I can't stop thinking about subtraction

The surprisingly simple strategy that changed how I approach things at work and home.

A few months ago, I chatted with Leidy Klotz, a University of Virginia professor who has done extensive research on an invisible yet powerful action: subtraction. A study by Klotz and others found that people are less likely to choose subtraction as a method for improvement, even though it’s sometimes the superior strategy.

In other words, when we’re tasked with making something better, we tend to think about additive, not subtractive adjustments. Problem with an assignment? Better throw more people at it. Recipe not quite right? Let’s add some spices. Work communication broken? How about trying a new messaging tool?

In the study, participants in multiple experiments were asked to complete different tasks, like strengthening a Lego structure, coming up with ideas for improving a mini golf course hole, and changing a digital grid pattern.

In each case, participants were less likely to make subtractions to improve the situation. For example, in the Lego experiment, participants overwhelmingly added Lego blocks to stabilize the blue roof above this Storm Trooper instead of simply removing the green block and attaching the blue piece to the structure.

Take a look at this Lego structure. How would you strengthen the roof while still allowing the Storm Trooper to stand under it? Most people would add more blocks. But the best solution is subtraction—remove the green block and place the blue roof flush onto the structure.

Sometimes we do need to add things to make something better. But the point of the study, and of Klotz’s book, Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less, is that we’re so quick to overlook subtraction that we may be missing out on a suite of tools we could be using to solve important problems in life.

My conversation with Klotz was part of a piece I wrote in the Harvard Business Review and a talk I gave. The idea of subtraction has stuck with me since.

Subtraction saves Halloween.

I started seeing subtraction everywhere. At work, I found opportunities to subtract from emails, to-do lists, presentations, and memos—and in every case, subtraction made the work better.

I even used subtraction to manage a mini-crisis on Halloween. As my kids were getting ready for trick or treating, my wife and I were trying to fix my son’s costume, which wasn’t fitting him right. The legs of the outfit were way too long, making the costume look more like MC Hammer than Bane, the Batman villain he was meant to depict.

My wife and I tried several solutions, all of which involved addition—like safety pins to pull up the slack and a belt to tighten the costume at the waist. Nothing was working and trick or treating was about to commence.

Then I had an idea inspired by my new appreciation for subtraction. I grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the legs off of the costume. Problem solved. My son was much more comfortable without the baggy pants. As a bonus, he was able to wear shorts on what was an unusually warm Halloween. Trick or treating crisis averted, thanks to subtraction.

Why we don’t subtract.

If subtraction is such a good option, why don’t we do it more? One problem is that it’s invisible—if you subtract something, you no longer see it. This makes it difficult to celebrate subtraction in the workplace, where people are rewarded for outcomes that can be seen, read, watched, held, heard, and otherwise noticed.

Another reason we don’t subtract more often is that it can be a pain to remove something, especially in a workplace that has been using a process for a long time. Here’s what Klotz told me:

“Here’s this stupid process that we’ve been doing forever, but nobody fully understands what it’s doing, or what is not doing, so it makes more sense to just keep going with it. And it would be a bigger investment of time to look into it, see where it came from, understand how it touches all the other parts of the organization, and then figure out if, in fact, we could take it away. It’s not just that it’s harder, but it’s also that we sometimes think it should be easier. We think of the end result of simplified or streamlined or stripped down or doing nothing—it appears easy. But in fact, it’s often more time, effort, and work. And I think if we acknowledge that, then we give ourselves more likelihood of actually following through with it.”

How you can use subtraction.

In Klotz’s book, he wrote about subtraction in action in a number of situations, from product design to engineering to infrastructure to climate change.

I’ve found it to be a useful tool in pretty much any part of life. The trick is to remember to use it (while avoiding subtraction for the sake of subtracting). Once you do, you’ll find it applies in lots of ways.

Here are a few ideas:

• Work presentations: Subtract unnecessary slides or text to emphasize what matters most.

• Meetings: Subtract half the agenda items to give more breathing room to the more urgent topics.

• Events: Subtract some activities to give attendees more time to connect with each other.

• Writing: Subtract superfluous information that may be distracting from the point of your piece.

• Home decor: Subtract clutter instead of buying a bunch of new stuff.

• Travel itinerary: Subtract extra sightseeing stops that may over-pack your schedule.

Klotz suggested incorporating subtraction into your to-do lists—a method I’ve written about before. “Anything that builds it into the process, so that you’re not relying on your instincts to think about it, can be really helpful,” he said.

I had more written but I thought better to subtract it and end things here.

Thanks for reading.

Eric