The Shortcut to Getting Chosen (Without Outperforming Anyone)

Dear Legend,

Almost every decision you’ve ever made had one thing in common.

It wasn’t the smartest choice.
It wasn’t the most rational choice.
It was the easiest choice.

That’s how our brains are wired.

We’re not energy-efficient creatures, we’re energy-hoarding creatures. Your brain is burning through 20% of your daily calories just by thinking, so every chance it gets, it looks for shortcuts. The Principle of Least Effort rules us all: when there are two paths, we take the one that feels easiest. Unless we intentionally take the harder path, which is less than 5% of our decisions (as reported by the late Nobel Prize winning psychologist, Daniel Kahneman.)

And this explains so much of what we see around us.

Why do people binge Netflix? Autoplay. One episode ends, the next begins. Zero effort.
Why does Apple Pay dominate? Tap twice, done. Easier than pulling out your wallet.
Why did Amazon crush e-commerce? One-click checkout. Billions in revenue from making it easy to buy. (See the next iteration of Amazon One-click)

These companies didn’t just build products. They built defaults. They designed for “yes.”

The hidden enemy: inertia

Here’s the truth no one tells you: your competitor isn’t another brand.

It’s not the startup down the street.
It’s not the big player in your industry.
It’s inertia.

❤️ Heartset: The easiest option in the world is doing nothing.

That’s why 401k signups jumped from 40% to 90% when companies stopped asking people to “opt in” and just enrolled them automatically. Nothing about the product changed. Only the ease.

When I worked in the medical device industry, it was notorious that most of the implanted devices like pacemakers were left at default settings!

That’s why Google dominates. Not because it’s the absolute “best” search engine (even though it’s good), but because when you think “search,” your mind instantly jumps to Google. And it’s one click away. Mental availability + physical availability = domination.

Don’t add, remove

The question you should be asking yourself isn’t: How do I motivate my customer, my team more? It’s: How do I make it easier for them to say yes?

Stop trying to convince people to climb mountains for you.

Instead, clear the path. Remove the rocks. Pave the road. Add streetlights. Put a Starbucks at the halfway point.

🧠 Mindset: Stop forcing people to push harder. Start making it effortless to act.

Because people don’t follow the best leader, they follow the easiest one.
People don’t buy the best product, they buy the easiest one.

Lazy isn’t a flaw in human nature. Lazy is predictable. And predictable is powerful.

The 5 Applications of Ease

Let’s get concrete. How do you design for yes? Here are 🧰 five applications of ease: whether you’re running a business or leading a team.

1. Cut the steps (Audit the funnel / workflow)

Every extra click, every extra form field, every extra approval is a tax on action.

• Business owner: If it takes 3 steps to buy from you, make it 2. If it takes a call, a wait, and an invoice, ask yourself: can I bundle this into one step? Audit your funnel like a hawk.

• Leader: Look at your workflows. Where are people burning time? If approvals take days, people will stop suggesting ideas. Remove one step, and watch initiative return.

Legendary truth: Every step you remove doubles your odds of “yes.”

2. Pre-decide the small stuff

Decision fatigue kills momentum. People default to “later” when they don’t know what to do.

• Business owner: Create standard offers, pre-filled forms, defaults on subscriptions. Don’t make them choose, make the best choice the default.

• Leader: Give your team decision rights. “If the budget is under $500, no approval needed.” You just saved hours and freed initiative.

Legendary truth: Defaults win. If you want behavior, design the decision before it arrives.

3. Use clarity over creativity

When in doubt, simplify the message. Cleverness confuses. Clarity converts.

• Business owner: Don’t say “Optimize your financial independence.” Say: “We help you save money and grow wealth.” First be clear, then be creative.

• Leader: Instruct with “Here’s the goal, here’s the deadline, here’s what success looks like.” Ambiguity is friction. Remove it.

Legendary truth: If people need to think too hard, they won’t act.

4. Automate or eliminate the small tasks

Complexity is a killer. The less you make people repeat, the more they’ll engage.

• Business owner: Automate scheduling, payments, onboarding emails. Each micro-friction costs you customers.

• Leader: Use AI or software to automate status reports, reminders, or scheduling. If someone is spending hours on a recurring task, kill it.

Legendary truth: Every hour you free makes room for action that matters.

5. Set clear defaults (design for inertia)

Remember the 401k story. People don’t say “no” to good things, they just don’t bother saying “yes.”

• Business owner: Auto-renew trials, pre-fill names in forms, offer subscriptions. People stick with defaults.

• Leader: Give your team templates, playbooks, and checklists. Don’t force them to “invent” every time, make the best option the default.

Legendary truth: Inertia is the enemy but it is also your secret weapon if you design with it.

Want more?

The lesson is clear: People don’t pick the best. They pick the easiest.

So if you want to win customers, influence your team, or even just stick to your own habits, stop pushing harder. Start clearing the path, remove stuff to make it easier for that action.

Because the principle of least effort isn’t a weakness. It’s the most powerful lever you have.

And when you design for ease…
You design for yes.

I will see you next Sunday!

Make your mark, live your legend 🤘🏽

Howie Chan

Creator of Legend Letters

​Read my story​

​Follow me on LinkedIn

WHENEVER YOU ARE READY

1/ Your Professional Brand

”How do I package my genius into a clear, compelling brand?” Whether you want a quick high impact call or a complete done for you strategy, there’s a fit.

Learn more

2/ Hire me to speak to your team

Companies don’t become great. Great people make great companies. Organizations trust Howie Chan to bring programs that are provocative, actionable, and spicy 🌶 so every individual leave with a sense of fresh purpose and passion for greatness.

Are you ready?

​Learn more