Copyright©2014byGregMcKeown

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1.Choice(Psychology)2.Decisionmaking.3.EssentialismBF611.M4552014153.8/32012001733

ISBN978-0-8041-3738-6eBookISBN978-0-8041-3739-3

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v3.1

DEDICATEDTOANNAGRACEEVEJACKANDESTHER

YOUPERSONIFYEVERYTHINGTHATISESSENTIALTOME.

CONTENTS

CoverTitlePageCopyrightDedication

1.TheEssentialist

PartI:Essence:Whatisthecoremind-setofanEssentialist?2.CHOOSE:TheInvinciblePowerofChoice3.DISCERN:TheUnimportanceofPracticallyEverything4.TRADE-OFF:WhichProblemDoIWant?

PartII:Explore:Howcanwediscernthetrivialmanyfromthevitalfew?5.ESCAPE:ThePerksofBeingUnavailable6.LOOK:SeeWhatReallyMatters7.PLAY:EmbracetheWisdomofYourInnerChild8.SLEEP:ProtecttheAsset9.SELECT:ThePowerofExtremeCriteria

PartIII:Eliminate:Howcanwecutoutthetrivialmany?10.CLARIFY:OneDecisionThatMakesaThousand11.DARE:ThePowerofaGraceful“No”12.UNCOMMIT:WinBigbyCuttingYourLosses13.EDIT:TheInvisibleArt14.LIMIT:TheFreedomofSettingBoundaries

PartIV:Execute:Howcanwemakedoingthevitalfewthings

almosteffortless?15.BUFFER:TheUnfairAdvantage16.SUBTRACT:BringForthMorebyRemovingObstacles17.PROGRESS:ThePowerofSmallWins18.FLOW:TheGeniusofRoutine19.FOCUS:What’sImportantNow?20.BE:TheEssentialistLife

AppendixLeadershipEssentials

NotesAcknowledgmentsTakingEssentialismBeyondthePage

CHAPTER1

TheEssentialist

THEWISDOMOFLIFECONSISTSINTHEELIMINATIONOFNON-ESSENTIALS.—LinYutang

SamElliot* is a capable executive in SiliconValleywho foundhimselfstretched too thin after his company was acquired by a larger,bureaucraticbusiness.Hewasinearnestaboutbeingagoodcitizeninhisnewrolesohesaid

yestomanyrequestswithoutreallythinkingaboutit.Butasaresulthewould spend thewhole day rushing fromonemeeting and conferencecall toanother trying topleaseeveryoneandget italldone.Hisstresswent up as the quality of his work went down. It was like he wasmajoring in minor activities and as a result, his work becameunsatisfyingforhimandfrustratingforthepeoplehewastryingsohardtoplease.Inthemidstofhis frustrationthecompanycametohimandoffered

himanearlyretirementpackage.Buthewasinhisearly50sandhadnointerest in completely retiring. He thought briefly about starting aconsultingcompanydoingwhathewasalreadydoing.Heeventhoughtofsellinghisservicesbacktohisemployerasaconsultant.Butnoneoftheseoptionsseemedthatappealing.Sohewenttospeakwithamentorwho gave him surprising advice: “Stay, but do what you would as aconsultantandnothingelse.Anddon’ttellanyone.”Inotherwords,hismentor was advising him to do only those things that he deemedessential—andignoreeverythingelsethatwasaskedofhim.The executive followed the advice! He made a daily commitment

towardscuttingouttheredtape.Hebegansayingno.He was tentative at first. He would evaluate requests based on the

timid criteria, “Can I actually fulfill this request, given the time and

resources I have?” If the answer was no then he would refuse therequest.Hewaspleasantlysurprisedtofindthatwhilepeoplewouldatfirstlookalittledisappointed,theyseemedtorespecthishonesty.Encouragedbyhissmallwinshepushedbackabitmore.Nowwhenarequestwouldcomeinhewouldpauseandevaluatetherequestagainsta tougher criteria: “Is this the verymost important thing I should bedoingwithmytimeandresourcesrightnow?”If he couldn’t answer a definitive yes, then he would refuse therequest. And once again to his delight, while his colleagues mightinitiallyseemdisappointed,theysoonbegantorespecthimmoreforhisrefusal,notless.Emboldened, he began to apply this selective criteria to everything,not just direct requests. In his past life hewould always volunteer forpresentationsorassignmentsthatcameuplastminute;nowhefoundawaytonotsignupforthem.Heusedtobeoneofthefirsttojumpinonane-mailtrail,butnowhejuststeppedbackandletothersjumpin.Hestoppedattendingconferencecallsthatheonlyhadacoupleofminutesofinterestin.Hestoppedsittinginontheweeklyupdatecallbecausehedidn’t need the information. He stopped attending meetings on hiscalendarifhedidn’thaveadirectcontributiontomake.Heexplainedtome, “Just because Iwas invited didn’t seem a good enough reason toattend.”Itfeltself-indulgentatfirst.Butbybeingselectiveheboughthimselfspace, and in that space he found creative freedom. He couldconcentrate his efforts on one project at a time. He could planthoroughly. He could anticipate roadblocks and start to removeobstacles. Insteadofspinninghiswheels tryingtogeteverythingdone,hecouldgettherightthingsdone.Hisnewfoundcommitmenttodoingonly the things thatwere truly important—and eliminating everythingelse—restored the quality of his work. Instead of making just amillimeter of progress in a million directions he began to generatetremendous momentum towards accomplishing the things that weretrulyvital.Hecontinued this for severalmonths.He immediately found thathenotonlygotmoreofhisdaybackatwork,intheeveningshegotevenmore timebackathome.Hesaid,“Igotbackmy family life! Icangohomeatadecent time.”Now insteadofbeinga slave tohisphonehe

shutsitdown.Hegoestothegym.Hegoesouttoeatwithhiswife.To his great surprise, there were no negative repercussions to hisexperiment. His manager didn’t chastise him. His colleagues didn’tresent him.Quite the opposite; because hewas left onlywith projectsthatweremeaningfultohimandactuallyvaluabletothecompany,theybegantorespectandvaluehisworkmorethanever.Hisworkbecamefulfillingagain.Hisperformanceratingswentup.Heendedupwithoneofthelargestbonusesofhiscareer!In this example is the basic value proposition of Essentialism: onlyonce you give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all, to stopsayingyestoeveryone,canyoumakeyourhighestcontributiontowardsthethingsthatreallymatter.Whataboutyou?Howmanytimeshaveyoureacted toarequestbysayingyeswithoutreallythinkingaboutit?Howmanytimeshaveyouresentedcommittingtodosomethingandwondered,“WhydidIsignupfor this?” How often do you say yes simply to please? Or to avoidtrouble?Orbecause“yes”hadjustbecomeyourdefaultresponse?Nowletmeaskyouthis:Haveyoueverfoundyourselfstretchedtoothin?Haveyoueverfeltbothoverworkedandunderutilized?Haveyoueverfoundyourselfmajoringinminoractivities?Doyoueverfeelbusybut not productive? Like you’re always in motion, but never gettinganywhere?If you answered yes to any of these, theway out is theway of theEssentialist.

TheWayoftheEssentialistDieterRamswastheleaddesigneratBraunformanyyears.Heisdrivenbytheideathatalmosteverythingisnoise.Hebelievesveryfewthingsareessential.His job is to filter throughthatnoiseuntilhegets to theessence. For example, as ayoung twenty-four-year-oldat the companyhewas asked to collaborate on a recordplayer. Thenormat the timewastocovertheturntableinasolidwoodenlidoreventoincorporatetheplayerintoapieceoflivingroomfurniture.Instead,heandhisteamremovedtheclutteranddesignedaplayerwithaclearplasticcoveronthetopandnothingmore.Itwasthefirsttimesuchadesignhadbeenused,anditwassorevolutionarypeopleworrieditmightbankruptthecompany because nobody would buy it. It took courage, as it alwaysdoes,toeliminatethenonessential.Bythesixtiesthisaestheticstartedtogain traction. In time it became the design every other record playerfollowed.Dieter’s design criteria can be summarized by a characteristically

succinct principle, captured in just three German words:Weniger aberbesser.TheEnglishtranslationis:Lessbutbetter.AmorefittingdefinitionofEssentialismwouldbehardtocomeby.ThewayoftheEssentialististherelentlesspursuitoflessbutbetter.It

doesn’t mean occasionally giving a nod to the principle. It meanspursuingitinadisciplinedway.Thewayof theEssentialist isn’taboutsettingNewYear’sresolutions

to say “no” more, or about pruning your in-box, or about masteringsomenewstrategyintimemanagement.Itisaboutpausingconstantlytoask,“AmIinvestingintherightactivities?”Therearefarmoreactivitiesand opportunities in the world than we have time and resources toinvestin.Andalthoughmanyofthemmaybegood,orevenverygood,the fact is that most are trivial and few are vital. The way of theEssentialist involves learning to tell the difference—learning to filterthrough all those options and selecting only those that are trulyessential.Essentialismisnotabouthowtogetmorethingsdone;it’sabouthow

togettherightthingsdone.Itdoesn’tmeanjustdoinglessforthesakeofless either. It is about making the wisest possible investment of your

timeandenergyinordertooperateatourhighestpointofcontributionbydoingonlywhatisessential.

