I’m looking forward to my first visit to SXSW. My schedule’s never permitted me to attend, and this is my first opportunity to speak. Unfortunately, my schedule doesn’t permit me more than one day: Saturday, March 9. I’ll be speaking for 20 minutes at 11:30 AM in Ballroom G of the Austin Convention Center, followed by a book signing at 12 PM at the AT&T Conference Center. The Washington Post has asked me to write …
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In a forgotten corner of a shelf in a seldom-used media cabinet sit two 40-year old Japanese single reflex cameras (SLRs). One is a Pentax Spotmatic that I inherited from my father, circa 1974 (ish). The other is a Nikon Nikkormat my wife inherited from her father, circa early 80s. They’re heavy as lead, built rock solid. We’ll probably never get rid of them because of the memories and images they evoke. I used mine …
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Over the weekend (on Superbowl Sunday!) MSNBC ran a short interview with me about The Laws of Subtraction on Your Business with host J.J. Ramberg. All in all, it was a great month for media publicity. Here’s the rundown of all articles, TV, and podcast appearances…enjoy (if you haven’t already)…just click on the titles or images. MSNBC THE NEW YORK TIMES HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW STRATEGY+BUSINESS AMERICAN MARKETING ASSOCIATION (Podcast interview) THE ENGAGING BRAND (Podcast interview)
I’m often asked how to get started with subtraction. So here’s my Letterman-style top ten list: 10. Throw out or donate to charity unused, useless, or obsolete items in your possession. 9. Watch Graham Hill on “Less Stuff, More Happiness,” from TED 2011 in Long Beach, California. 8. Burn a Stupid Rule. So many of our rules are unnecessary. In fact, they’re stupid. Here’s your challenge: First, list all the stupid rules that exist in …
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This past weekend was a high point in my career, having an essay published in the Sunday Business section, in the feature column Preoccupations. My essay is entitled “The Art of Adding By Taking Away.” (Click to enjoy!)
In 1969, the year in which he won the Nobel Prize in Literature, Irish dramatist Samuel Beckett (pictured above) published a short piece of experimental prose entitled Sans in French. He then rewrote the piece in English and called it Lessness. It begins this way: Ruins true refuge long last towards which so many false time out of mind. All sides endlessness earth sky as one no sound no stir. Grey face two pale blue …
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I love stories like this one, mostly because of my bias toward the disciplined pursuit of less as the pathway to something better. It’s the story of Brian Lam, told by David Carr, who writes the Media Equation column for the Monday Business section of the New York Times, which is where I read it. The arc of the story in a nutshell. Act I: Brian interns at Wired, becomes editor of Gizmodo, and takes the blog from 13 to …
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Harvard Business Review published part one of a three part series I wrote that builds on my October HBR piece (The Less-is-Best Approach to Innovation) which identified three subtractive trends in innovation: lean features, loose reins, and quiet minds. Here’s Part 1 reprinted, which HBR retitled from “7 Targets for Lean Innovation” to “It’s Time to Wage an All-Out War on Waste.” (Kinda like my original title better!) In 1996, James P. Womack and Daniel …
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What is it about wallets that so fascinates us, sends us on never-ending journeys in pursuit of just the right piece of material to hold just the right combination of cards and cash in just the right way? Kickstarter has over 60 wallet-related projects, and the majority of them get funded. The one pictured above, the Minimalist, is one I pledged money to. The goal was $16,500. It received $116,800. (Just got word my Minimalist …
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