The problem with unchecked and unintentional complexity is that it gradually narrows the 'solution space' — the range of future improvements, adjustments, or innovations that can be realistically pursued. Picture the solution space as a playground where designers and developers have room to explore new ideas and tackle emerging challenges. As complexity accumulates without careful management, walls begin to form in this playground, limiting the freedom to experiment and improve. Changes become riskier, and small tweaks can lead to a cascade of unintended consequences. The more convoluted the system, the fewer opportunities there are to introduce meaningful, impactful updates without further complicating the product or alienating users.

How many of us have joined a new company and proposed a promising solution to a problem only to have it rejected with “we tried that n years ago and it didn’t work”? Or conversely, had a new executive join your company and repeat “here’s how we did things at my last company” ad nauseum? (I may or may not have been guilty of the latter in the past.) These are telltale signs of a surface level understanding. As Product Managers, and particularly as executives, we must be able to evaluate and convey the validity of ideas from first principles if we hope to maintain success across companies and over time.