ThedifferencebetweenthewayoftheEssentialistandthewayoftheNonessentialist can be seen in the figure opposite. In both images thesameamountofeffortisexerted.Intheimageontheleft,theenergyisdivided into many different activities. The result is that we have theunfulfilling experience ofmaking amillimeter of progress in amilliondirections. In the image on the right, the energy is given to feweractivities. The result is that by investing in fewer things we have the

satisfying experience of making significant progress in the things thatmattermost.ThewayoftheEssentialistrejectstheideathatwecanfititall in. Instead it requires us to grapple with real trade-offs andmaketoughdecisions.Inmanycaseswecanlearntomakeone-timedecisionsthat make a thousand future decisions so we don’t exhaust ourselvesaskingthesamequestionsagainandagain.The way of the Essentialist means living by design, not by default.Instead of making choices reactively, the Essentialist deliberatelydistinguishes the vital few from the trivial many, eliminates thenonessentials, and then removes obstacles so the essential things haveclear, smooth passage. In other words, Essentialism is a disciplined,systematic approach for determining where our highest point ofcontribution lies, then making execution of those things almosteffortless.

TheModel

Nonessentialist Essentialist

Thinks

ALLTHINGSTOALLPEOPLE“Ihaveto.”“It’sallimportant.”“HowcanIfititallin?”

LESSBUTBETTER“Ichooseto.”“Onlyafewthingsreallymatter.”“Whatarethetrade-offs?”

THEUNDISCIPLINED THEDISCIPLINED

Does

PURSUITOFMOREReactstowhat’smostpressingSays“yes”topeoplewithoutreallythinkingTriestoforceexecutionatthelastmoment

PURSUITOFLESSPausestodiscernwhatreallymattersSays“no”toeverythingexcepttheessentialRemovesobstaclestomakeexecutioneasy

Gets

LIVESALIFETHATDOESNOTSATISFYTakesontoomuch,andworksuffersFeelsoutofcontrolIsunsureofwhethertherightthingsgotdoneFeelsoverwhelmedandexhausted

LIVESALIFETHATREALLYMATTERSChoosescarefullyinordertodogreatworkFeelsincontrolGetstherightthingsdoneExperiencesjoyinthejourney

ThewayoftheEssentialististhepathtobeingincontrolofourownchoices.Itisapathtonewlevelsofsuccessandmeaning.Itisthepathonwhichweenjoythejourney,notjustthedestination.Despiteallthesebenefits,however,therearetoomanyforcesconspiringtokeepusfromapplyingthedisciplinedpursuitoflessbutbetter,whichmaybewhysomanyenduponthemisdirectedpathoftheNonessentialist.

TheWayoftheNonessentialistOn a bright, winter day in California I visited my wife, Anna, in thehospital.EveninthehospitalAnnawasradiant.ButIalsoknewshewasexhausted.Itwasthedayafterourpreciousdaughterwasborn,healthyandhappyat7pounds,3ounces.1Yetwhat shouldhavebeenoneof thehappiest,most serenedaysof

mylifewasactuallyfilledwithtension.Evenasmybeautifulnewbabylayinmywife’stiredarms,Iwasonthephoneandone-mailwithwork,andIwas feelingpressure togo toaclientmeeting.Mycolleaguehadwritten, “Friday between 1–2 would be a bad time to have a babybecause I need you to come be at this meeting with X.” It was nowFridayand though Iwasprettycertain (orat least Ihoped) thee-mailhadbeenwritteninjest,Istillfeltpressuretoattend.Instinctively,Iknewwhattodo.Itwasclearlyatimetobetherefor

mywifeandnewbornchild.SowhenaskedwhetherIplannedtoattendthemeeting,IsaidwithalltheconvictionIcouldmuster…“Yes.”Tomy shame,whilemywife lay in the hospitalwith our hours-old

baby, Iwent to themeeting.Afterward,mycolleaguesaid,“Theclientwillrespectyouformakingthedecisiontobehere.”Butthelookontheclients’ facesdidnot evince respect. Instead, theymirrored how I felt.WhatwasIdoingthere?Ihadsaid“yes”simplytoplease,andindoingsoIhadhurtmyfamily,myintegrity,andeventheclientrelationship.Asitturnedout,exactlynothingcameoftheclientmeeting.Buteven

if it had, surely Iwouldhavemadea fool’s bargain. In trying tokeepeveryonehappyIhadsacrificedwhatmatteredmost.OnreflectionIdiscoveredthisimportantlesson:

Ifyoudon’tprioritizeyourlife,someoneelsewill.

That experience gave me renewed interest—read, inexhaustibleobsession—inunderstandingwhyotherwiseintelligentpeoplemakethechoicestheymakeintheirpersonalandprofessionallives.“Whyisit,”Iwonder,“thatwehavesomuchmoreabilityinsideofusthanweoftenchoosetoutilize?”And“Howcanwemakethechoicesthatallowustotap into more of the potential inside ourselves, and in peopleeverywhere?”Mymissiontoshedlightonthesequestionshadalreadyledmetoquitlaw school in England and travel, eventually, to California to do mygraduateworkatStanford.Ithadledmetospendmorethantwoyearscollaboratingonabook,Multipliers:HowtheBestLeadersMakeEveryoneSmarter.Anditwentontoinspiremetostartastrategyandleadershipcompany in Silicon Valley, where I nowworkwith some of themostcapablepeopleinsomeofthemostinterestingcompaniesintheworld,helpingtosetthemonthepathoftheEssentialist.InmyworkIhaveseenpeopleallovertheworldwhoareconsumedand overwhelmed by the pressures all around them. I have coached“successful” people in the quiet pain of trying desperately to doeverything, perfectly, now. I have seen people trapped by controllingmanagersandunaware that theydonot“have to”doall the thanklessbusywork they are asked to do. And I have worked tirelessly tounderstand why so many bright, smart, capable individuals remainsnaredinthedeathgripofthenonessential.WhatIhavefoundhassurprisedme.I worked with one particularly driven executive who got intotechnologyatayoungageandlovedit.Hewasquicklyrewardedforhisknowledge and passion with more and more opportunities. Eager tobuild on his success, he continued to read as much as he could andpursueallhecouldwithgustoandenthusiasm.BythetimeImethimhewashyperactive,tryingtolearnitallanddoitall.Heseemedtofindanewobsessioneveryday,sometimeseveryhour.Andintheprocess,helosthisabilitytodiscernthevitalfewfromthetrivialmany.Everythingwasimportant.Asaresulthewasstretchedthinnerandthinner.Hewasmaking a millimeter of progress in a million directions. He wasoverworkedand underutilized. That’swhen I sketched out for him theimageontheleftinthefigureonthispage.Hestaredatitforthelongesttimeinuncharacteristicsilence.Thenhe

said,withmore thanahintof emotion, “That is the storyofmy life!”ThenIsketchedtheimageontheright.“Whatwouldhappenifwecouldfigure out the one thing you could do that would make the highestcontribution?” I asked him. He responded sincerely: “That is thequestion.”As it turns out, many intelligent, ambitious people have perfectlylegitimatereasonstohavetroubleansweringthisquestion.Onereasonisthat inour societywearepunished forgoodbehavior (sayingno)andrewardedforbadbehavior(sayingyes).Theformerisoftenawkwardinthemoment,andthelatterisoftencelebratedinthemoment.ItleadstowhatIcall“theparadoxofsuccess,”2whichcanbesummedupinfourpredictablephases:

PHASE 1: When we really have clarity of purpose, it enables us tosucceedatourendeavor.

