Excellence is a game of subtraction and optimization

We’re always looking to fix problems.  Most of the time, problems are addressed by making our systems more complex.

We add new rules.  We create new process steps.  We insert new reviews and checkpoints.

This happens in government, of course, but also in each of our companies. It’s the way we think about addressing issues.

The net result is that overhead continues to increase, things slow down, and you lose innovation. This is one of the most powerful reasons why upstart companies can succeed at the expense of the larger incumbents.

Your challenge is to constantly look for opportunities to achieve improvement through subtraction,…