Simplify, by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz

USA TODAY bestseller

Simplify

Do 50% More With 50% Less

Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz. Hardcover, ebook, and audiobook, from Penguin Random House.

The survival guide for the AI era

Complexity is a choice

The authors argue that we create most of the complexity in our work and our lives, which means we can also choose to cut it.

Why it matters: AI now produces more work, faster, than any person can review. The edge goes to people who decide what is worth doing.

Toxic complexity clogs our meetings, inboxes, and calendars. Simplify is a step-by-step playbook for spending most of your time on the things that make you feel and perform better, drawn from founding two startups and years of advising Fortune 500 companies.

The promise: Do 50% more with 50% less. The book calls itself a new operating system for work and life.

“Machines can execute. Only you can decide what’s worth executing.”

From Simplify

The Simplify framework

Three steps. Infinite clarity.

Confront, Delete, and Amplify. The book is built on three words, used together as one system for work and for life.

Rule of three: The authors keep priorities to three. Three is enough to matter and few enough to remember.

  1. Confront

    Stop doing things out of habit.

    Ask why you are doing something, and whether it matters even if you do it well.

    • List your daily tasks and mark each one as energizing or draining
    • Swap one low-value task for a high-value one
    • Ask whether you will be glad you did it a month from now

  2. Delete

    Hunt for things to kill.

    No and delete are your two main tools. Use them on work and on life.

    • Write a kill list of meetings, emails, reports, and Slack channels
    • Put handcuffs on what survives: hard limits on length, choices, or time
    • At home, get rid of anything you have not used in a year

  3. Amplify

    Fill the time you free up.

    Put the hours you reclaim into your spike, the one or two things you do best.

    • Hold every yes to a “hell yeah” standard, borrowed from Derek Sivers
    • Block daily time for one strength
    • Make one “hell yeah” activity a weekly habit

Start small: The book's 10-minute rule says not to overhaul your whole life in a weekend. Pick one change and give it ten minutes.

Keep at it: Simplifying is a practice, like exercise. You will backslide. Direction matters more than perfection.

Bring Confront, Delete, Amplify to your team

In their words

Lines worth keeping

  • “The most important button on your keyboard is delete.”

    From Simplify

  • “Complexity is a tax on willpower.”

    From Simplify

  • “Machines handle sameness. You supply uniqueness.”

    From Simplify

  • “You provide the vision. AI provides the velocity.”

    From Simplify

Leaders in the book

What leaders told the authors

The authors interviewed CEOs and founders for Simplify. The book tells the story behind each line, from Starbucks and AT&T to Airbnb and Palantir.

  • “When you simplify the work and give people real ownership, you unleash the momentum that powers any great turnaround.”

    Brian NiccolChairman and CEO, Starbucks

  • “If you're not simple internally, you're never going to be simple externally.”

    John StankeyChairman and CEO, AT&T

  • “The best part is no part.”

    Joe GebbiaCo-founder, Airbnb

  • “I'm interested in two or three things for real.”

    Alex KarpCEO, Palantir

What’s inside

Five sections, from you to your company

The book starts with your own habits and works outward to the whole organization.

  1. Section 1

    Your power tools

    Think in threes, the three steps, keeping it simple, and how to use AI to subtract rather than add.

  2. Section 2

    Complexity kills

    Why more choices get less done, why our brains want more, and how slop creates motion without value.

  3. Section 3

    Simplify work

    Your career plan, your job, your calendar, how you communicate, feedback, your boss, managing, and leading.

  4. Section 4

    Simplify life

    Your personal plan, your time, your decisions, relationships and health, and room for creativity.

  5. Section 5

    Simplify organizations

    Purpose, story, decisions, communications, teams, alignment, design, and scaling a simpler company.

Simplify in the news

Jim, Mike, and Roy on the launch of Simplify, on TV, radio, podcasts, and in print.

On the bestseller lists

  • USA TODAY

    No. 118 of 150

    USA TODAY's Best-selling Booklist

    List dated

    Sales week of Monday, September 21 to Sunday, September 27, 2026.

    The list is published online and ranks 150 titles.

    See the list ↗

  • Publishers Weekly

    No. 19 of 25

    Hardcover Frontlist Nonfiction

    Sales week ended

    Ranked on Circana BookScan sales, first week on the list.

    Published in the September 28, 2026 print edition.

    The ranking is behind PW Pro, so no link is given.

Who it’s for

From interns to CEOs

  • Anyone

    The tools work regardless of seniority, age, or occupation.

  • Early in a career

    A career map to becoming indispensable.

  • Managers and leaders

    Leaner teams, clearer priorities, and fewer wasted hours.

  • CEOs

    A strategic plan for a faster, leaner company.

  • Founders

    A way to start something new without building in complexity.

  • Your life outside work

    Relationships, digital life, finances, and health.

The people who invented Smart Brevity

Read the full author bios →
Jim VandeHei

Jim VandeHei

Co-founder, CEO, and chairman of Axios

Jim VandeHei is co-founder and CEO of Axios and the New York Times bestselling author of Just the Good Stuff and Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less. He previously co-founded Politico and spent more than a decade as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

Roy Schwartz

Roy Schwartz

CEO of Axios HQ and Smart Brevity

Roy Schwartz is co-founder of Axios and Axios HQ, co-author of the bestselling Smart Brevity, and executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning Axios on HBO. He previously served as chief revenue officer at Politico.

Mike Allen

Mike Allen

Co-founder and executive editor of Axios

Mike Allen is co-founder of Axios and the face of Axios AM, PM, and Finish Line newsletters. He co-founded Politico and is an alumnus of TIME, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

Publication details

Publisher
Crown Currency, Penguin Random House
Publication date
September 15, 2026
Length
224 pages
Hardcover
ISBN 9798217088775
Audiobook
ISBN 9798217406876
Ebook
No ISBN assigned
List price
$31.00 USD, hardcover

Team and bulk orders

Copies that come with the authors

Team orders start at 25 copies. Larger orders add live sessions with Jim, Mike, and Roy.

  • 25+ copies

    Bulk pricing

    Volume pricing for team reads, onboarding programs, and leadership development.

  • 50+ copies

    Plus a virtual briefing

    A virtual briefing call with one author. Jim, Mike, or Roy applies the Simplify framework to your organization's challenges.

  • 250+ copies

    Plus all three authors

    All three authors join a virtual session with your team for a deep-dive Simplify workshop tailored to your organization.

  • 500+ copies

    Plus an in-person session

    1 or more authors come to you for an in-person session with your leadership team. Travel costs are the responsibility of the purchasing organization.

To ask about bulk orders or speaking opportunities, email simplify@axios.com.

Request a Bulk Order
Common questions

More about the book

What is Simplify about?
Simplify: Do 50 Percent More with 50 Percent Less is a survival guide for work in the AI era, from the authors of Smart Brevity. It is built on a three-step framework: Confront the complexity, Delete the meetings, tasks, and obligations that drain energy without delivering value, and Amplify the work that makes you feel and perform at your best.
When did Simplify come out, and what formats is it available in?
Simplify was published by Crown Currency, an imprint of Penguin Random House, on September 15, 2026. It runs 224 pages and is available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook. The hardcover list price is $31.00.
How is Simplify different from Smart Brevity?
Smart Brevity is about communication: how to structure an update so the reader gets the point. Simplify is about the work itself: what to cut so that time goes to what matters most. Both books are written by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz.

Put the method to work

Get the AI prompts from the book, bring coach-led training to your team or order copies that come with the authors.

See how to put Simplify to work