PHASE 2: When we have success, we gain a reputation as a “go to”person.Webecome“goodold[insertname],”whoisalwaystherewhenyou need him, and we are presented with increased options andopportunities.

PHASE3:Whenwehaveincreasedoptionsandopportunities,whichisactually code for demands upon our time and energies, it leads todiffusedefforts.Wegetspreadthinnerandthinner.

PHASE 4: We become distracted from what would otherwise be ourhighest level of contribution. The effect of our success has been tounderminetheveryclaritythatledtooursuccessinthefirstplace.

Curiously,andoverstatingthepointinordertomakeit,thepursuitofsuccesscanbeacatalystforfailure.Putanotherway,successcandistractusfromfocusingontheessentialthingsthatproducesuccessinthefirstplace.

We can see this everywhere around us. In his bookHow theMightyFall,JimCollinsexploreswhatwentwrongincompaniesthatwereoncedarlings of Wall Street but later collapsed.3 He finds that for many,falling into “the undisciplined pursuit of more” was a key reason forfailure.Thisistrueforcompaniesanditistrueforthepeoplewhoworkinthem.Butwhy?

WhyNonessentialismIsEverywhereSeveraltrendshavecombinedtocreateaperfectNonessentialiststorm.Considerthefollowing.

TOOMANYCHOICES

Wehaveall observed the exponential increase in choicesover the lastdecade.Yeteveninthemidstofit,andperhapsbecauseofit,wehavelostsightofthemostimportantones.AsPeterDrucker said, “Ina fewhundredyears,when thehistoryof

ourtimewillbewrittenfromalong-termperspective,itislikelythatthemost important event historians will see is not technology, not theInternet,note-commerce. It isanunprecedentedchange in thehumancondition.Forthefirsttime—literally—substantialandrapidlygrowingnumbers of people have choices. For the first time, they will have tomanagethemselves.Andsocietyistotallyunpreparedforit.”4

We are unprepared in part because, for the first time, thepreponderanceofchoicehasoverwhelmedourabilitytomanageit.Wehave lost our ability to filter what is important and what isn’t.

Psychologistscallthis“decisionfatigue”:themorechoicesweareforcedtomake,themorethequalityofourdecisionsdeteriorates.5

TOOMUCHSOCIALPRESSURE

Itisnotjustthenumberofchoicesthathasincreasedexponentially,itisalsothestrengthandnumberofoutsideinfluencesonourdecisionsthathas increased. While much has been said and written about howhyperconnected we now are and how distracting this informationoverloadcanbe,thelargerissueishowourconnectednesshasincreasedthe strength of social pressure. Today, technology has lowered thebarrier for others to share their opinion about what we should befocusingon.Itisnotjustinformationoverload;itisopinionoverload.

THEIDEATHAT“YOUCANHAVEITALL”

Theideathatwecanhaveitallanddoitallisnotnew.Thismythhasbeen peddled for so long, I believe virtually everyone alive today isinfected with it. It is sold in advertising. It is championed incorporations.Itisembeddedinjobdescriptionsthatprovidehugelistsofrequiredskillsandexperienceasstandard.It isembeddedinuniversityapplicationsthatrequiredozensofextracurricularactivities.Whatisnewishowespeciallydamagingthismythistoday,inatimewhenchoiceandexpectationshaveincreasedexponentially.Itresultsinstressed people trying to cram yet more activities into their alreadyoverscheduled lives. It creates corporate environments that talk aboutwork/lifebalancebut still expect their employees tobeon their smartphones24/7/365. It leadstostaffmeetingswhereasmanyasten“toppriorities”arediscussedwithnosenseofironyatall.ThewordprioritycameintotheEnglishlanguageinthe1400s.Itwassingular.Itmeanttheveryfirstorpriorthing.Itstayedsingularforthenextfivehundredyears.Onlyinthe1900sdidwepluralizethetermandstart talking about priorities. Illogically, we reasoned that by changingthe word we could bend reality. Somehowwe would now be able tohavemultiple “first” things. People and companies routinely try to dojustthat.Oneleadertoldmeofhisexperienceinacompanythattalked

of “Pri-1, Pri-2, Pri-3, Pri-4, and Pri-5.” This gave the impression ofmanythingsbeingtheprioritybutactuallymeantnothingwas.Butwhenwetrytodoitallandhaveitall,wefindourselvesmaking

trade-offsatthemarginsthatwewouldnevertakeonasourintentionalstrategy.Whenwedon’tpurposefullyanddeliberatelychoosewheretofocus our energies and time, other people—our bosses, our colleagues,ourclients,andevenour families—will choose forus,andbefore longwe’llhavelostsightofeverythingthatismeaningfulandimportant.Wecaneithermakeourchoicesdeliberatelyorallowotherpeople’sagendastocontrolourlives.OnceanAustraliannursenamedBronnieWare,whocaredforpeople

in the last twelve weeks of their lives, recorded their most oftendiscussed regrets.At the topof the list: “Iwish I’dhad thecourage tolivealifetruetomyself,notthelifeothersexpectedofme.”6This requires, not just haphazardly saying no, but purposefully,

deliberately,andstrategicallyeliminatingthenonessentials,andnotjustgettingridoftheobvioustimewasters,butcuttingoutsomereallygoodopportunitiesaswell.7Insteadofreactingtothesocialpressurespullingyou to go in a million directions, you will learn a way to reduce,simplify, and focus on what is absolutely essential by eliminatingeverythingelse.You can think of this book doing for your life and career what a

professionalorganizercandoforyourcloset.Thinkaboutwhathappensto your closetwhen you never organize it. Does it stay neat and tidywith just those few outfits you love towear hanging on the rack? Ofcoursenot.Whenyoumakenoconsciousefforttokeepitorganized,theclosetbecomesclutteredandstuffedwithclothesyourarelywear.Everysooftenitgetssooutofcontrolyoutryandpurgethecloset.Butunlessyouhaveadisciplinedsystemyou’lleitherendupwithasmanyclothesasyoustartedwithbecauseyoucan’tdecidewhichtogiveaway;endupwith regrets because you accidentally gave away clothes you dowearanddidwanttokeep;orendupwithapileofclothesyoudon’twanttokeepbutneveractuallygetridofbecauseyou’renotquitesurewheretotakethemorwhattodowiththem.In the same way that our closets get cluttered as clothes we never

wear accumulate, so do our lives get cluttered as well-intendedcommitments and activities we’ve said yes to pile up. Most of these

effortsdidn’tcomewithanexpirationdate.Unlesswehaveasystemforpurgingthem,onceadopted,theyliveoninperpetuity.Here’showanEssentialistwouldapproachthatcloset.

1.EXPLOREANDEVALUATE

Instead of asking, “Is there a chance I will wear this someday in thefuture?”youaskmoredisciplined,toughquestions:“DoIlovethis?”and“DoIlookgreat in it?”and“DoIwearthisoften?”If theanswerisno,thenyouknowitisacandidateforelimination.Inyourpersonalorprofessionallife,theequivalentofaskingyourselfwhich clothes you love is asking yourself, “Will this activity or effortmake the highest possible contribution towardmy goal?” Part One ofthisbookwillhelpyoufigureoutwhatthoseactivitiesare.

2.ELIMINATE

Let’s say you have your clothes divided into piles of “must keep” and“probably should get rid of.” But are you really ready to stuff the“probablyshouldgetridof”pileinabagandsenditoff?Afterall,thereis still a feeling of sunk-cost bias: studies have found thatwe tend tovaluethingswealreadyownmorehighlythantheyareworthandthusthatwefindthemmoredifficulttogetridof.Ifyou’renotquitethere,askthekillerquestion:“IfIdidn’talreadyownthis,howmuchwouldIspendtobuyit?”Thisusuallydoesthetrick.Inotherwords, it’s not enough to simplydeterminewhichactivitiesandeffortsdon’tmakethehighestpossiblecontribution;youstillhavetoactivelyeliminatethosethatdonot.PartTwoofthisbookwillshowyouhowtoeliminatethenonessentials,andnotonlythat,howdoitinawaythatgarnersyourespectfromcolleagues,bosses,clients,andpeers.

