Businesses continue to grow more complex—they enter new geographies, introduce and integrate more products, add more granular customer segments, etc. Some of this complexity adds value. But some of it ends up confusing customers or distracting managers and employees. In order to assess whether a business' complexity is creating or destroying value, managers need to answer two questions: (1) how much does it benefit customers, and (2) how much more difficult does it make getting things done internally. Using Bayer Material Science, DBS Bank, USAA, and ING Direct Spain as examples, this briefing introduces three practices that help assess and manage business complexity.
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