no matter what your age or occupation, life is complicated. if someone arrived from the 1950s, today ` s range of goods, gadgets, brands, sub-brands, own brands and varieties would seem unimaginable and unmanageable. yet retail complexity is just one example of a developing range of choices that permeate our lives. other factors include cultural and commercial globalisation, a proliferation of new channels, the decline in deference to traditional institutions such as the church and family and the rise of the ` anxiety society ` . now, more than ever before, life is complicated. drawing on a 3-year project carried out with the abbey national, this book is about such complexity and the challenges that it presents to companies and organisations seeking to be consumer-led. exploring the issues themselves alongside a range of viable responses (from the development of choice-simplifying brands to radical new segmentation techniques), michael willmott and william nelson illustrate why coming to terms with complexity is the first step on the road to future profitability - and the unique oppo rtunities that are available to companies that can achieve it.