So what can we do?
The solution is not to eliminate addition completely, it is not in binary and polarized thinking… what we can do is, every time we think about a problem, remind ourselves that there is also the possibility of taking away. So it is not a question of stopping adding, we have seen how this way of thinking, of solving problems, of interpreting the world is essential. Rather, it is a question, when we are reflecting, for example, on a possible solution, of having the two alternatives equally present, of giving ourselves the possibility of also using subtraction. The more we are connected to purpose, the more this alternative will make sense.
This lecture is a way to help you be more aware, hopefully starting now something will help you, when you are thinking in additive terms, to subtract.
We will see in the next session the links between the deep connection to purpose and the possibility of taking away.
You have been working on purpose for a long time and you know by now that it is the “raison d’être” of the company, its why, the collective purpose that holds you together, but also the connection between the role of each and every one of you and the system. Now try to think of your role not in terms of a series of things to do but in terms of “why does it exist?” and “what contribution does it make to the company purpose”. It is interesting to think of your role in these terms, first focusing on the “why” and then on the “how” and the “what”, following Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle model, and once this is clarified, linking ourselves to the “subtraction” and asking ourselves whether the how and the what only respond to an additional logic, which risks distancing us instead of helping us to focus on the essential. I know that many people may now be thinking “OK well, that’s easy to say, but how do you do it?”…I therefore propose to open up some possibilities on how to put this into practice in business life but also in private life, starting from some axes of reflection.
- Meetings. There are some traps that can drive us to multiply meetings. Among them: thinking that operational meetings serve as motivational levers, when teams are in a phase of loss of meaning (the meeting that is needed, in these cases, is precisely on the ‘why’, possibly, certainly not on the ‘what’ nor on the ‘how’) or even worse, to test the group’s commitment. Or meetings used in a self-referential manner, to fill loneliness…. I think of how many times recently I have heard “the staff must go back to the office” for no particular reason but only so that the hierarchies don’t feel too lonely 😉 and in the same field, meetings convened to avoid the so-called “video call amnesia” that strikes us when we delude ourselves of our multitasking capabilities only to realise that if during the video call we have done something else then we don’t really know what was decided and why… There is an acronym that renders well another contemporary dynamic that is FOMO, Fear Of Missing Out, the fear of being forgotten if we do not participate and attend everything that happens, which can push us to add meetings, events, business lunches etc. Finally, yet another bias, that of social conformism, which can push us to attend just because others go there…On the decision to subtract or add meetings, in addition to highlighting the value added on purpose, there is a simple tool that can help us to remain anchored and grounded in reality, the tool that I invite you to discover “How much does my meeting cost?” by going to this link https://hbr.org/2016/01/estimate-the-cost-of-a-meeting-with-this-calculator and which can help us decide
- On subtraction or addition decisions in to-do lists, the idea, which is not new, is to manage one’s time better. For those who need sophisticated ideas and tools, I recommend reading the famous “Getting Things Done”, otherwise there is this simple matrix that can help us eliminate something…it is not very new, it is a bit vintage indeed, but used well it can be the start to free up space:
Warning. Once you’ve freed up 20/30% of your days don’t fill it up again!!!
- A new role in project groups, the subtraction manager. Why not make subtraction explicit, make it embodied, to help each other remember it, out of the additive routine? In project groups, one can then identify the role of “chief subtracting officer” who will have, among his or her objectives, that of reminding group members of the importance of subtracting, asking what to subtract in order to better achieve the objectives, a creative and challenging role that can prevent the project group from getting bogged down in a flood of activities that do not serve the purpose.
- Other areas of work subtraction: subtracting priorities (no, not everything is a priority!), subtracting people in copy of an email, subtracting sent emails, subtracting key points and slides from a presentation, subtracting the number of objectives, leaving only what really generates value on purpose, the OKR methodology offers interesting insights…
- Some subtraction ideas also outside of work… Subtract things brought on trips (with the airport crisis this way you only bring hand luggage and light!!! ), subtracting trips as we have been forced to learn to do over the last two years, emptying our social networks of relationships that make “noise”, subtracting the things we have in our homes.. Marie Kondo teaches us how to empty our cupboards, subtracting space from our living spaces: the bigger the house, the more we tend to fill it, subtracting unnecessary consumption and never before has the focus on subtracting energy consumption been so closely aligned with the contextual conditions… in addition to freeing ourselves individually, we can make a collective contribution to the regeneration of the planet.
We move towards the conclusion of this moment together…summing up in a few points:
- It is not a question of no longer using addition but of also being aware of the possibility of subtraction
- Being connected and connected to purpose deeply helps us to make choices in one direction or another
- But our brain does not help us…it is wired to add; therefore, we need to have tricks that help us subtract
- Can you think of anything you feel like subtracting? What can you do as a small step in this regard?
Thank you for your attention!