In Japanese art, there is a quest for minimalism. The goal is to fully convey the message with as little detail as possible. It’s the concept of addition by subtraction. In Western culture and thought, we like to add things and continue to create systems and add to those systems in an attempt to perfect them. The result can be bureaucratic.
Let’s look at how we can take away to get to the pure essence of the idea or effort. We make improvement (i.e., addition) by subtraction. As with the concept of the singularity, it’s about one percent that provides an inordinate amount of value. And I’ll once again view this through the prism that whatever works for good can also work for bad. One percent of what we do can provide 50 percent of the distraction. Success in life or business is not about being focused; it’s about not being distracted.
What can we remove that creates tremendous space and opportunity? Start by thinking about realms—realm of business, of relationships, of health and well-being, etc.
Often, we believe that if we aren’t getting results, we should add something to our schedule or to-do list. Instead, consider what you can take away. For example, if someone’s not fit, they think they should add a work-out regimen to their schedule when, perhaps, they should be examining what they can remove from their schedule to free up time to simply start by taking a walk. Subtract sitting on the couch and snacking.
Look at client acquisition or revenue increase with the same perspective—remove the bottom part of your book of business. Subtract the clients and prospects that aren’t serving you or are taking time that could and should be spent with those at the top. Additionally, when you concentrate on your centers of influence, those people can organically lead you to more of the same rather than prospecting and probably ending up with clients who immediately fall into the lower half.
In working with one of our clients and encouraging A people, A places, and A activities, his mind got stuck on having to be the one to do the inviting: “I am the one who needs to fill the room.” This became a barrier because he knew he should do it but didn’t like to. Using addition by subtraction, instead of it being his responsibility, I told him to simply delegate it to staff. We often fall into the illusion that we have to be the ones who are the agent of action when our action should be delegation. The result is what matters. If there’s friction to getting anything done, how can you reduce it? How can you subtract?
You have to be responsible for your own outcomes, but that doesn’t mean you have to be the one doing anything. You simply have to make sure it gets done. I’m not suggesting you abdicate responsibility. Never. You are still responsible, but taking responsibility does not mean you have to be the one to take action. Make sure it gets done, and be a “done-er” rather than a “doer.”
As always, what you give attention to, you get more of. Another client decided to chart out what it was he wanted more of and less of. He discovered he was doing A, B, C, and D activities. He saw he needed to do less social media, less internet, less checking up on client accounts with no real purpose, etc., and by subtracting those, his attention now needed to go somewhere else, so why not place that freed up attention on A activities? There was more time for attention on relevant business-building activities. You’ll also discover that if you subtract the BS, you can add time for what you really should be doing. Subtract crap and add what really matters instead.
There are times when a staff member takes up a lot more bandwidth than you may realize. The value they provide fails to exceed their cost. Not only do they fail to provide value, they may create distraction for the entire staff. One bad apple, so to speak. The organization as a whole is often better without them—addition by subtraction. That said, they may not be a bad person or intend to disrupt and distract. It often happens inadvertently. They simply don’t click with the team, or there may be friction between the staff member and a client or clients.
There’s often the advisor complaint, “Why can’t staff be like me? Why can’t they do what I do?” The reason is simple: they’re not you. The bigger picture is that staff can be more effective and efficient, but the more important part is what they prevent you from doing. In essence, a degree of subtraction. Their real value is to enable you to avoid unwanted paths of attention, allowing you to focus where you really need to focus. It’s a big value. So how do you figure out that opportunity cost to protect your time and still get an ROI? The fastest way to do that is calculate your annual income and divide by 2,000 (approx. number of hours you work in a year). That’s your earn rate. As an example, if my earn rate is $400/hour and it takes me two hours to mow the lawn, those two hours must return $800 of value. If you enjoy it and it’s your time of Zen, then it has value. If not, economically, I can pay someone half that and still be ahead with good ROI.
Here’s another client example of addition by subtraction that came to light as he began seeing patterns unfold. He noticed that in sponsoring golf events as part of a prospecting strategy, the women who participated were always easier to convert and close than the men. In order to build more business, the logic dictates that he should subtract men from this prospecting strategy and focus on what works. What he gave attention to, he got more of.
Your time and bandwidth is finite and always will be. Spend it wisely. Start subtracting and you will reap benefits.
Be wonderful,
Coach Ken Co-Founder, Gettingresultsinc.com
Author: The Journey An Evolution of a Financial Advisor
