Connections
Sign up for my RSS feed
Sign up for The Subtraction Chronicles, a weekly recap
Backstory
-
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.
Appearing now…
Facebook Friends & Fans
Category Cloud
800CEORead After10Studios Apple Aspindle Behance Best Practices Are Stupid Carol Sanford ChangeThis.com CreativeSomething Creativity Daruma doll design Dot Grid Cahier Evil Plans Fast Company frog design Google+ hansei Ideas for Good Innovation LeanBlog.org Management philosophy Mark Graban Matthew E. May Personality Poker Practically Radical reflection Seth Godin Shibumi Shibumi app Shibumi Strategy Small Business Saturday Stephen Shapiro Steve Jobs Tanner Christensen TED TED Salon London Tell to Win Teresa Amabile The Progress Principle The Responsible Business The Shibumi Strategy Toyota Walter Isaacson ZenCategories
- Artistry at Work (12)
- Books (111)
- Creativity (87)
- Design (40)
- Genius (17)
- Law #1 (7)
- Law #2 (4)
- Law #3 (5)
- Law #4 (4)
- Law #5 (6)
- Law #6 (1)
- Lean (2)
- Shibumi (61)
- Simplicity (19)
- Social Media (22)
- Storytelling (19)
- Strategy (84)
- Subtraction (28)
- Technology (27)
- Uncategorized (38)
- Zen (13)
Monthly Archives: November 2011
Great By Choice
Jim Collins, writing with his research associate Morten Hansen, has written a new book called Great By Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All. And it’s, well, great. And by choice, I might add. You see, I … Continue reading
Google Gets Subtractive
The downside of being unplugged for a week is catching up on my reading. I subscribe to over 75 daily blog feeds. I came back to about 2500 items waiting for me in my reader…and it was a short week! … Continue reading
Solving Healthcare Through Subtraction & Simplicity
Too often we overlook the power of small business solve the world’s most wicked problems. We’re starting realize that the solution to our unemployment challenge lies not with the Fortune 500, but with small businesses and startups. In honor of … Continue reading
Small Business Saturday!
To all the small businesses in the country: thank you! I should have two columns up today on OPEN Forum. The first is my “favorite 15″ books of 2011. The second is dedicated to a local small business in my … Continue reading
Reflection Week: Day 5
The fifth hansei focuses on sustaining the change: Transformation. (And I’m glad I’m somewhere that does not recognize “Black Friday.”)
