Chapter 8 – Sophisticated Simplicity
- Nov 2, 2021
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 14, 2023
Written by: William Lee, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
“Wow… you’ve got such an amazing voice. Your technique is flawless. All you have to do now is, be yourself, be authentic, internalise the music, and get it across to the audience. You will be awesome!!”
How many times have we heard this line from the various coaches in The Voice, across different continents, languages and cultures?
To be successful as a performance artist, the critical task is to connect, engage and strike the chord on the desired audiences. When they resonate with the art and the performance, and they want more, there is a good chance to realise the planned outcomes, spontaneously.
Simple.
The sophistication lies on defining who are the audiences, what do they want, the fit between supply and demand, and the performance delivery that is better than competitions.
The trick to simplify all these is right learning.
Right Learning
“There is no other way to learn. Just put our minds to it 學問之道無他，求其放心而已矣,” said Mencius (孟子; 372–289 BC).
When we put our minds to something focused and unbiased, we feel 受 the worlds truthfully through our five senses. We spontaneously emotionalise this feeling, then internalise this combined information stream 想 to process and act on it 行, all guided by our sixth sense of (sub)consciousness and memory意識. See Chapter 1 – Born With It All (brainzmagazine.com).
When pride, prejudice and other impediments are included in the said spontaneous mental reactions, our perceived world is twisted. This gives rise to a convoluted memory, that consciously or subconsciously affects how we think and act in the future. The more we associate irrelevant, or incomplete, events through mis(-managed)-information, the more confused we get. Oversimplified solution gained this way, then becomes flawed, misleading and disconnecting.
“1. 天命之謂性 - 嬰兒入廟堂”
So, the first step to the right learning is to create an environment where learners can feel the worlds truthfully, observe and memorize how their body and mind naturally reacts, and spontaneously build up their physical, emotional, biological and mental capabilities. Through well-designed tasks allotments, quality teachers, peers, systems, methodologies and texts can speed up the process, when they are carefully designed and selected to fit the learner’s progressive needs.
When we do this right, we learn to know ourselves, what we can and cannot do, and what makes us and others authentic, connectible, resonant, energized, and so on.
“2. 率性之謂道 - 婆羅門串珠”
Next, string up relevant events logically, reasonably and critically, connecting the dots. Build up the memory bank with well-organised and categorised information streams and networks, utilizing the tool of 5H1W (when, where, who, what, why and how) and the concepts of Cause and Effect 因果 and Taichi 太極 (see Chapter 4 — Taichi Fortunate (brainzmagazine.com)).
Here, we learn how to internalise collected information effectively and efficiently, and connect with others. Use the right language(s) and tools to organise the information.
“3. 修道之謂教 - 樵夫砍柴”
When enough database is established, start simplification through the combinations of trial-and-error 學 and inquisition 問. This may involve logically, reasonably and critically dissembling and/or reorganising the already organised and categorised information streams, to give valuable insight on achievable critical task(s) that fuels organic growths.
Binary systems (left-and-right, tall-and-short, hot-and-cold, right-and-wrong, good-and-bad, x-y axis …), tertiary systems (3 dimensions, past-present-future, ontology-phenomenon-use, father-son-holy spirit, …), quaternary systems (birth-growth-sickness-death, 4 dimensions, leadership-team-partners-investors, CVP-profit formula-management & operations-go-to-market plan), quinary systems (5 elements, Porter’s Five, 仁義禮智信), mathematics, computing, accounting, data analytics, theories, hypothesis… etc, all are designed to increase effectiveness, efficiency and predictability of (re)organised information.
Try as many systems and methodologies as possible at this stage. We increase our capabilities to connect and scale this way.
“4. 修道之謂教 - 大象入荊叢”
No system or methodology is perfect. It inevitably prioritises something more than others, while the worlds are constantly changing.
Keep tracking while interacting with the real world adopting the said systems, and learn the effects of this interaction. Compare against others. And, repeat the first three steps, and constantly improve and simplify.
We then become connected to and from others, with increased scalability and pivotability.
Sophisticated Simplicity
When I visited the Taipei National Museum of History in 2011, I was impressed by Pablo Picasso's early works. For a complete outsider like myself, it's easy to marvel at the photo-like paintings by the young Pablo, and pondered what it really meant for the impressionistic ones of the old.
This understanding shifted as I matured.
I started to realise that, photo-like paintings were replaceable by new technologies, such as photography or AI, if the purpose was to record the visual world, or beautify a person. When the purpose was changed to portray a concept, then the emphasis should be placed on the concept and the visualisation itself, not the time-wasting and material-consuming brushwork. But then, my 4-year-old’s artwork should sell millions, which was of course not true.
So, what sets a master apart is, he or she is capable of convincing all kinds of people anywhere anytime with simple explanation. “Not convinced? Let me try another way.” With attention to details, an array of useful skills can be developed, accumulated and exploited at will, to match the desired outcomes depending on circumstances.
That sophisticated simplicity, my friends, can only be attained through persistent accumulation of the right learning, good faith 仁, and capabilities to do good 義, by putting our minds to whatever we do 放心.
William Lee, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
William Lee, a business coach and expert in connecting people’s wheels of fortune together, excels at producing positive results in complex multi-stakeholder engagement, end-to-end customer experience satisfaction, and remote team management. Frustrated by years of conflicts and external negativities, William dug deep to understand how our minds work, how we interact with one another, and how good faith can improve our connected world together. Through a process called CentriFusion, William’s methodology and system provide an easy first step to vastly improve team empathetic capability. With increased presence and engagement, as a result, fertile mental grounds are sown to enable organic and spontaneous growth, aligned to a shared common purpose. William provides the way to attain TRUE and SUSTAINABLE COMFORT in your businesses. Enjoy life without complacency!
