Nike collapsed, Hyundai was resurrected.
Netflix grew, and Kakao faltered.
What determined success or failure was not ‘technical prowess’ but ‘complexity’.

Endless meetings, ever-expanding reporting lines, and diversified strategies without direction... Many companies call these "growing pains," but in reality, they're the trap of complexity that slowly destroys the organization.
"Break the Chain of Complexity" is a book that empirically analyzes "complexity," a fatal risk factor hidden behind corporate growth.
The author, Professor Ji Yong-gu, is an expert who has been diagnosing organizational efficiency and strategic issues at major domestic and international companies, including Samsung, Hyundai Motors, and LG, for 20 years.
In this book, he explains the true nature of the inefficiency that companies experience as they grow through the concept of "complexity," and explores how it quietly but fatally paralyzes organizations.

“Faster, more, cheaper.” This has been the golden rule that has governed corporate management for the past 100 years.
From the 20th century to the early 21st century, companies lived in the 'age of efficiency.'
Taylorism and Fordism represented this, and companies maximized productivity while reducing costs through mass production.
For example, Ford Motor Company reduced the time it takes to produce a single car from 12 hours to 93 minutes by innovating its assembly process. GE saved billions of dollars over five years through Six Sigma.
Economic historian Alfred Chandler explained this in terms of economies of scale and economies of scope.
Standardization and efficiency were the spirit of the times.
But the pursuit of efficiency has had unintended consequences.
As efficiency measures such as quality management systems, performance metrics, and compliance procedures pile up, organizations become complex labyrinths.
--- p.15

The point is this.
Decomplexification is possible at every level, but the cost and pain increase exponentially as the level increases.
At the Goldilocks level, 10 efforts are enough, but at the Tsunami level, 1,000 efforts are needed.
--- p.34~5

Companies that have successfully maintained the Goldilocks state of complexity have something in common: it's surprisingly simple.
They all first decide “what not to do.”
Leadership and strategy redefine customer value and discard bad profits.
Organizations and cultures secure diversity by recruiting external talent.
The process eliminates bad rules and duplication and drives automation.
Products and services eliminate zombie products and simplify brands.
--- p.53

Some companies choose radical simplification, which prevents complexity from growing at its source, while others find a balance, maintaining manageable complexity in their strategy or product portfolio.
But there is one core thing that all companies share.
It is the belief in the simplification of leadership.
This belief is essential for organizations to survive and thrive amidst market volatility and uncertainty.
Costco, Netflix, Raising Canes, and Xiaomi have proven their success through simplicity.
But why do so many companies fail to follow this proven path? Why do even those that succeed through simplification fall back into the swamp of complexity? The answer is simple.
Because the lure of complexity is that powerful.
--- p.65

Apple is a leading company that has led the IT industry with innovative products.
However, the recent reckless expansion of the product portfolio has led to a surge in complexity.
“They haven’t invented anything great in a long time,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Joe Rogan’s podcast in January 2025. “Steve Jobs invented the iPhone, and 20 years later, they’re just sitting there.”
How did Apple end up in this crisis?
--- p.74

All three tornadoes of Kakao started from the same source.
It was the result of forgetting the initial customer value of connection and focusing only on profits.
The affiliates that grew like octopus tentacles caused cannibalization instead of synergy.
The Pangyo fire was not a simple accident, but the explosion of a complex tornado.
The complexity tornado was just the beginning.
--- p.100

When Europe tightened diesel regulations in 2018, Hyundai had no alternative.
As Tesla sparked the electric vehicle revolution, Hyundai had no choice but to watch.
The Kona Electric was only released in 2018.
The bigger problem was the lack of direction.
There was no clear focus on electric, hydrogen, or hybrid vehicles.
I did a little bit of everything.
Instead of choosing and focusing, they chose a 'both this and that' strategy.
The market was in confusion.
--- p.105~6

Nike's stock price plummeted in a single day as the complexity tornado swept through it.
Starbucks has made the same mistake three times in 17 years.
Kakao was suffocated by the complexity of its affiliates, and its founder
He faced the tragedy of being imprisoned.
Lotte, Boeing, and Intel were swept away by the tsunami of complexity, while Nokia, Kodak, Enron, Lehman Brothers, and Daewoo Group ultimately collapsed.
Now is the time to ask the question.
Where does your organization stand now? Has it fallen prey to the siren call of complexity, or has the tornado already begun? Wherever you are, there's no need to despair.
There are companies that have escaped complexity.
Let's now look at the specific methods by which they escaped the swamp of complexity.
--- p.145

Hyundai Motor Company has achieved remarkable results through its decomplexity strategy.
In 2021, sales began to rise to KRW 117.6106 trillion, and operating profit to approximately KRW 6.6789 trillion.
(…) In the first half of 2025, Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors’ combined operating profit margin was 8.7 percent, ranking second globally after Toyota’s 9.2 percent and maintaining the industry’s highest level.
--- p.172

Lisa Bodell proposed five steps for decomplexification: 'recognize, judge, prioritize, execute, and make it a habit.'
Among them, the first step, ‘accurate recognition’, is the most important.
Because complexity that is not accurately recognized cannot be resolved.
To effectively solve complex problems, it is essential to accurately understand the nature of the problem.
--- p.187

Most of us know the value of simplicity, but fail to put it into practice.
Why is living simply so difficult? Because humans have an instinctive tendency to complicate things rather than simplify them.
Of course, changing long-standing habits is not easy.
Steve Jobs was a representative figure who applied Gandhi's philosophy to real life.
He wore the same clothes every day to reduce morning decision fatigue and focus the saved energy on product innovation and creative thinking.
Decomplexification doesn't make life smaller; it allows us to focus more resources on what matters.

--- p.200