Unicycle #24 - Plus Minus
Hello dear friends 👋
Look at this Lego building. There’s the main building (the 3x3x3 cube), then a single pillar support block in the corner, and then a roof over the whole thing. On top of all this, you’re going to place a concrete brick. How would you change this structure so the brick won’t crush the Lego figurine when you put it on the roof? Keep in mind that every block you add costs you $1.
Think about it for a moment before reading on.
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Ready? You’ll never again have the chance to do this without knowing what I’ll say next.
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OK here we go:
Most people who do this will answer by adding blocks to better support the roof. But a simpler and cheaper solution is to remove the one block in the corner so the roof rests on the big cube 🤯
That’s the takeaway from this article. People tend to solve problems by adding rather than subtracting. And it’s not because we don’t see the value in subtracting. We just don’t think of that option at all.
Why? It could be that we’re used to “creating” things instead of removing them, so that’s what comes to mind first. If you work on a team, removing something that someone else made can feel like a slight to them. There’s also loss aversion — we lose twice as much satisfaction from giving up a thing as we gain from getting that thing in the first place. So we’re not inclined to give things up.
This means there’s opportunity to make things better simply by getting rid of something that already exists. It’s often cheaper and easier (physically, if not psychologically). You just have to remember that it’s an option.
Taking that one level up, we can build systems that encourage us to subtract. Thinking of launching a new initiative at work? Add a sunset clause to wind down that project after some time unless you actively decide to renew it. On a personal level, buy a smaller backpack to keep your back from hurting.
What can you subtract from your life or work that would improve the whole?
The best is yet to come 🚀
Grin