The Power of Gall’s Law

Posted on Jun 7, 2010 | 1 comment

My children marvel at how an airplane flies or what propels our car down the busy highway. “Dad, how do computers work?” my son asked me the other day. This inquisitiveness nature of my children is not unique to them nor is it unique to children in general. There are times in which I wonder the same.

Just last weekend, my brother who is an electrical engineer was giving me an impromptu lesson in how the power grid works. With myself having only a limited understanding of the power system, his detailed explanation covering power generation, transmission, transformation, electrical conductance, and much more left me with a much greater understanding and appreciation.

I couldn’t help but feel a sense of amazement about the vast network of wires that traverse the countryside and that ultimately enables each of us to simply turn on a light in our home. It is easy (and common) to become overwhelmed when conceptualizing the complexity of a system. And for most, our nation’s electrical grid, an automobile engine, or airplanes are complex systems. Yet the complexity demonstrated in these systems did not occur overnight. Each of these systems began as a much simpler system many years before. Only over time have the systems that we now view as complex evolved to that point.

This is the precise nature of Gall’s Law: a complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. Every system invariably evolves from a more simple system. A simple system is not guaranteed to work but any system that does work evolved from a more simple system that did work.

Let those statements sink in for a few moments.

Can you see how this applies to your business? Google did not turn into the monstrosity of a company overnight. Neither did Microsoft, Apple, Coca-Cola, or McDonald’s. Yet each one did evolve from one or more simple systems that worked. Is there one simple system that you can put in place in your business today?