Craft

The Paradox of Choice

1 min read

Unlimited choice doesn't equal freedom. Instead, it causes paralysis.

In the year 2000, a landmark study was conducted in which two jam-tasting booths were set up at a grocery store.

Booth #1 had 24 flavors to try.

Booth #2 had 6.

The results: The first booth attracted more browsers. The second had 10x more purchases.

The Paradox of Choice.

Today, you, me, everyone have more choices at our disposal than at any point in history. Yet we are overwhelmed, distracted, and low on energy.

And this doesn't just affect what we buy. It affects how we run our businesses.

A client came to us with a 6-page Income Statement.

6. Freaking. Pages.

If I felt overwhelmed looking at it, I can't begin to imagine how the founder felt.

After digging in, it was clear what the problem was. The financials were built to maximize the accountant's detail, not the founder's clarity.

A 6-page Income Statement is impressive to a detail-minded accountant. It's mind-numbingly overwhelming for the founder trying to run the business.

Through collaboration, we turned that 6-page noise fest into a 2-page hyper-actionable document.

Less choice, less noise.

Clarity, by design.

Thoughts by Jordan Weinstein