3.EXECUTE

If you want your closet to stay tidy, you need a regular routine fororganizingit.Youneedonelargebagforitemsyouneedtothrowawayandaverysmallpileforitemsyouwanttokeep.Youneedtoknowthe

dropofflocationandhoursofyourlocalthriftstore.Youneedtohaveascheduledtimetogothere.Inotherwords,onceyou’vefiguredoutwhichactivitiesandeffortsto

keep—theonesthatmakeyourhighestlevelofcontribution—youneedasystemtomakeexecutingyour intentionsaseffortlessaspossible. Inthisbookyou’lllearntocreateaprocessthatmakesgettingtheessentialthingsdoneaseffortlessaspossible.

Of course, our lives aren’t static like the clothes in our closet. Ourclothesstaywheretheyareonceweleavetheminthemorning(unlesswe have teenagers!). But in the closet of our lives, new clothes—newdemands on our time—are coming at us constantly. Imagine if everytime you opened the doors to your closet you found that people hadbeenshoving theirclothes in there—ifeverydayyoucleaned itout inthemorningandthenbyafternoonfounditalreadystuffedtothebrim.Unfortunately, most of our lives aremuch like this. Howmany timeshaveyoustartedyourworkdaywitha scheduleandby10:00A.M.youwerealreadycompletelyoff trackorbehind?Orhowmanytimeshaveyouwrittena“todo”listinthemorningbutthenfoundthatby5:00P.M.thelistwasevenlonger?Howmanytimeshaveyoulookedforwardtoaquiet weekend at home with the family then found that by Saturdaymorning you were inundated with errands and play dates andunforeseencalamities?Buthere’sthegoodnews:thereisawayout.Essentialismisaboutcreatingasystemforhandlingtheclosetofour

lives.Thisisnotaprocessyouundertakeonceayear,onceamonth,orevenonceaweek,likeorganizingyourcloset.Itisadisciplineyouapplyeachandeverytimeyouarefacedwithadecisionaboutwhethertosayyesorwhether topolitelydecline. It’s amethod formaking the toughtrade-offbetween lotsofgoodthingsanda fewreallygreat things. It’saboutlearninghowtodolessbutbettersoyoucanachievethehighestpossiblereturnoneverypreciousmomentofyourlife.Thisbookwillshowyouhowtolivealifetruetoyourself,notthelife

others expect from you. It will teach you a method for being moreefficient, productive, and effective in both personal and professionalrealms.Itwillteachyouasystematicwaytodiscernwhatisimportant,eliminate what is not, and make doing the essential as effortless as

possible.Inshort,itwillteachyouhowtoapplythedisciplinedpursuitoflesstoeveryareaofyourlife.Here’show.

RoadMapTherearefourpartstothebook.Thefirstoutlinesthecoremind-setofan Essentialist. The next three turn the mind-set into a systematicprocess for the disciplined pursuit of less, one you can use in anysituationor endeavoryouencounter.Adescriptionof eachpartof thebookisbelow.

ESSENCE:WHATISTHECOREMIND-SETOFANESSENTIALIST?

This part of the book outlines the three realities without whichEssentialistthinkingwouldbeneitherrelevantnorpossible.Onechapterisdevotedtoeachoftheseinturn.1. Individual choice:We can choose how to spend our energy and time.

Withoutchoice,thereisnopointintalkingabouttrade-offs.2. The prevalence of noise: Almost everything is noise, and a very few

thingsareexceptionallyvaluable.Thisisthejustificationfortakingtimetofigure out what is most important. Because some things are so muchmoreimportant,theeffortinfindingthosethingsisworthit.3.Therealityoftrade-offs:Wecan’thaveitallordoitall.Ifwecould,

there would be no reason to evaluate or eliminate options. Once weaccept the realityof trade-offswe stopasking, “Howcan Imake it allwork?”andstartaskingthemorehonestquestion“WhichproblemdoIwanttosolve?”Onlywhenweunderstandtheserealitiescanwebegintothinklikean

Essentialist.Indeed,oncewefullyacceptandunderstandthem,muchofthe method in the coming sections of the book becomes natural andinstinctive.Thatmethodconsistsofthefollowingthreesimplesteps.

STEP1.EXPLORE:DISCERNINGTHETRIVIALMANYFROMTHEVITALFEW

One paradox of Essentialism is that Essentialists actually exploremoreoptionsthantheirNonessentialistcounterparts.WhereasNonessentialistscommittoeverythingorvirtuallyeverythingwithoutactuallyexploring,

Essentialists systematically exploreandevaluate abroad set of optionsbeforecommittingtoany.Becausetheywillcommitand“gobig”ononeortwoideasoractivities,theydeliberatelyexploremoreoptionsatfirsttoensurethattheypicktherightonelater.

Byapplyingtoughercriteriawecantapintoourbrain’ssophisticatedsearchengine.8Ifwesearchfor“agoodopportunity,”thenwewillfindscoresofpagesforustothinkaboutandworkthrough.Instead,wecanconduct an advanced search and ask three questions: “What do I feeldeeply inspired by?” and “What am I particularly talented at?” and“Whatmeetsasignificantneedintheworld?”Naturallytherewon’tbeasmanypages toview,but this is thepointof theexercise.Wearen’tlooking for a plethora of good things to do. We are looking for ourhighest levelof contribution: the right thing the rightwayat the righttime.Essentialists spend as much time as possible exploring, listening,debating,questioning,andthinking.Buttheirexplorationisnotanendinitself.Thepurposeoftheexplorationistodiscernthevitalfewfromthetrivialmany.

STEP2.ELIMINATE:

CUTTINGOUTTHETRIVIALMANY

Manyofussayyestothingsbecauseweareeagertopleaseandmakeadifference.Yetthekeytomakingourhighestcontributionmaywellbesayingno.AsPeterDruckersaid,“Peopleareeffectivebecausetheysay‘no,’becausetheysay,‘thisisn’tforme.’”9To eliminate nonessentials means saying no to someone. Often. It

meanspushingagainst social expectations.Todo itwell takes courageandcompassion.Soeliminatingthenonessentialsisn’tjustaboutmentaldiscipline.It’sabouttheemotionaldisciplinenecessarytosaynotosocialpressure. In this section of the book, wewill address this challengingdynamic.Giventherealityoftrade-offs,wecan’tchoosetodoeverything.The

real question is not how canwedo it all, it iswhowill get to choosewhat we do and don’t do. Remember, when we forfeit our right tochoose, someone elsewill choose forus. Sowe can eitherdeliberatelychoosewhatnottodoorallowourselvestobepulledindirectionswedon’twanttogo.This section offers a method for eliminating the nonessentials, thus

earningusthetimenecessarytoachievewhatisessential.Onlythencanwe build a platform to make execution as effortless as possible: thesubjectofstep3.

STEP3.EXECUTE:REMOVINGOBSTACLESANDMAKINGEXECUTIONEFFORTLESS

Whetherourgoalistocompleteaprojectatwork,reachthenextstepinourcareer,orplanabirthdaypartyforourspouse,wetendtothinkofthe process of execution as something hard and full of friction,something we need to force to “make happen.” But the Essentialistapproach is different. Instead of forcing execution, Essentialists investthetimetheyhavesavedintocreatingasystemforremovingobstaclesandmakingexecutionaseasyaspossible.These three elements—explore, eliminate, execute—are not separateevents as much as a cyclical process. And when we apply themconsistentlyweareabletoreapgreaterandgreaterbenefits.

AnIdeaWhoseTimeHasComeAsaquoteattributedtoVictorHugo,theFrenchdramatistandnovelist,putsit,“Nothingismorepowerfulthananideawhosetimehascome.”“Lessbutbetter”isaprinciplewhosetimehascome.Everything changes when we give ourselves permission to be more

selective inwhatwechoosetodo.Atonce,weholdthekeytounlockthenextlevelofachievementinourlives.Thereistremendousfreedomin learning that we can eliminate the nonessentials, that we are nolongercontrolledbyotherpeople’sagendas,andthatwegettochoose.With that invincible power we can discover our highest point ofcontribution,notjusttoourlivesorcareers,buttotheworld.What if schools eliminatedbusyworkand replaced itwith important

projects that made a difference to the whole community?What if allstudents had time to think about their highest contribution to theirfuturesothatwhentheylefthighschooltheywerenotjuststartingontheracetonowhere?10What if businesses eliminated meaningless meetings and replaced

themwithspaceforpeopletothinkandworkontheirmost importantprojects? What if employees pushed back against time-wasting e-mailchains,purposelessprojects,andunproductivemeetingssotheycouldbeutilizedat theirhighest levelofcontributiontotheircompaniesandintheircareers?What if society stopped telling us to buy more stuff and instead

allowedus to createmore space tobreatheand think?What if societyencouraged us to reject what has been accurately described as doingthings we detest, to buy things we don’t need, with money we don’thave,toimpresspeoplewedon’tlike?11Whatifwestoppedbeingoversoldthevalueofhavingmoreandbeing

undersoldthevalueofhavingless?What if we stopped celebrating being busy as a measurement of

importance?Whatifinsteadwecelebratedhowmuchtimewehadspentlistening, pondering, meditating, and enjoying time with the mostimportantpeopleinourlives?What if the whole world shifted from the undisciplined pursuit of

moretothedisciplinedpursuitofless…onlybetter?

