Jonathan Leger – SEO And Internet Marketing Blog Internet Marketing Blog

Giving your business a shave with Occam’s Razor.

Albert Einstein stated a principle in 1933 which is often paraphrased as "Theories should be as simple as possible, but no simpler." Occam's Razor is a similar principle of logic that can be summed up as "All other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best." Then there's the principle more people are probably familiar with: the KISS principle ("Keep It Simple, Stupid").

As a computer programmer and web developer, I've found all three principles to be very true. When an algorithm or piece of logic in my code starts getting too complex, I try to step back and see if my fundamentals are wrong. Almost inevitably, I find a simpler, faster, better way to solve the same problem. It's also taught me to be able to let go of hundreds (or thousands) of lines of code that took me hours (or days) to write. As painful as the wasted time may seem, I try to view it, not as a loss, but rather as simply the steps it took for me to find a better method.

This has helped me tremendously in my business, too. When things start getting too difficult to manage easily, I make the same kind of assumption I would make if the code I'm writing starts to get too muddled: I've got some fundamentals wrong. My willingness to make drastic changes for the sake of improving the way things work has been rewarded handsomely in this regard as well.

Unfortunately, it is not human nature to do this. By nature, we take the path of least resistance, and that means continually doing what we're doing, even if it will ultimately result in failure. Making drastic fundamental changes in our methods or routine is scary. What's behind the door of change is an unknown, and unknowns make most people very apprehensive.

To illustrate: let's say that you start a link building campaign, but after a few months you're still not seeing any good search engine rankings despite having the same number of links as your competitors. At this point you have two options: you can keep doing what you're doing in the hopes that getting more and more and more links will eventually get you ranked, or you can step back and examine what it is about the links you're getting, or the way you're getting them, that just isn't working very well.

In this particular case, if you choose to just keep doing the same thing, you might eventually see some results. That's what makes continuing with a flawed plan so dangerous. Because you did, in fact, see some results, you might continue going about your link campaigns in the wrong way, expending far too much time and too many resources on a flawed method over and over again. However, if you choose to step back and figure out where you went wrong, it might take longer to see good results this time, but going forward you've got a better method that will more than make up for the added time and expense.

I've never really agreed with the mantra "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Just because something is working does not mean it's working well, and it certainly doesn't mean it's giving you the best return on your investment. Where would technology be today if all of the great inventors took that stand? We'd still be driving Model-T cars and manually washing our clothes with a bucket and a bar of soap!

Thomas Edison first patented the idea of the electric light bulb in 1880. That light bulb lasted a whopping 13.5 hours before burning out. If he'd stopped his work then, we might be changing a lot more light bulbs around the house! But he didn't stop. After a few more months he created a filament that lasted 1,200 hours. A drastic improvement indeed, gained because he didn't believe that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

A better philosophy is, "If it's simple and works well, don't complicate it." The key here is that it has to "work well." Only you can judge what's working well for you and what isn't. You have your own unique set of strengths and weaknesses, and you need to be willing to assess them and make decisions based on that assessment. You also have your own unique goals, and no one else should dictate what you should and should not accomplish. Set your goals to meet your needs, and go from there.

I can't overemphasize the importance of changing your view of the "lost" work that comes with making changes, either. It's not lost work -- it's gained knowledge and experience. The sum total of all of your failures is what fuels the success that will come, if only you keep at it.

Thomas Edison failed ten thousand times before finally making a light bulb that worked. It's true that, had he quit, somebody else would have eventually made the discovery, so the world probably would not have lost too much. Edison was not the first person to experiment with electric light, nor would he be the last (in 1994 General Electric created a light bulb that will burn for 60,000 hours). But think of what Edison would have lost! And think about what you will lose if you give up and stop working to improve your business.

So if you're finding your daily routine full of drudgery and difficulties, perhaps it's time to take out Occam's Razor and give your business a shave.

Please post your thoughts and ideas below.