Thinking about growth? Think first about shrinkage.

Clear space for new possibilities

We default to adding, but it’s important to consider what can be gained by subtracting.

When we talk about our businesses, we almost always talk in terms of growing it. It's almost a cliché. And using a cliché can mean we're not really thinking anymore.

Your business needs to be healthy. Yes, you are in business to produce a good or service. And yes, you find new customers because your first customers will have changes in their lives that mean they don't need your service forever.

Well and good.

But think if we default towards the mentality of growth. And a mentality of adding. Rather than considering any other way of solving the situation.

• Adding a feature 

• Adding staff

• Adding reports 

• Adding questionnaires

• Adding things to your to-do list

Researchers reported in the journal Nature that humans seem to default to adding--in most cases, without even considering the possibility of subtracting. This is contrary to what happens in nature. 

The photo here is of a rose bush that I attended in a local community garden. When I was first introduced to it, it produced two, maybe three blossoms per season. They were exquisite, and visitors to the garden would usually point out these deep yellow blossoms as their favorites.

It also was choked with deadwood. Leaves tried their hardest to pop out, fighting through dozens of twigs from previous seasons. When I went in to prune it, I removed probably three wheelbarrow loads of dried twigs and tangled thorns.

The next year, the rosebush produced 40 blossoms.

Year after that, three rounds of growth over the season, lighting up the neighborhood while people were indoors for quarantine.

This year, I have hopes for the summer to see even more blooming rounds.

Every time I look at this bush, I'm reminded of the value of looking for an opportunity to clear out deadwood in my own life. Where can you subtract something that no longer serves you, your staff, and your customers, and give your business some room to blossom?

Photo credit: Danielle Stein, One Smart Thing, Inc.