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Backstory
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You can call me Matt. I'm a blogger for the American Express OPEN Forum Ideas Hub, which I reprint here. I've written three books, with the fourth, The Laws of Subtraction, coming out in a few months. I run a small ideas agency called Edit Creativ (formerly Shibumi Creative Works...practicing subtraction...and no, it isn't a typo in the name).
I spent 8 years as an independent advisor to the U.S. corporate headquarters of Toyota. It changed my outlook on work and life. I learned how to learn and solve problems. I learned to "think lean". I learned the power of less. I took those lessons on the road to other organizations. Now I write, speak, coach others on creativity, innovation, and design strategy.
You can read more on my About page, or connect with me on my Contact page.
Why Subtraction?
Lao Tzu said: "To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, subtract things every day."
When you remove just the right thing in just the right way, something good happens.
That's my go-to philosophy, and this blog is dedicated to sharing it along with all the amazing things that amazing people are doing to improve the world by waging "war on more" through subtracting from our collective experience anything obviously excessive, wasteful, complicated, unnatural, hazardous, hard to use, or ugly. Or better yet, refraining from adding those things in the first place!
I've just finished a new book entitled The Laws of Subtraction, which are these 6 simple rules for winning in the age of excess everything:
#1: What isn’t there can often trump what is.
#2: The simplest rules create the most effective experience.
#3: Limiting information engages the imagination.
#4: Creativity thrives under intelligent constraints.
#5: "Break" is an important part of any breakthrough.
#6: Doing something isn’t always better than doing nothing.The book will be out October 26, 2012. I've asked some of the most brilliant people I know to contribute short insights on these laws. Almost everyone said yes...54 to be exact. You'll be amazed and inspired by their stories of how subtraction has played a role in their work and life.
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Monthly Archives: January 2011
Red Wine & The Elegant Solution
Always nice to hear from a reader! Thanks to Twitter follower @sprezzatura (a word in Italian meaning the ability to make difficult things appear easy) for this very nice sentiment re: The Elegant Solution! “Why I won’t switch to eReader: … Continue reading
Corporate Archeologists Find Missing Link
A pasquinade for a lazy Sunday. The search for what corporate archeologists have since the turn of the century termed “The Anti- Organization Man” — the missing link long thought to be the key to explaining the shift away from … Continue reading
Guru Review: The New Small
This Guru Review was originally published on OPEN Forum. I run a small business, a micro-business of one, and have done so for over 25 years. But this is the year I’ve chosen to innovate that model and expand my … Continue reading
Visual Summary of The Shibumi Strategy
Hearty thanks to Twitter follower @martinevr for drawing a great visual summary of The Shibumi Strategy, and to @JohanDHaeseleer for gifting the book!
