THE OCKHAM'S RAZOR AND THE INTEGRATION COEFFICIENT IC
A giant towers over a smaller, weaker opponent. It's a dramatic mismatch, where the smaller opponent faces a seemingly inevitable beating. This is the notorious image depicted in the classic David and Goliath story. But this story ends with an unexpected victory. David, uses his slingshot and clever keep-distance strategy to do the impossible and take down his much stronger opponent.
In business, David doesn't need to kill Goliath. Most markets have plenty of room for multiple players. However, embracing David's solution on his terms, staying agile, and duplicating his experience can yield a huge advantage. David's victory depended on throwing carefully aimed stones that hit Goliath from a distance. It was the result of a high level of skill targeted in precisely the right direction, an almost perfect metaphor for developing solutions and creating profitable niches when one is up against larger competitors.
And here comes the concept of Ockham's Razor. Prioritize the simple. We think that the complex is more credible. Ockham's Razor comes to deny it. It is a shortcut to making better decisions. The razor part refers to the ability of this mental model to "shave" possible less probable alternatives. It helps us not to fall into paralysis by analysis, by having a criterion that eliminates many of the alternatives. The criterion to reduce possible solutions of Ockham's Razor is complexity, understood as the number of assumptions that you have to assume.
Then according to Ockham: Don't fight on Goliath's terms. If David had engaged in close range combat (presumably like any other failed challenger), we would never have heard of him; instead, he used a slingshot. In business terms, this means challenging both the giants' products and their business models to gain an advantage. Rethinking the "duties" of the industry is essential to pave the way to an unexpected victory. The solution is simple and avoids complexity. But the implementation required David to redouble his rock-throwing skills with his slingshot.
There is a concept that describes one of the biggest advantages small businesses have, the Japanese phrase "Genchi Genbutsu" or "go and see for yourself." The idea is that those with first-hand experience are better equipped to make decisions or create.
Our process coincides with what Albert Einstein said: “Removing things is usually more powerful than adding, up to a point. But we can't be too clever. There is a balance between how simple things can be done and how complex the implementation has to be, which should be respected”.
And we do that with our Integration Coefficient IC process.
What could be simpler and more powerful than basing your solutions on the Customer's needs and getting the factories together to help simplify the supply chain so that these solutions are easily affordable to the end customer?
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