I just finished reading The Wisdom of the Bullfrog. I highly recommend picking it up. It's a quick read with many easily digestible leadership principles. One quote stood out: "Everything in war is simple, but the simple things are difficult."

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This quote resonated with me because I have often experienced frustration at the inability to accomplish simple things. I have expressed this more than a few times to others because a “simple” task wasn’t completed. “Come on,” I’d say, “it’s not that difficult.” I’m even harder on myself when I fail at something seemingly simple. 

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As I thought more about this, I wondered, what is it that’s difficult about simple things? A few different reasons came to mind:

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Simple things can easily get overlooked. The difficulty is treating simple things with as much urgency as big things.

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Simple things aren't sexy. The difficulty is working on a task or a project that goes unnoticed.

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Simple things can be mundane or boring. The difficulty is being disciplined to stay focused.

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Simple things are simple. The difficulty is underestimating how important they are. 

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While these reasons are all valid, I think there is a deeper issue. Simple things tend to grow exponentially. 

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We typically don't fail in big ways. When we fail, we fail in small things. But why? What is really going on? I think the core issue might be in the execution. It's not the doing of the thing that’s difficult; it's the completing of the thing.

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As leaders, we have to navigate a lot. We have more than one task to carry out. We are responsible for juggling multiple things at once. If we only had one simple job, we would for sure crush it. But that's rarely ever the case. Simple things have a way of compounding over time. 

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It goes something like this: You have a simple problem to solve, but another simple thing pops up before you can solve that problem. Before you can solve either of those simple issues, an employee comes to you with a concern. Before you can address this concern, a third simple thing is brought to your attention. At the same time, you get a call from your boss asking you to complete a different simple task in a timely fashion, while at the same time, the lunch you had an hour ago isn't agreeing with you. In a matter of minutes, you are confronted with six different problems. Sure, individually, these things are all simple, but combined, they are overwhelming.  

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So the next time you get frustrated at someone (or yourself) for failing an easy task, remember that it might be more difficult than it first appears. 

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This is also a good reminder not to underestimate the simple things. Every small detail matters. What begins as an inconsequential problem can eventually become a crucial issue if not addressed.

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