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)
Category Archives: Artistry at Work
Artistry At Work: Grounding The Dream
All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind. All intellectual and artistic ambitions are permissible, up to and even beyond the limit of prudent sanity. – Joseph Conrad The last five installments of … Continue reading
Artistry At Work: Working Through Trust
“A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and along those fibers as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects.” Herman Melville Trust is the great multiplier in life; it is … Continue reading
Artistry At Work: Appreciation
“An artist needn’t be a clergyman or a churchwarden, but he certainly must have a warm heart for his fellow men.” Vincent van Gogh In business art, the ability to successfully connect with others is determined by our behavior toward … Continue reading
Artistry At Work: Checking The Ego
This entry marks the midpoint (at least according to my planned outline) of my Artistry At Work series. If you recall, I started back in January, saying that when I’m in the throes of writing a book (which I completed … Continue reading
Artistry At Work: Hearts and Minds
I am never weary of being useful. In serving others I cannot do enough … no labor is sufficient to tire me. –Leonardo da Vinci Our greatest legacy may be found in the hearts and memories of those whose spirits … Continue reading
