“I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
As we watched our new President take the oath of office, Americans were moved by the profound dignity of the scene. Something else struck me – the simple economy of the oath itself. A man assumed the role of our nation’s leader in just thirty-five words.
We all understand what the words mean. These words do not have nooks and crannies for the President to hide in. The oath forms a promise, fully understood by both giver and receiver. If that oath were written today, it would surely be ten times longer and replete with caveats and platitudes.
Sadly, Americans seldom encounter anything like the crystalline prose of that enduring oath. They pay phone bills they can’t decipher and see their credit card fees rise without understanding why. They receive health care bills and benefit statements that read like gibberish. And all year round they struggle with unintelligible government documents.
And yet they meekly accept the situation, resigned to thinking that they have no choice.
As a life-long champion of simplified processes and open communications, my question is: Why do we tolerate overly complex, confusing propositions? Why do we allow organizations to bury their intentions in technical jargon and legalese?
In my view, resignation in the face of complexity causes tremendous harm in commerce, government and everyday life. Public complacency encourages organizations to under-serve their customers – and even deceive them.
Indeed, our current economic crisis was fueled by widespread acceptance of arcane propositions. Many Americans took on mortgage debt without understanding the risks buried in stacks of paper. Bankers poured billions into bonds structured by financial engineers whose risk-analyses were over their heads. Wealthy investors fell victim to a multi-billion-dollar scam that few ever questioned.
We let marketers overwhelm us with infinite choices and mind-numbing terms. Consider this feature of one bank’s “Simplicity Card”: “All your APRs may automatically increase up to the Default APR if you default under any Card Agreement that you have with us because you fail to make a payment to us when due…” With effort, you can get the gist: Make a late payment on any card from the bank, and the bank will slam you on your new Simplicity Card.
The high holidays for our culture of confusing language is the annual rite of filing income taxes. Every spring, we submit to tax policies that few of us understand, so we hire experts to handle our taxes – emblematic of a dysfunctional relationship between citizens and government.
There is a silver lining to the recent financial meltdown: It has generated a rising tide of anger and mistrust. According to a recent poll, people trust their bankers and financial advisers far less than a year ago. An overwhelming majority of those surveyed said they think that financial firms deliberately foster complexity “to hide risks or to keep people in the dark” – a blunt indictment.
This may be the moment for Americans to begin fighting for transparent services and interactions that are simple and understandable. If we refuse to do business with any organization that dismisses our need to know and understand, then an era of simpler services can be launched.
I often hear that it is lawyers who clutter our lives with qualifications and disclaimers. But deferring to lawyers is the excuse of bureaucrats protecting their turf. Years ago, I wrestled with lawyers to transform pages of caveats and codicils into a simple loan note. In the end, my team reduced two hundred fifty words of jargon to this sentence: “If you don’t pay on time, you will be in default, and we will take legal action against you.” Not the oath of office, it’s true, but a blow struck for clear meaning.
Yes, clarity is achievable, and in my experience successful professionals in every field – from medicine to business – never hide behind a protective wall of jargon.
A few rare companies already thrive by living and breathing simplicity. One online bank does not insult customers with a densely worded booklet on “privacy policy.” This bank states plainly, “We will not give or sell your private information to anyone.” This is clear - and also blessedly in tune with consumer wishes.
Steve Jobs made Apple a model of simple, elegant design, with responsive products and easy-to-understand icons in place of techie jargon. Warren Buffett, the world’s most successful investor, explains his company’s strategy in simple words in an annual report that thousands read for wisdom and pleasure.
If our society can revive that spirit of simplicity embodied in the oath of office, there will be many benefits. One is that simplicity encourages honesty, since it’s hard to hoodwink people if your practices are transparent. Other benefits include the efficiencies gained by businesses that are easier to manage thanks to clear strategies clearly communicated, with employees who understand their own services and customers less inclined to complain – all of which translate into lower prices.
Our new President has vigorously called for transparency and openness in government. Let’s help him in this critical task – and support measures that simplify government practices across all agencies as a hallmark of the President’s reforms.
Clear disclosure may not prevent every Ponzi scheme, but it will empower people to ask questions and challenge con men. A transparent mortgage application process – with fewer, simpler documents - will not keep everyone from buying homes they cannot afford. But it will open some people’s eyes to built-in interest rate traps and the dangers of sharp declines in home prices.
As American citizens, we must not overlook the lessons of the current crisis and continue tolerating outrageously complex and confusing practices. We must seize this historic moment and set our society on a road where the paths of accountability and responsibility have merged.
