I always chuckle when people, confronting a problem with multiple solutions or a mystery with several explanations, bend themselves into pretzels coming up with incredibly convoluted “solutions” to those problems.  Somewhere, William of Ockham is laughing with me.

Sir William of Ockham was a Franciscan friar in the early 1300’s, and he came up with the principle called “Ockham’s Razor,” sometimes spelled “Occam’s Razor.”  Ockham’s Razor suggests that, among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest solutions should be selected.  Sometimes other, more complicated hypotheses may win out, but initially, the fewer assumptions, the better.

In other words, the simpler the solution, the more likely it’s true.  If you hear hoofbeats, think “Horse,” not “Zebra.”  This solution still applies – in business, in society, and in life.

For example – let’s say that sales of your product suddenly fall off a cliff.  The simplest solution is that another product or service is suddenly offering better value – but I see companies spend millions of dollars to produce research trying to find something different.

In my consulting practice, I (successfully) use Ockham’s Razor frequently.  When solving problems in your business, you should too.  It doesn’t mean that you automatically reject all other solutions – it just means that you start with the simplest and work from there.

Sir William would approve.