EASIER, BUT NOT BETTER
I read a couple of books by Jenny Lawson, the second one being “Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things”.
The horrible things are what goes on for Jenny in her lifelong battle with crippling depression and anxiety. The funny parts (and there are many) lie in her wry and detached observation of herself and her eccentricities. As she says: "Some people might think that being 'furiously happy' is just an excuse to be stupid and irresponsible and invite a herd of kangaroos over to your house without telling your husband first because you suspect he would say no since he's never particularly liked kangaroos. And that would be ridiculous because no one would invite a herd of kangaroos into their house. Two is the limit. I speak from personal experience. My husband says that none is the new limit. I say he should have been clearer about that before I rented all those kangaroos.”
Not everyone is going to find her as funny as I do (don’t know what that says about me), but fortunately for Jenny, her husband of 20 years seems to find life with her pretty entertaining, if frustrating. She has several chapters entitled “Number x argument with Victor this week”. In one of these arguments she challenges him to admit that life would be better for him if he didn’t live with her. His response, on consideration, was that life would be easier, but not better.
I’ve thought of “easier, but not better” a few times since reading it, especially when I’ve been faced with choices, one of which involved less effort and the other a higher payoff (for example, exercise – I could stop now or I could go another 15 minutes).
Easier is a trap set by our brains, which like to conserve energy by not thinking. It might seem quicker to provide answers for your team, but this prevents them from developing their decision-making skills. Encouraging others to think through their own solutions, while it may take more time, leads to better outcomes in the long run. Reflection is key—pausing to consider your options helps you make choices that align with your goals, rather than just reacting to immediate pressures.
In business, it's tempting to focus on easier tasks, but this often means neglecting the important ones. In our Managing Your Capacity course, we talk about prioritizing the "big rocks"—your most critical tasks—over the smaller, less impactful ones. Leaders need to resist the urge to take shortcuts and instead focus on actions that truly drive progress.
Consider where easier but not better applies:
Dealing with customers in a way that suits us at the expense of the customer
Avoiding conflict with team members instead of starting an honest conversation
Continuing in a particular strategic direction even though the market is probably moving
Not thinking too much about where technology is taking your industry over the next 5 years
Keeping your relationships with your team at a level of transactions rather than personal engagement
When you’ve got a choice, avoid easier. Do better.