Ihaveavisionofpeopleeverywherehavingthecouragetolivealifetruetothemselvesinsteadofthelifeothersexpectofthem.I have a vision of everyone—children, students, mothers, fathers,employees,managers,executives,world leaders—learning tobetter tapintomoreoftheirintelligence,capability,resourcefulness,andinitiativeto live more meaningful lives. I have a vision of all these peoplecourageouslydoingwhat they camehereon this earth todo. Ihaveavisionofstartingaconversationthatbecomesamovement.Toharness the courageweneed to get on the right path, it pays toreflectonhowshortlifereallyisandwhatwewanttoaccomplishinthelittletimewehaveleft.AspoetMaryOliverwrote:“Tellme,whatisityouplantodo/withyouronewildandpreciouslife?”12Ichallengeyoutopausemoretoaskyourselfthatquestion.Ichallengeyouhereandnowtomakeacommitmenttomakeroomtoenjoytheessential.Doyouthinkforonesecondyouwillregretsuchadecision?Isitatalllikelyyouwillwakeuponedayandsay,“IwishIhad been less true tomyself and had done all the nonessential thingsothersexpectedofme”?Ichallengeyouto letmehelpyoutocreateasystemthat“unfairly”tipsthescalesinfavoroftheessentialfewoverthetrivialmany.I challenge you to invest in becoming more of an Essentialist. Thisbook is not about going back to some simpler time. It’s not abouteschewinge-mailordisconnectingfromtheWeborlivinglikeahermit.Thatwouldbebackwardsmovement.Itisaboutapplyingtheprinciplesof“lessbutbetter”tohowweliveourlivesnowandinthefuture.Thatisinnovation.Somy challenge to you is to bewiser than Iwas on thedayofmydaughter’sbirth.Ihavegreatconfidenceinthegoodthatcancomefromsuchadecision.Justimaginewhatwouldhappentoourworldifeverypersonontheplaneteliminatedonegoodbutnonessentialactivityandreplaceditwithsomethingtrulyessential.Years fromnow (hopefullymany),whenyouare at the endof yourlife,youmaystillhaveregrets.ButseekingthewayoftheEssentialistisunlikelytobeoneofthem.Whatwouldyoutradethentobebackherenowforonechance—thischance—tobe true toyourself?On that day,whatwillyouhopeyoudecidedtodoonthisone?Ifyouarereadytolookinsideyourselffortheanswertothisquestion,

then you are ready to set out on the path of the Essentialist. Let usembarkonittogether.

*Namehasbeenchanged.

ESSENCEWhatIstheCoreLogicofanEssentialist?

Essentialismisnotawaytodoonemorething;it isadifferentwayofdoingeverything. It isawayof thinking.But internalizing thiswayofthinking is not a neutral challenge. This is because certain ideas—andpeople peddling those ideas—constantly pull us toward the logic ofNonessentialism.Therearethreechaptersinthispartofthebook.Eachtakes on a fallacy of Nonessentialism and replaces it with a truth ofEssentialism.There are three deeply entrenched assumptionswemust conquer to

livethewayof theEssentialist:“Ihaveto,”“It’sall important,”and“Ican do both.” Like mythological sirens, these assumptions are asdangerous as they are seductive. They draw us in and drown us inshallowwaters.ToembracetheessenceofEssentialismrequireswereplacethesefalse

assumptions with three core truths: “I choose to,” “Only a few thingsreallymatter,”and“Icandoanythingbutnoteverything.”Thesesimpletruthsawakenus fromournonessential stupor.They freeus topursuewhat really matters. They enable us to live at our highest level ofcontribution.AsweridourselvesofthenonsenseofNonessentialismandreplaceit

withthecorelogicofEssentialism,thewayoftheEssentialistbecomesnaturalandinstinctive.

CHAPTER2

CHOOSE

TheInvinciblePowerofChoice

ITISTHEABILITYTOCHOOSEWHICHMAKESUSHUMAN.—MadeleineL’Engle

I stared,wide-eyed,at thepieceofpaper inmyhands. Iwassitting inthe foyer of a high-rise office building. It was dusk, and the last fewpeoplewere tricklingout for the evening.Thepieceof paper, coveredwith scribbled words and arrows, was the result of a twenty-minutespontaneousbrainstormaboutwhatIcurrentlywantedtobedoingwithmylife.AsIlookedatthepaperIwasmostlystruckbywhatwasn’tonit—law schoolwasnot on the list. This gotmy attentionbecause IwashalfwaythroughmyfirstyearatlawschoolinEngland.Ihadapplied tostudy lawbecauseof repeatedadvice to“keepyour

optionsopen.”OnceIgotout,Icouldpracticelaw.Icouldwriteaboutlaw.Icouldteachlaw.OrIcouldconsultonthelaw.Theworldwouldbemyoyster,orsotheargumentwent.YetfromalmostthefirstmomentIstartedstudyinglaw,insteadofchoosingbetweenthesepursuitsIhadsimplytriedtofitthemallin.Iwouldstudymylawbooksatallhoursalldayandreadthegreatmanagementthinkersintheevenings.Insparemoments, I would write. It was a classic “straddled strategy” ofattempting to invest ineverythingatonce.The resultwas thatwhile Iwasnotentirely failing inanypursuit Iwasnotentirely succeedingatanyeither.Isoonbegantowonderjustwhatwassogreataboutalltheseopenoptions.InthemiddleofallthisexistentialconfusionIreceivedacallfroma

friend in theUnitedStates invitingmetohiswedding.Hehadalreadyboughtand sent the tickets!So Igratefullyacceptedhis invitationand

leftEnglandforanunexpectedadventure.While in the United States I took every opportunity to meet withteachers and writers. One such meeting was with an executive for anonprofiteducationalgroup.AsIwasleavinghisoffice,hementionedinpassing,“IfyoudecidetostayinAmerica,youshouldcomeandjoinusonaconsultationcommittee.”Hispassingcommenthadacuriousforceaboutit.Itwasn’thisspecificquestion. It was the assumption hemade that I had a choice: “If youdecidetostay…”Hesawitasarealoption.Thisgotmethinking.Ilefthisofficeandtooktheelevatordowntothelobby.Itookasinglesheetofpaperfromsomeone’sdeskandsatinthelobbyandattemptedtoanswer thequestion: “Ifyoucoulddoonlyone thingwithyour liferightnow,whatwouldyoudo?”The result was that piece of paper on which law school, as I haveindicated,wasnotwritten.UptothatpointIhadalwaysknownlogicallythatIcouldchoosenottostudylaw.Butemotionallyithadneverbeenanoption.That’swhenIrealizedthatinsacrificingmypowertochooseIhadmadeachoice—abadone.Byrefusingtochoose“notlawschool,”Ihadchosenlawschool—notbecauseIactuallyoractivelywantedtobethere,butbydefault.Ithinkthat’swhenI first realizedthatwhenwesurrenderourability tochoose,somethingorsomeoneelsewillstepintochooseforus.A few weeks later, I officially quit law school. I left England andmovedtoAmericatostartdownthepathofbecominganauthorandateacher.You’rereadingthisnowbecauseofthatchoice.Yet,foralltheimpactthisspecificchoicehashadonthetrajectoryofmy life, Ivalue theway it changedmyviewabout choicesevenmore.We often think of choice as a thing. But a choice is not a thing. Ouroptionsmaybethings,butachoice—achoiceisanaction.Itisnotjustsomethingwehavebutsomethingwedo.Thisexperiencebroughtmetothe liberating realization that while we may not always have controlover our options,wealways have control over howwe choose amongthem.Haveyoueverfeltstuckbecauseyoubelievedyoudidnotreallyhaveachoice?Haveyoueverfeltthestressthatcomesfromsimultaneouslyholding two contradictory beliefs: “I can’t do this” and “I have to dothis”?Haveyouevergivenupyourpowertochoosebitbybituntilyou

allowedyourselftoblindlyfollowapathprescribedbyanotherperson?Ifso,youarenotalone.

