Solve by subtraction

Ask what to remove before asking what to add.

Why it works

People default to additive solutions — adding steps, features, rules — and systematically overlook subtractive ones, even when removal is better. Inverting the instinct ("what can I take away?") counteracts that documented bias and often finds simpler, more robust fixes because every added element is also an added failure point.

How to do it

1. Before adding anything, ask "what could I remove to fix this?"
2. List the elements, steps, or commitments currently in the system.
3. Cut the ones that add the most complexity for the least value.

Evidence

Research on additive-versus-subtractive change found people reliably default to adding and neglect subtracting, even when subtraction is the better solution — a real, replicated bias that inversion-by-subtraction is designed to counteract. (rct)

The study establishes the additive bias; using subtraction as a deliberate fix is the practical inference from it.

Sources

• Adams, Converse, Hales & Klotz (2021), "People systematically overlook subtractive changes", Nature

Common mistake

Reflexively layering a new rule, tool, or habit onto a problem that would be solved by deleting an existing one.