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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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Category Archives: Strategy
Act Now, Or Forever Wonder What If
Mark Twain once pointed out that “It ain’t so much the things we don’t know that get us into trouble. It’s the things we know that just ain’t so.” I could make a pretty good case for the thought behind … Continue reading
The Subtractive Art of Marketing ‘The Hunger Games’
The Hunger Games, part 1 of a planned four-movie portfolio based on Suzanne Collins’s trilogy of books, opens Friday. By all estimations, it should break box office records. And according to The New York Times report How ‘Hunger Games’ Built … Continue reading
Repeatability
According to Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, CEO and President of LEGO Group, “Very few businesses move beyond surviving to actually thriving and winning in their segments. The secret is to focus on what truly makes them unique, and to frequently refine … Continue reading
The INC Interview: How To Be An Elegant Leader
INC magazine editor-at-large Leigh Buchanan and I chatted a few months ago about leadership, and she’s published some of our discussion in the upcoming March issue, which focuses on leadership. I’m not a leadership expert by any stretch of the imagination, … Continue reading
The Greatest Day Of Your Life
As CEO of the Strategic Thinking Institute, Rich Horwath has spent the past 20 years helping world class companies identify their business goals and develop strategies for achieving them. From Pfizer, to Kraft and Motorola, Horwath has helped his clients … Continue reading
