By Donna McGeorge
Innovation isn’t always about what’s next or new. Sometimes, it’s about what you’re willing to walk away from. Strategic subtraction is a design choice, and it just might be the smartest one you make this year.
There’s something deeply satisfying about solving problems. It makes us feel useful, productive, even heroic and most of us have been trained to solve problems in one direction … by adding more. More meetings to align. More tools to manage our tools. More initiatives, more check-ins, more dashboards, more complexity. It’s like watching someone try to fix a cluttered garage by buying another shelf. Then another box and then a label maker to label the boxes that hold the stuff no one has used in five years.
We’ve become addicted to addition which is supported by a sweeping 2021 study from the University of Virginia that found individuals rarely consider removal as a solution. When asked to improve something, the dominant reflex was to “add”. Scientists call this phenomenon ‘addition bias’. And it’s not just academic. The MIT Sloan review on meeting‑free days found that organisations which implemented one day a week without meetings saw measurable improvements in employee engagement, autonomy and productivity. They subtracted meetings and their world got better.
When addition is the default, bloat becomes culture
Every organisation has its fair share of good intentions gone rogue. When kicking off projects we pile on the extras: a cross-functional working group, a Slack channel, a project board, bi-weekly standups, weekly stakeholder updates, and an end-of-month progress dashboard. We’ve barely started the thing and already doubled our workload managing the management.
Default thinking says, “if something’s broken, add something new to fix it” but this logic is flawed because more is not a neutral choice and it has hidden costs. Every added step, tool or layer creates drag and over time, those small frictions become a systemic slowdown.
The big risk is that this the bloat doesn’t just waste time and energy it becomes culture. When everything is additive, nothing gets questioned. Scarcity of time becomes a badge of honour and while work expands, energy contracts and innovation stalls.
The concrete block principle: stronger by subtracting
Ever looked closely at a concrete block (sometimes known as a cinder block, or as we like to call them in Australia, besser block)? It’s a solid, reliable building material. Strong enough to hold up bridges and buildings but what makes it clever is not how much material it uses, it’s what’s missing. The holes in the middle are deliberate features that reduce weight, improve airflow, and make it easier to handle, transport and stack. It’s not just lighter, it’s more efficient and stronger because of what’s been removed.
We need more of this thinking in business. Where are there opportunities to remove something and in doing so, it makes the people, team or business stronger, more efficient or just plain better?
- Don’t build another layer of process until you’ve stripped away the parts that aren’t working.
- Don’t launch another initiative until you’ve asked what shouldn’t exist anymore.
- Don’t assume the answer is more check whether it might be less.
Subtraction is the new leadership strategy that’s needed
It takes real courage to say, “Let’s not do that anymore,” especially if it was your idea in the first place. Smart leaders know that progress doesn’t always mean forward and sometimes, it means clearing the path, removing friction and making space. If subtraction feels like surrender, remember this: the strongest leaders are not the ones who juggle the most, they’re the ones who make it look easy because they’ve removed everything that doesn’t belong.
There’s no need to be dramatic about it … you don’t have to cancel Christmas. Start small with things like a recurring meeting that adds no value or a process that causes more confusion than clarity. That tool that no one loves but everyone tolerates … let it go. These micro-subtractions are how we build the habit of questioning instead of blindly adding.
From reflex to rhythm
Red Brick Thinking is about being clear and clarity is what most organisations seem to be dying for. Clarity can more often be found when we remove the noise, waste and layers that are in the way. So, next time you’re tempted to fix something by adding something new, pause and ask:
- What would happen if we just stopped doing this?
- If we removed it altogether, would anything break?
- Or would things finally start to flow?
Innovation isn’t always about what’s next or new. Sometimes, it’s about what you’re willing to walk away from. Strategic subtraction is a design choice, and it just might be the smartest one you make this year.
Donna McGeorge
