In the 1940s, Pablo Picasso created a series of 11 lithographs of a bull. He began with a detailed, muscular animal. Lifelike, layered, complete. But with each iteration, he stripped away lines, simplified form, and removed complexity. By the final sketch, the bull was reduced to a handful of bold strokes. Yet somehow, that essence spoke louder than the original.
Decades later, that same philosophy inspired Apple. When Steve Jobs returned in the late ’90s, he cut 70% of the company’s product line. What remained was sharper, clearer, and far more powerful. Like Picasso’s final bull, Apple had found its essence.
This isn’t just artistic or business folklore. Research confirms a deep psychological bias toward adding rather than subtracting, even when subtraction is the more effective solution.
One Nature study, led by UVA researchers , found that when people face a problem, whether in design, writing, cooking, or creative work, they overwhelmingly default to adding elements rather than removing them, even when subtraction would yield a better result.
A real-world experiment illustrated this bias: people were asked to improve a structural problem in a Lego-based task. Only 11–20% of participants suggested removing components, while the majority instinctively preferred to add, overlooking subtraction entirely.
Studies also show that even when hundreds of suggestions are made to improve an organisation, fewer than 10% involve subtraction. Most ideas centre on adding more, not cutting away the unnecessary.
In short, our brains are wired to add, not to edit down. And that’s precisely why subtraction can be so revolutionary.
One tool that I find helpful is the Blue Ocean Strategy’s Four Actions Framework. It's a lens that forces us to ask:
What do I do?
Why do I do it?
How can I simplify it?
What can I remove?
The answers usually point to less: less distraction, less noise, less clutter.
So this week:
Reach in – Reflect on your true focus. What strengthens it? What detracts from it?
Reset – Apply the Four Actions lens. What can you subtract to elevate what matters most?
Reach out – Share your clarity with your team. Help each other cut through the noise.
