It's complicated

I don't know any parent who hasn't wanted to write a letter like the one shown here. Especially if they've tried to help their kids with math homework.

The Common Core curriculum is a ridiculously complicated, long-way-around to solving even the simplest of math problems. A point which this father - with his degree in Electronics Engineering - so succinctly points out.

But this example of going from A to B by first going from A to Z then back again is representative of a much bigger problem.

We over complicate everything.

From our relationships (which are complicated enough) to deciding which Mocha Grande Chocolate Iced Half-Caf Vanilla Latte we're going to have at Starbucks.

On second thought, make it a frappuccino.

While no business runs as simply as it could, nobody (with the possible exception of the public school system and the federal government) is more guilty of complicating things more than they need to be than ad agencies (I can't quantify that statement - go with me on this).

In the name of "process", agencies have several layers of people who are paid for one thing and one thing only: to complicate the work. They over think, over analyze, over test, over route, over question, over accentuate, over react, over compensate, over control, over exaggerate, over dramatize and over inform every assignment they come in contact with.

My friend Rich Siegel at Round Seventeen has another dirty word for it: Collaboration.

But by doing all that, they usually also overlook the fact that by the time they're done with it, no one will want to watch, read or listen to it.

Anyone who's suffered the slings and arrows in an agency creative department knows it should be easier. Instead of ten page briefs (Hello? They're called "briefs") they should be one. Instead of several bullet points that need to be crammed into the work, it should be one. Instead of twenty people around a conference room table for every kick-off meeting...well, don't get me started on meetings.

Life is demanding enough without complicating it more than it has to be. Sometimes the simplest answer is the best one.

I hope I haven't left out any of the points I wanted to make in this post.

Maybe I'll run it by a few more people just to make sure.