When the retail giant reinvented itself, one of the strategies was to simplify the business and refocus on what it is good at. After asking the question, "Can we be #1 or #2 in insurance, financial services, and real estate and still maintain a critical focus on retail?" The company had to face the reality that the non-core businesses were diluting people’s energy and creating distractions. The result? Sears sold all its non-retail businesses.

Howard Schultz and the movement known as Starbucks has taken a commodity—something that costs us $.10 to make at home—and sold it to us for $3.80. The secret? A simplified system that personalized the product in a game where mass customization is the key to survival. Go into any Starbucks around the world and the process by which you get a beverage is exactly the same. When the process is simple, employees can focus more on adding value to the customer. In this case, that means creating a double, no fat, no foam, extra hot, grande latte in record time.

The Palm Pilot was a sensational success in the midst of a junkyard of electronic organizers. The beauty of the product? It doesn’t try to be all things to all people. It enables the user to perform relatively few core functions with incredible ease. It wasn’t designed to replace the PC or the Mac, it was designed to compliment them and leverage their power. Now, the wildly addictive BlackBerry—often referred to as the CrackBerry—offers the same freedom and connectivity. Whether they use it to get email anywhere, anytime, as a web browser or an organizer, people adore this device. Why? It has an extremely intuitive menu system. It’s easy! Most electronic organizers double as a computer and require nothing short of an advanced degree in programming to operate. The BlackBerry enables users to send and receive information with speed and simplicity.

With the iPod and the iphone, Apple is changing music, culture, connectivity and the RULES of the GAME. Another intuitive device, the iPod along with its mate iTunes is a phenomenon that makes discovering music SIMPLE and FAST! Millions of people have gravitated to the iPod not only because of its hip design, but also because it is  just too easy to download your favorite song, PodCast, University lecture or television show. Now, the iPhone combines the simplicity of the iPod, a full-blown, user-friendly web browser and mobile phone in one device. Simplicity and elegance pay.