TheInvinciblePowerofChoosingtoChooseFor too long, we have overemphasized the external aspect of choices(our options) and underemphasized our internal ability to choose (ouractions).This ismorethansemantics.Thinkabout it thisway.Options(things)canbetakenaway,whileourcoreabilitytochoose(freewill)cannotbe.

Theabilitytochoosecannotbetakenawayorevengivenaway

—itcanonlybeforgotten.

HowDoWeForgetOurAbilitytoChoose?OneimportantinsightintohowandwhyweforgetourabilitytochoosecomesoutoftheclassicworkofMartinSeligmanandSteveMaier,whostumbled onto what they later called “learned helplessness” whileconductingexperimentsonGermanshepherds.SeligmanandMaierdivided thedogs into threegroups.Thedogs in

the first group were placed in a harness and administered an electricshock butwere also given a lever they could press tomake the shockstop.Thedogsinthesecondgroupwereplacedinanidenticalharnessandweregiventhesamelever,andthesameshock,withonecatch:theleverdidn’twork,renderingthedogpowerlesstodoanythingabouttheelectricshock.Thethirdgroupofdogsweresimplyplacedintheharnessandnotgivenanyshocks.1

Afterwards, each dogwas placed in a large boxwith a low divideracross the center.One side of the box produced an electric shock; theother did not. Then something interesting happened. The dogs thateitherhadbeenabletostoptheshockorhadnotbeenshockedatallinthe earlier part of the experiment quickly learned to step over the

dividertothesidewithoutshocks.Butthedogsthathadbeenpowerlessin the last part of the experiment did not. These dogs didn’t adapt oradjust. They did nothing to try to avoid getting shocked. Why? Theydidn’tknowtheyhadanychoiceotherthantotaketheshocks.Theyhadlearnedhelplessness.There is evidence that humans learn helplessness inmuch the sameway.OneexampleIheardisthatofachildwhostrugglesearlyonwithmathematics.Hetriesandtriesbutnevergetsanybetter,soeventuallyhegivesup.Hebelievesnothinghedoeswillmatter.I have observed learned helplessness in many organizations I haveworked with. When people believe that their efforts at work don’tmatter,theytendtorespondinoneoftwoways.Sometimestheycheckoutandstoptrying,likethemathematicallychallengedchild.Theotherresponse is less obvious at first. They do the opposite. They becomehyperactive. They accept every opportunity presented. They throwthemselves into every assignment. They tackle every challenge withgusto.Theytrytodoitall.Thisbehaviordoesnotnecessarilylooklikelearnedhelplessnessatfirstglance.Afterall,isn’tworkinghardevidenceofone’sbeliefinone’simportanceandvalue?Yetoncloserexaminationwecanseethiscompulsiontodomoreisasmokescreen.Thesepeopledon’t believe they have a choice in what opportunity, assignment, orchallengetotakeon.Theybelievethey“havetodoitall.”I’ll be the first to admit that choices are hard. By definition theyinvolvesayingnotosomethingorseveralsomethings,andthatcanfeellikealoss.Outsidetheworkplace,choicescanbeevenharder.Anytimewe walk into a store or a restaurant or anywhere selling something,everythingisdesignedtomakeithardforustosayno.Whenwelistento a political advertisement or pundit, the objective is to make itunthinkable for us to vote for the other side.Whenourmother-in-lawcallsusup(mineexcludedofcourse)andwantsustodosomething,itcan be hardest of all to feel we really have a choice. If we look ateveryday life through this lens, it is hardly surprising we forget ourabilitytochoose.YetchoiceisattheverycoreofwhatitmeanstobeanEssentialist.TobecomeanEssentialistrequiresaheightenedawarenessofourabilitytochoose. We need to recognize it as an invincible power within us,existing separate and distinct from any other thing, person, or force.

WilliamJamesoncewrote,“Myfirstactoffreewillshallbetobelieveinfreewill.”2Thatiswhythefirstandmostcrucialskillyouwilllearnonthisjourneyistodevelopyourabilitytochoosechoice,ineveryareaofyourlife.

Nonessentialist Essentialist

“Ihaveto.”Forfeitstherighttochoose

“Ichooseto.”Exercisesthepowerofchoice

Whenweforgetourabilitytochoose,welearntobehelpless.Dripbydripweallowourpowertobetakenawayuntilweendupbecomingafunctionofotherpeople’schoices—orevena functionofourownpastchoices.Inturn,wesurrenderourpowertochoose.ThatisthepathoftheNonessentialist.The Essentialist doesn’t just recognize the power of choice, hecelebratesit.TheEssentialistknowsthatwhenwesurrenderourrighttochoose, we give others not just the power but also the explicitpermissiontochooseforus.

CHAPTER3

DISCERN

TheUnimportanceofPracticallyEverything

MOSTOFWHATEXISTSINTHEUNIVERSE—OURACTIONS,ANDALLOTHERFORCES,RESOURCES,ANDIDEAS—HASLITTLEVALUEANDYIELDSLITTLERESULT;ONTHEOTHER

HAND,AFEWTHINGSWORKFANTASTICALLYWELLANDHAVETREMENDOUSIMPACT.—RichardKoch

In George Orwell’s classic allegorical novel Animal Farm we areintroducedtothefictionalcharacterBoxerthehorse.Heisdescribedasfaithfulandstrong.Hisanswertoeverysetbackandeveryproblemis,“Iwill work harder.” He lives true to his philosophy under the direstcircumstances until, exhausted and broken, he is sent to the knackers’yard.Heisatragicfigure:despitehisbestintentions,hisever-increasingeffortsactuallyexacerbatetheinequalityandproblemsonthefarm.Are therewayswe can be a bit like Boxer? Do setbacks often only

strengthen our resolve to work longer and harder? Do we sometimesrespondtoeverychallengewith“Yes,Icantakethisonaswell”?Afterall, we have been taught from a young age that hard work is key toproducing results, andmany of us have been amply rewarded for ourproductivityandourability tomuscle throughevery taskor challengetheworldthrowsatus.Yet,forcapablepeoplewhoarealreadyworkinghard, are there limits to the value of hard work? Is there a point atwhich doing more does not produce more? Is there a point at whichdoingless(butthinkingmore)willactuallyproducebetteroutcomes?IrememberwhenIwasyoungIwantedtoearnsomepocketmoney.

One of the few jobs available for twelve-year-olds in England was apaperroute.Itpaidaboutapoundadayandtookaboutanhour.SoforawhileIheavedabagthatseemedheavierthanIwasfromdoortodoorfor an hour each morning before school (and just for the record, wecouldn’tjustthrowthepaperontosomeone’sfrontporch,asisdonein

