Based on a new book, Simple Rules: How to Thrive in a Complex World by Donald Sull and Kathleen M. Eisenhardt.

The authors identify two types of simple rules: Those that can help you make decisions and those that can help you do things..The authors say the simple rules can be applied to work and personal challenges through a three-step process.

  1. Define what you want to do
  2. Choose a bottleneck
  3. Craft the rules

To be effective, the book says, simple rules must meet four conditions: They must be limited in number, tailored to the person or organization using them, applied to well-defined activities, and open to giving people latitude to exercise discretion.