Instead of asking “what can I add”, to solve a problem, I will ask, “what can I take away”.

This plays out in all areas of my life.

At home there might be a cluttered area. Most people would buy a shelf, maybe head to the Container Store, and try or organize it. I tend to get rid of it. This removes the clutter and opens up a new area of the home with new possibilities.

At work when something goes wrong there is a whole call full of people suggesting on additional process, approvals, etc to add so it doesn’t happen again. I’m often the lone voice asking if we need to do the thing at all. If we stop doing it, it won’t break again and there is less work, not more. Everybody wins.

This is summed up in this quote I quite like.

“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” —Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Or more simply, “less, but better” —Dieter Rams