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The B-24 and the Fax Machine

I’ve had to purchase a new fax machine (I’m sure this is an indication of my backwardness, since I should be Twittering my faxes or something). It’s a very versatile HP gizmo, and it can send and receive in color.

The machine has 23 control buttons and, I am not making this up, 53 menu settings.

I learned to pilot a B-24, a thunderous flying barn of a World War II heavy bomber, the only one in existence still flying, in one-tenth the time that I was able to master the fax. In fact, having no pilot’s license at all, I have also flown a Cessna, a WWII aircraft carrier training plane, and the Goodyear blimp. In that naval trainer, I performed barrel rolls and loops over Newport’s mansions.

I know a lot of you have pilot’s licenses, and I mean no disrespect, but flying isn’t difficult. You need to look at three instruments constantly: air speed, altitude, and the horizon. And then occasionally you have to move the nose left or right to see if there’s anything directly ahead of you. If you can do that, you can fly a plane, no offense. If I had to, I’m sure I could maneuver a 747 while the pilot took a break.

But you can’t use a fax, or update Word, or program your IPhone, or even install satellite radio with that kind of facility and ease. Manufacturers seem compelled to load up on options that 3 percent of the population uses 2 percent of the time, making it tough for 97 percent of us to use the darn thing for our basic intent.

How often do you use the cruise control on your car? How frequently do you seek to crop and refinish photos you’ve taken? Do you often desire a special inscription to be printed by your postage meter? Do you regularly use the calculator on your cell phone? Is it important for your fax to use a random, after-hours broadcast to two dozen numbers? I have no use for six of the eight settings on my garden hose nozzle. My phone has so many speed dials that I’d have to keep a separate list to track the codes for each, making it more cumbersome than simply dialing them manually.

I received a DVD to use with my pool robot, which basically serves me in either “on” or “off” mode. My electronic postage scale has 51 buttons available for selection, but often gets the weight wrong. The credit card terminal has options for reports that I doubt Nordstrom’s would ever need on a sale day, let alone my consulting practice.

Consulting isn’t rocket science, and we need to resist the buttons, levers, pulleys, and switches that provide for unnecessary routes and alternatives. I’m all for a few options, but I don’t think we need the equivalent of a particle accelerator to improve a client’s image or decrease attrition.

The more methodology choices (over, say, three), the more we delay and obfuscate, and the harder it is to make final decisions. When I bought my current Bentley, the general manager used a computerized “configurator” to assist in selecting the options (which are everything but the engine). There must have been a million permutations of woods, leathers, carpet, seats, tires, wheels, paints, convertible tops, seat belts, and so on. After a while we just looked at each other. “You know,” he said, “this car is going to look great no matter what, and the performance is constant.”

After that, it was easy. I chose red. Success not perfection.

© Alan Weiss 2008. All rights reserved.

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Posted by Alan Weiss on July 5th, 2008 filed in Consulting Philosophy |

4 Responses to “The B-24 and the Fax Machine”

  1. Wayne Botha Says:
    July 5th, 2008 at 2:13 pm

    So true. Too many options fritter away valuable time without adding value to the outcome. Lets focus on what is important and move on.

    Did you not derive great benefit from the operating instructions manual in 17 languages? Let’s see - 17 languages times 53 menu options equals too many options for intelligent comparison.

    Wouldn’t it be great to have single menu option that states “I don’t care - dumb yourself down to be a workhorse fax machine or cell phone”. This is the option I would love to see.

    In the automotive world, I believe Honda has a winning solution. All vehicles come in three variations. The DX models have “no frills”. LX models have the options that most people want most of the time. EX models have it with 16 cupholders, leather seats and sunroofs. As a consumer, I find it easier to select a Honda model that suits my needs and then get out of the dealership instead of negotiating the price of optional floor mats from an American auto dealer.

  2. Peter Bodifée Says:
    July 7th, 2008 at 5:38 am

    Excellent point Alan! When I consult with my clients on IT choices in situations where very complicated tools are suggested, I always tell them about the cabin attendant with 20 years of flying experience who can not pilot a 747 safely through bad weather. While flying a 747 maybe as simple as you describe, humans get very easily side tracked when too many options in controls are presented.

    It is sometimes a though battle to let people see what really matters while they are blinded by all the glitter of today’s technology. But this is all about what is consulting in IT. Now if some of my peers would understand this, IT users would be a lot less stressed then they are now.

    P.S. In Europe French car manufacturers usually have 3 variation for the cars, just like Honda. They only options you have is the fuel type, size of engine (economy or performance) and manual/auto shift. And let us not forget color, but must people pick the latest trend (currently black). Makes selecting the right vehicle a matter of minutes.

  3. Jay Ramirez Says:
    July 10th, 2008 at 1:25 am

    I agree with your point and believe the cutting edge of web and application design is adapting to this. I learned how to create project plans on MS Project. It is ridiculously hard to use. We now use a program called Basecamp. It has 5 features and no Gantt charts. People are demanding simple.

  4. מוצרי פרסום Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 4:15 am

    I build backoffice interfaces for websites and I see the same thing, although having a complex and detailed design contributes to the look N’ feel of the site people wish it to be as simple as possible, make automatic adjustments if you must but let the customer do as little as possible to get the necessary outcome. I guess it goes the same to all fields, as the company who builds a product you wish ( or think) that giving the customer control over all aspects of the product is the best way, while the customer just wishes he\she could make it work without reading a 200 page manual.

    Liran

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