Introducing the 54 Heroes of The Laws of Subtraction

One third of my forthcoming book The Laws of Subtraction was created by 54 amazingly gifted individuals willing to contribute their inspiring thoughts on the subject of subtraction. At the end of 2011, I sent notes to individuals whose work I’ve admired, inviting them to be part of The Laws of Subtraction by sharing their thoughts in the form of short essays or interviews. Within ten days, nearly everyone had said yes. Their essays, which I'm calling "Silhouettes," follow at the end of chapter according to how they line up with a given law, and provide the kind of inspiring personal insight and wisdom that touches hearts and minds. My book on subtraction is better for their additions!

Some you may recognize, some you may not. Fear not, I'll introduce you. Over the next month leading up to publication, I'll share some small snippets of their brilliance with you.

Pictured above are:

ROW 1: John Maeda, Roger Martin, Bob Sutton, Diego Rodriguez, Nancy Duarte, Brad Smith, Scott Belsky, Bill Taylor, Steve Shapiro, Khoi Vinh, Dan Schawbel

ROW 2: Jeff Unger, Chip Conley, Bernd Nurnberger, Helen Walters, Derek Shivers, Carmine Gallo, Sally Hogshead, Peter Sims, Bill Jensen, Jonathan Fields

ROW 3: John Shook, Michael Bungay Stanier, Seth Berkowitz, Robert Morris, Tina Seelig, Shawn Parr, Seth Kahan, Karen Martin, Tanner Christensen, Jamie Flinchbaugh, Justin Brady

ROW 4: Teresa Amabile, Don Norman, Jon Miller, Tony Schwartz, David Sherwin, Lisa Occhipinti, Hal Macomber, Dan Markovitz, Bob Harrison, Jonathan Kay, Markus Flanagan

ROW 5: Paul  Akers, Moe Abdou, Kevin Meyer, Brian Buck, Jeffrey Schwartz, Nick Obolensky, John Hunter, Mary Poppendieck, Bruce Rosenstein, Dan Keldsen, and the anonymous artist PleaseFindThis