us. We did not have to cure anyone, including ourselves, but it was important to keep moving in a positive direction. We were also clear that we “knew” nothing and that the best we could do was to make educated guesses as a team. The team included staff and client feedback/opinions.
It was also important to remind us, especially me, that this process had a learning curve and would not go smoothly. I had a tendency to get inpatient and then micro manages. I often needed reminding to trust the process. It was also important to recognize that it was okay if everyone was not appropriate for this particular team. That was not a negative. We made many mistakes but they were our mistakes and our solutions.
Today I am sometimes quicker at recognizing when I overly complicate a problem or a situation. I also have a wonderful support system of friends and colleagues who I trust. They are quick to let me know when I am complicating a situation.
I just talked to a person who is early in the recovery process. He said, “I have to learn what to do with my feelings.” I suggested that he just practice being okay with whatever feelings happen to visit and share them. We do not have to learn how to deal with them. We just have to practice accepting them,
I can tell that it is time for another one of my conversations with a six year old. I suspect that he or she could of said most of the above in a sentence or two!
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation , search
"K-I-S-S" redirects here. For other uses, see Kiss (disambiguation).
KISS is an acronym for "Keep it simple, stupid" as a design principle noted by the U.S. Navy in 1960.[1][2] The KISS principle states that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated; therefore simplicity should be a key goal in design and unnecessary complexity should be avoided. The phrase has been associated with aircraft engineer Kelly Johnson (1910–1990).[3] The term "KISS principle" was in popular use by 1970.[4] Variations on the phrase include "keep it short and simple", "keep it simple and straightforward" and "keep it small and simple".[5][6]
I have heard the phrase “keep it simple stupid” most often in reference to those struggling with recovery from addictions or other “dis eases”, but it certainly is a good reminder for all areas of my life. Many of us are very aware that we have a tendency to complicate the simplest issues. I recall once talking with a colleague, another psychotherapist, about the fact that I was, at that time, still smoking cigarettes. Over the years I had quit numerous times for up to a year. Yet, I always returned to smoking. As is true for any addict I would first have an occasional cigarettes with friends and then maybe one a day and then… As a nicotine addict, I never successfully managed to be one of those people who could have an occasional cigarette. Soon I was back to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. Yet, I was well aware that I disliked the taste, hated the mess, detested the fact that I was affecting the health of other people, was setting a poor example as a father, and was spending an increasing amount of money. Obviously, there were many reasons to let go of this nasty, expensive habit. I said to my colleague, “There must be some other psychological reason why I am so reluctant to do what I need to do to let go of this habit. Perhaps I need to see you or another therapist in an attempt to uncover and deal with those underlying issues.” She laughed and asked me what, as an addiction counselor, I did not understand about addiction. “ Then she reminded me, “Keep it simple stupid.” Another time I hired a therapist to try to help me figure out what decision I should make about a relationship. For six months I saw this very competent therapist and endlessly went over the pros, cons, what ifs, and buts and. The plain and simple fact was that I needed to take the risk of making a decision. I was looking for a no-risk way of deciding. Again, I was reminded, “Keep it simple stupid.”
Today, I have been a non-smoker for many years. At a certain point I accepted what I told others. I simply made a decision to not pick up the first cigarette,
I did also marry the person. It did not work well as a marriage but the friendship survived. It was not very complicated to take a risk, be okay with the outcome, and do the next right thing. Yet, for a very long time I convinced myself that this was a very important, complicated decision.
Often, I have been hired to consult with the staff of a facility to evaluate how the system was working and what could be done to improve it financially or in terms of insuring that staff spent less time grumbling and more time being helpful to clients/customers. I almost always stared with:
· Reviewing the mission of the organization.
· Asking staff and clients/customers the extent to which they thought the organization was achieving its mission.
· Asking staff if they agree with the mission.
· Asking staff to complete a holistic health care questionnaire for themselves.
These were very simple questions and, yet, several things happened when I asked these questions:
· Often no one had looked at the mission statement for some time and could not recall what it said. Sometimes, the only copy that could be located was a framed copy hanging in the lobby which no staff member had read for some time,
· The staff would get angry about having to fill out a questionnaire about the status of their holistic health care plan even though they frequently asked clients or other employees to do this.
· Generally the consensus was that the focus needed to be kept on a clear mission and reinforcing or rewarding behavior, which helped to achieve that mission.
The interesting fact is that often these were very same individuals were able to address very similar issues with others in a very straightforward and helpful manner. They would often suggest to clients/customers that they, the clients/customers, were complicating a basically simple issue. The important question was: What prevented the staff from applying these tools to their approach to being clear about and achieving the mission of the organization. They obviously knew what to do, but they were unable to get enough distance to objectively view the situation, unemotionally articulate the goals and objectives and create a plan for getting themselves and the team back on track.
My job was to help them identify the individual trees in this forest and to very simply identify problems and state clear, simple goals and objectives. When the emotional component was left out of the equation, the problems seemed very simple. Part of the process was to set or suggest some initial rules/boundaries. These might include:
· No blaming. No member of the team set out to create an unhealthy and unhappy work atmosphere.
· Decide if mission needs changing.
· Stand back and very simply state the behaviors, which will help, achieve or work towards achieving the mission.
· Give us permission to fail.
· If a plan does not work create a new one.
· Keep the goals and objectives simple and workable.
When we opened a private practice in Wheeling in 1990 we attempted to follow these guideline.
The philosophy and mission of the private practice was very simple. Basically, it stated that the goal was to create a space where it was safe for the staff to continue its healing journey and then to invite others, who were clients, to join us in continuing their healing journey. Healing was seen as a life long process for all of us. We did not have to cure anyone, including ourselves, but it was important to keep moving in a positive direction. We were also clear that we “knew” nothing and that the best we could do was to make educated guesses as a team. The team included staff and client feedback/opinions.
It was also important to remind us, especially me, that this process had a learning curve and would not go smoothly. I had a tendency to get inpatient and then micro manages. I often needed reminding to trust the process. It was also important to recognize that it was okay if everyone was not appropriate for this particular team. That was not a negative. We made many mistakes but they were our mistakes and our solutions.
Today I am sometimes quicker at recognizing when I overly complicate a problem or a situation. I also have a wonderful support system of friends and colleagues who I trust. They are quick to let me know when I am complicating a situation.
I just talked to a person who is early in the recovery process. He said, “I have to learn what to do with my feelings.” I suggested that he just practice being okay with whatever feelings happen to visit and share them. We do not have to learn how to deal with them. We just have to practice accepting them,
I can tell that it is time for another one of my conversations with a six year old. I suspect that he or she could of said most of the above in a sentence or two!
RSS Feed