theUnitedStates.Wehadtotakethepaperuptothetinyletterboxonthedoorandthenforcethepaperallthewaythroughit). Itwashard-earnedpocketmoney,tobesure.Theconsiderableeffort Ihadtoput in justtoearnthatonepoundaday forever changed theway I thought about the cost of the things Idesired. From then on,when I looked at something Iwanted to buy Iwould translate it into thenumberofdays Iwouldhave todeliver thepapers to get it. One pound of reward equaled one hour of effort. IrealizedthatatthisrateitwouldtakequiteawhiletosaveupforthatMicroMachineIwanted.Then,asIstartedtothinkabouthowImightspeeduptheprocess,Ihad the insight that I could wash the neighbors’ cars on Saturdaymorningsinsteadofdeliveringpapers.Icouldchargetwopoundspercarandcouldcleanthreeinanhour.Suddenly,theratioofhourstopoundschangedfrom1:1to1:6.Ihadjustlearnedacruciallesson:certaintypesofeffortyieldhigherrewardsthanothers.Years later at university I went to work at a coaching company. Iworked in their customer servicedepartment for $9 anhour. Itwouldhavebeeneasytothinkofthejobsintermsofthatratiobetweentimeand reward. But I knew what really counted was the relationshipbetweentimeandresults.SoIaskedmyself,“WhatisthemostvaluableresultIcouldachieveinthis job?” It turned out to bewinning back customerswhowanted tocancel. So I worked hard at convincing customers not to cancel, andsoon I achieved a zero rate of cancellation. Since Iwas paid for eachclientIretained,Ilearnedmore,earnedmore,andcontributedmore.Workinghardisimportant.Butmoreeffortdoesnotnecessarilyyieldmoreresults.“Lessbutbetter”does.FerranAdrià,arguablytheworld’sgreatestchef,whohasledElBullitobecometheworld’smostfamousrestaurant,epitomizestheprincipleof“lessbutbetter” inat least twoways.First,hisspecialty isreducingtraditionaldishestotheirabsoluteessenceandthenre-imaginingtheminwayspeoplehaveneverthoughtofbefore.Second,whileElBullihassomewhere in the range of 2 million requests for dinner reservationseachyear,itservesonlyfiftypeoplepernightandclosesforsixmonthsof theyear. In fact,at the timeofwriting,Ferranhad stopped servingfood altogether and had instead turned El Bulli into a full-time food

laboratoryof sortswherehewascontinuing topursuenothingbut theessenceofhiscraft.1Gettingusedtotheideaof“lessbutbetter”mayproveharderthanitsounds, especiallywhenwe have been rewarded in the past for doingmore…andmoreandmore.Yetatacertainpoint,moreeffortcausesourprogresstoplateauandevenstall.It’struethattheideaofadirectcorrelation between results and effort is appealing. It seems fair. Yetresearchacrossmanyfieldspaintsaverydifferentpicture.Mostpeoplehaveheardofthe“ParetoPrinciple,”theidea,introducedasfarbackasthe1790sbyVilfredoPareto,that20percentofoureffortsproduce80percentofresults.Muchlater,in1951,inhisQuality-ControlHandbook, Joseph Moses Juran, one of the fathers of the qualitymovement, expanded on this idea and called it “the Law of the VitalFew.”2 His observation was that you could massively improve thequality of a product by resolving a tiny fraction of the problems. Hefoundawilling testaudience for this idea inJapan,whichat the timehad developed a rather poor reputation for producing low-cost, low-qualitygoods.Byadoptingaprocessinwhichahighpercentageofeffortandattentionwaschanneledtowardimprovingjustthosefewthingsthatweretrulyvital,hemadethephrase“madeinJapan”takeonatotallynewmeaning.Andgradually,thequalityrevolutionledtoJapan’sriseasaglobaleconomicpower.3Distinguishingthe“trivialmany”fromthe“vitalfew”canbeappliedtoeverykindofhumanendeavor largeor smallandhasbeendonesopersuasivelybyRichardKoch,authorofseveralbooksonhowtoapplytheParetoPrinciple(80/20Rule)toeverydaylife.4Indeed,theexamplesareeverywhere.Think of Warren Buffett, who has famously said, “Our investmentphilosophybordersonlethargy.”5Whathemeansisthatheandhisfirmmakerelativelyfewinvestmentsandkeepthemforalongtime.InTheTao ofWarren Buffett, Mary Buffett and David Clark explain: “Warrendecided early in his career it would be impossible for him to makehundreds of right investment decisions, so he decided that he wouldinvestonlyinthebusinessesthathewasabsolutelysureof,andthenbetheavily on them. He owes 90% of his wealth to just ten investments.Sometimeswhatyoudon’tdoisjustasimportantaswhatyoudo.”6 Inshort, hemakesbigbets on the essential few investmentopportunities

andsaysnotothemanymerelygoodones.7Somebelievetherelationshipbetweeneffortsandresultsisevenless

linear, following what scientists call a “power law.” According to thepower law theory, certain efforts actually produce exponentiallymoreresultsthanothers.Forexample,asNathanMyhrvold,theformerchieftechnologyofficerforMicrosoft,hassaid(andthenconfirmedtomeinperson),“Thetopsoftwaredevelopersaremoreproductivethanaveragesoftwaredevelopersnotbyafactorof10Xor100Xoreven1,000Xbutby10,000X.”8Itmaybeanexaggeration,butitstillmakesthepointthatcertaineffortsproduceexponentiallybetterresultsthanothers.The overwhelming reality is: we live in a world where almost

everythingisworthlessandaveryfewthingsareexceptionallyvaluable.As John Maxwell has written, “You cannot overestimate theunimportanceofpracticallyeverything.”9

Asweunlearnthe1:1logic,webegintoseethevalueinpursuingtheway of the Essentialist. We discover how even the many good

opportunitieswe pursue are often far less valuable than the few trulygreatones.Onceweunderstandthis,westartscanningourenvironmentforthosevitalfewandeagerlyeliminatethetrivialmany.Onlythencanwesaynotogoodopportunitiesandsayyestotrulygreatones.This iswhy anEssentialist takes the time to explore all his options.

Theextrainvestmentisjustifiedbecausesomethingsaresomuchmoreimportant that they repay the effort invested in finding those thingstenfold.AnEssentialist,inotherwords,discernsmoresohecandoless.

Nonessentialist Essentialist

ThinksalmosteverythingisessentialViewsopportunitiesasbasicallyequal

ThinksalmosteverythingisnonessentialDistinguishesthevitalfewfromthetrivialmany

Many capable people are kept from getting to the next level ofcontribution because they can’t let go of the belief that everything isimportant.ButanEssentialisthaslearnedtotellthedifferencebetweenwhatistrulyimportantandeverythingelse.TopracticethisEssentialistskillwecanstartatasimple level,andonce itbecomessecondnaturefor everydaydecisionswe canbegin to apply it tobigger andbroaderareas of our personal and professional lives. To master it fully willrequireamassiveshiftinthinking.Butitcanbedone.

CHAPTER4

TRADE-OFF

WhichProblemDoIWant?

STRATEGYISABOUTMAKINGCHOICES,TRADE-OFFS.IT’SABOUTDELIBERATELYCHOOSINGTOBEDIFFERENT.—MichaelPorter

Imagineyoucouldgobackto1972andinvestadollarineachcompanyin the S&P 500.Which company would provide the largest return onyour investment by 2002?Would it be GE? IBM? Intel? According toMoney magazine and the analysis they initiated from Ned DavisResearch,theanswerisnoneoftheabove.1ThecorrectanswerisSouthwestAirlines.Thisisstartlingbecausethe

airline industry isnotoriouslybadatgeneratingprofits.YetSouthwest,led by Herb Kelleher, has consistently, year after year, producedamazing financial results. Herb’s Essentialist approach to business iscentraltowhy.I once attended an event where Herb was interviewed about his

businessstrategy.2Itwasagreattalkinmanyways,butwhenhebegantotalkabouthowdeliberatehewasaboutthetrade-offshehadmadeatSouthwest, my ears perked up. Rather than try to fly to everydestination, they had deliberately chosen to offer only point-to-pointflights.Insteadofjackinguppricestocoverthecostofmeals,hedecidedtheywouldservenone.Insteadofassigningseatsinadvance,theywouldlet people choose them as they got on the plane. Instead of upsellingtheir passengers on glitzy first-class service, they offered only coach.Thesetrade-offsweren’tmadebydefaultbutbydesign.Eachandeveryonewasmadeaspartofadeliberatestrategytokeepcostsdown.Didherun the risk of alienating customerswhowanted the broader range of

