To Make Big Gains, Avoid Tiny Losses

Two Paths to Improvement The distinction we are making here is between improvement by addition vs. improvement by subtraction. Improvement by addition is focused on doing more of what does work: producing a faster car, creating a more powerful speaker, building a stronger table. Improvement by subtraction is focused on doing less of what doesn’t work: eliminating mistakes, reducing complexity, and stripping away the inessential.