Why Complexity Sells

In the modern world, complexity is associated with usefulness or wisdom. People equate length with seriousness and hard work.

• A quote consisting of a ten-word sentence can sometimes be more insightful than entire volumes of books, but people still pay for books, never for quotes.
• Consultants cannot charge their clients by giving them one-sentence advice but will elaborate the same into a large document full of charts and figures, to justify their steep fees.

1. Simple looks easy, and complex looks difficult to the beholder.
2. Sometimes the objective is to dazzle with fluff.
3. Length is often associated with effort and hard work.
4. Saying things people don’t understand creates a kind of mystique around the writer/author.
5. By confusing and making things complex, leaders often take control of the matter, as what others don’t understand, they cannot manipulate.
6. Simplicity is often mistaken for cluelessness and/or stupidity.