Last blog post, we talked about the Power of Subtraction when it comes to your leadership. But as we all know, as a leader it’s important to apply your learnings to your team and teach them how to apply them in their lives as well. By streamlining your workflow and removing unnecessary meetings, the Power of Subtraction will help guide your team to success.

“There is nothing inherently wrong with adding. But if it becomes a business’s default path to improvement, that business may be failing to consider a whole class of other opportunities.” - Vivek Gambhir

Are you or your team falling into this trap of addition?

Subtraction helps us decide what matters most.
Subtraction helps us focus on fewer things, allowing us to execute what we are doing at a higher level.
Subtraction allows the magic to happen by pulling forward our results vs pushing uphill towards them.
Subtraction gives us more freedom, more fulfillment, more joy.
Subtraction adds value.

For example, Shopify recently announced that they cleared employee calendars for the first two weeks of 2023. The CEO called this a “useful subtraction,” and it’s designed to free up employee time and bring intention back to meetings. As new meetings get added, there needs to be a clear value and purpose for the meeting.

“Instead of opting for complexity as the default, let’s strive harder for simplification and efficiency. Not only can subtractive strategies improve organizational productivity and profitability but also boost employee morale and facilitate innovation.” - Vivek Gambhir

To implement the Power of Subtraction with your team, the next time you start a new project or suggest a new meeting, ask yourself some of these questions:

What questions could be asked before taking on new projects?
What barriers could be removed?
What could we simplify?
What customers could we subtract?
What priorities can we subtract?
What are the decisions that only you can make, and what can you delegate / automate?

So, how can you apply subtraction within your team TODAY? Here are some actionable ideas to start you off:

To help keep subtraction in your mind and your team’s mind all year and start building that subtraction habit: Add monthly reminders to your calendar with a prompt question: What can I subtract from my and my team’s workload to focus on core projects?
Take a look at your meetings and ensure that every meeting has a specific purpose and only the people who need to be there are invited.
Limit group chats (such as on Slack, Microsoft Teams, etc.) so there isn't unnecessary communication.
Take a hard look at your workflows and see what's unnecessary (e.g. a process that doesn't work well, something that isn't clear to everyone, or any communication errors) and remove them and / or replace them with something that will work well for your team.
Make sure that only necessary people are included on emails.
Ask your team! Your team is your best insight, so communicate with them about anything they think is unnecessary or isn't working, and see how you can use the Power of Subtraction to solve the issue.
To make subtraction more visible, consider adding in blocks of time dedicated to strategizing in place of unnecessary meetings.
Have team members agree to a no-phones policy during brainstorming and problem-solving sessions.
Set a limited number of priorities, ideally around 3-5, to focus on at any given time. If you have too many priorities, nothing is a priority!

“There are two paths to improvement: Option 1: Do more great work. Option 2: Do less bad work.” - James Clear

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