Have you heard of addition bias?
It's the brain's default assumption: more equals better.
Don't understand a presentation? Ask for more data. Not sure what to say? Add more detail.
Ikea faced this head-on.
Their founder, Ingvar Kamprad, saw his top performers burning out by their mid-30s. Nothing had outwardly changed. But they were drained.
They weren't lazy. They were young. Energy shouldn't have been the issue.
Kamprad called it The Manager's Trap.
Every new problem triggered the same instinct: add more. More meetings. More tools. More rules. More complexity masquerading as progress.
Your communication works the same way.
When a message isn't landing, the instinct is to explain more, add more slides, or schedule another meeting.
Kamprad's fix was brutal in its simplicity: if it isn't working, don't add. Simplify.
That principle changed how his teams worked. It can change how you communicate.
More soon,
Davina
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ABOUT AUTHOR: DAVINA STANLEY
Davina helps senior leaders and their teams prepare high-quality papers and presentations in a fraction of the time, nailing the message that engages decision makers fast.
She learned structured thinking at McKinsey in Hong Kong in the 1990s, was approved to teach the Pyramid Principle by Barbara Minto in 2009, and has coached leaders and teams globally for 25+ years. Clients report cutting review cycles by ~30% and prep time by ~20%.*
Recent clients include 7Eleven, KPMG, Mercer, Meta, and Woolworths.
Learn more at www.clarityfirstprogram.com
* Based on 2023 client benchmarking results.
