Do you prefer to add or subtract? We like to accumulate things for most of us, and addition is a default tendency in our lives. For instance, we tend to buy more stuff for our home, add savings and wealth, grow our practices and see more patients. We also default to adding solutions when solving problems in our businesses or personal lives. Furthermore, we add habits, tools, and steps to get problems solved. It is only natural to think this way. Unfortunately, the additive process can create complexity and make a solution much more difficult to achieve.
We often forget the great benefits of subtraction when we default to addition. Think about the time when removing a relationship from your life made it so much simpler and purged someone who drained your energy and time. What about eliminating steps in your onboarding process that generated a better new patient experience and increased production? These examples show how the subtraction equation can remove many obstacles. But we find subtractive solutions are less common.
Subtraction neglect
In a study in Nature, they found a bias toward addition. When presented with problems, there was a tendency to add things and ignore the possibility of removing items to solve a problem. In the study, fewer than 10% of solutions involved subtractive changes. Participants were significantly less likely to consider subtractive options even when those would be more favorable. Additive transformations were the default in most situations. Neglecting subtraction can explain why many of us get overwhelmed as we become overscheduled and organizations become less effective due to red tape.
Simplify
When we subtract, we can reduce complexity and simplify. Removing issues and being a minimalist orthodontist can improve our productivity while reducing strain. The minimalist orthodontist eliminates the clutter that adds stress. An orthodontic practice can streamline its systems, processes, and tools to gain great efficiency. Simplify so you can intensify your impact.
Less is more
Shorter presentations, fewer meetings, and reduced treatment times can increase productivity and experience. Sometimes, more is better, but we forget that often less is more. The challenge is subtraction has a noticeability problem. We can see and feel when things become complex and additive issues arise. But removing all the extra unnecessary fluff is not often recognized. We have to remind ourselves that less can be more. Reducing steps, eliminating extra work, and simplifying our work as orthodontists can create a tremendous amount of value for our patients and improve our quality of life.