destinations,thechoicetopurchaseoverpricedmeals,andsoforth?Yes,butKelleherwastotallyclearaboutwhatthecompanywas—alow-costairline—andwhattheywerenot.Andhistrade-offsreflectedasmuch.ItwasanexampleofhisEssentialist thinkingatworkwhenhesaid:“Youhavetolookateveryopportunityandsay,‘Well,no…I’msorry.We’re not going to do a thousand different things that really won’tcontributemuchtotheendresultwearetryingtoachieve.’”At first, Southwest was lambasted by critics, naysayers, and otherNonessentialistswhocouldn’tbelieve that thisapproachcouldpossiblybesuccessful.Whointheirrightmindwouldwanttoflyanairlinethattraveled only to certain places and didn’t servemeals, nomatter howcheapticketswere?YetafterafewyearsitbecameclearSouthwestwasontosomething.Competitors intheindustrytooknoticeofSouthwest’ssoaringprofitsandstartedtryingtoimitatetheirapproach.ButinsteadofadoptingKelleher’sEssentialistapproachcarteblanche,theydidwhatHarvardBusinessSchoolprofessorMichelPorterterms“straddling”theirstrategy.Inthesimplestterms,straddlingmeanskeepingyourexistingstrategyintact while simultaneously also trying to adopt the strategy of acompetitor.Oneof themostvisibleattemptsat the timewasmade byContinental Airlines. They called their new point-to-point serviceContinentalLite.ContinentalLiteadoptedsomeofSouthwest’spractices.Theyloweredtheirfares.Theygotridofmeals.Theystoppedtheirfirst-classservice.They increased the frequency of departures. The problem was thatbecause they were still hanging onto their existing business model(ContinentalLiteaccountedforonlyasmallpercentageofflightsofferedby theairline) theydidn’thave theoperational efficiencies thatwouldallowthemtocompeteonprice.Sotheywereforcedtoskimpinotherways that ended up compromising the quality of their service. WhileSouthwest had made conscious, deliberate trade-offs in key strategicareas,Continentalwasforcedtosacrificethingsaroundthemarginsthatweren’t part of a coherent strategy. According to Porter, “A strategicposition is not sustainable unless there are trade-offs with otherpositions.”3 By trying to operate by two incompatible strategies theystartedtounderminetheirabilitytobecompetitive.The straddled strategy was enormously expensive for Continental.

They lost hundreds of millions of dollars to delayed planes, and,accordingtoPorter,“lateflightsandcancellationsgeneratedathousandcomplaintsaday.”TheCEOwaseventuallyfired.Themoralofthestory:ignoring the reality of trade-offs is a terrible strategy for organizations. Itturnsouttobeaterriblestrategyforpeopleaswell.Have you ever spent timewith someonewho is always trying to fitjustonemorethingin?Suchpeopleknowtheyhavetenminutestogettoameetingthattakestenminutestowalkto,buttheystillsitdowntoansweracoupleofe-mailsbeforetheygo.Ortheyagreetoputtogethera report byFriday, even though theyhave anotherhugedeadline thatsame day.Ormaybe they promise to swing by their cousin’s birthdayparty on Saturday night, even though they already have tickets to ashowthatstartsat theexact sametime.Their logic,which ignores thereality of trade-offs, is I can do both. The rather important problem isthatthislogicisfalse.Inevitably,theyarelatetothemeeting,theymissoneorbothoftheirdeadlines(ordoashoddyjobonbothprojects),andtheyeitherdon’tmakeittotheircousin’scelebrationormisstheshow.Therealityis,sayingyestoanyopportunitybydefinitionrequiressayingnotoseveralothers.Trade-offs are real, in both our personal and our professional lives,and until we accept that reality we’ll be doomed to be just likeContinental—stuck in a “straddled strategy” that forces us to makesacrifices on themargins by default thatwemight not havemade bydesign.Inaninsightfulop-edfortheNewYorkTimes,ErinCallan,theformerCFO of Lehman Brothers, shared what she had sacrificed in makingtrade-offs by default. She wrote: “I didn’t start out with the goal ofdevotingall ofmyself tomy job. It crept inover time.Eachyear thatwent by, slight modifications became the new normal. First I spent ahalf-hour on Sunday organizingmy e-mail, to-do list, and calendar tomake Monday morning easier. Then I was working a few hours onSunday, then all day.My boundaries slipped away until workwas allthat was left.”4 Her story demonstrates a critical truth: we can eithermake the hard choices for ourselves or allow others—whether ourcolleagues,ourboss,orourcustomers—todecideforus.In my work I’ve noticed that senior executives of companies areamong theworst at accepting the realityof trade-offs. I recently spent

sometimewith theCEOofacompany inSiliconValleyvaluedat$40billion. He shared with me the value statement of his organization,which he had just crafted, and which he planned to announce to thewhole company. But when he shared it I cringed: “We value passion,innovation,execution,andleadership.”One of several problems with the list is, Who doesn’t value these

things?Anotherproblemisthatthistellsemployeesnothingaboutwhatthecompanyvaluesmost.Itsaysnothingaboutwhatchoicesemployeesshouldbemakingwhenthesevaluesareatodds.This is similarly truewhencompanies claim that theirmission is to serveall stakeholders—clients, employees, shareholders—equally. To say they value equallyeveryonetheyinteractwithleavesmanagementwithnoclearguidanceonwhattodowhenfacedwithtrade-offsbetweenthepeopletheyserve.Contrast this with how Johnson & Johnson bounced back from the

tragiccyanidemurderscandalin1982.5AtthetimeJohnson&Johnsonowned37percentof themarketandTylenolwas theirmostprofitableproduct.Thenreports surfaced that sevenpeoplehaddiedafter takingTylenol. It was later discovered that these bottles had been tamperedwith.HowshouldJohnson&Johnsonrespond?Thequestionwasacomplicatedone.Wastheirprimaryresponsibility

to ensure the safety of their customers by immediately pulling allTylenolproductsoffdrugstoreshelves?WastheirfirstprioritytodoPRdamagecontroltokeepshareholdersfromdumpingtheirstock?Orwasittheirdutytoconsoleandcompensatethefamiliesofthevictimsfirstandforemost?FortunatelyforthemtheyhadtheCredo:astatementwrittenin1943

bythenchairmanRobertWoodJohnsonthatisliterallycarvedinstoneat Johnson & Johnson headquarters.6 Unlike most corporate missionstatements, theCredo actually lists the constituents of the company inpriorityorder.Customersarefirst;shareholdersarelast.Asa result, Johnson&Johnson swiftlydecided to recall allTylenol,

even though it would have a massive impact (to the tune of $100million,according to some reports)on theirbottom line.The safetyofcustomersor$100million?Notaneasydecision.ButtheCredoenabledaclearersenseofwhatwasmostessential.Itenabledthetoughtrade-offtobemade.

Wecantrytoavoidtherealityoftrade-offs,butwecan’t

escapethem.

I once worked with an executive team that needed help with theirprioritization.Theywerestrugglingtoidentifythetopfiveprojectstheywanted their ITdepartment to complete over thenext fiscal year, andone of themanagerswas having a particularly hard timewith it. Sheinsisted on naming eighteen “top priority” projects. I insisted that shechoosefive.Shetookherlistbacktoherteam,andtwoweekslatertheyreturnedwithalistshehadmanagedtoshorten—byonesingleproject!(Ialwayswonderedwhatitwasaboutthatoneloneprojectthatdidn’tmake thecut.)By refusing tomake trade-offs, sheendedup spreadingfive projects’ worth of time and effort across seventeen projects.Unsurprisingly, she did not get the results she wanted. Her logic hadbeen:Wecandoitall.Obviouslynot.Itiseasytoseewhyit’ssotemptingtodenytherealityoftrade-offs.Afterall,bydefinition,atrade-offinvolvestwothingswewant.Doyouwantmorepayormorevacationtime?Doyouwanttofinishthisnexte-mail or be on time to your meeting? Do you want it done faster orbetter?Obviously,when facedwith the choicebetween two thingswewant,thepreferredanswerisyes toboth.Butasmuchaswe’d liketo,wesimplycannothaveitall.ANonessentialistapproacheseverytrade-offbyasking,“HowcanIdoboth?” Essentialists ask the tougher but ultimately more liberatingquestion, “Whichproblemdo Iwant?”AnEssentialistmakes trade-offsdeliberately.Sheactsforherselfratherthanwaitingtobeactedupon.AseconomistThomasSowellwrote:“Therearenosolutions.Thereareonlytrade-offs.”7JimCollins,theauthorofthebusinessclassicGoodtoGreat,wasoncetold by Peter Drucker that he could either build a great company or

buildgreatideasbutnotboth.Jimchoseideas.Asaresultofthistrade-offtherearestillonlythreefull-timeemployeesinhiscompany,yethisideashavereachedtensofmillionsofpeoplethroughhiswriting.8Aspainfulastheycansometimesbe,trade-offsrepresentasignificant

opportunity.Byforcingustoweighbothoptionsandstrategicallyselectthebestoneforus,wesignificantlyincreaseourchanceofachievingtheoutcomewewant.LikeSouthwest,wecanenjoythesuccessthatresultsfrommakingaconsistentsetofchoices.I observed an example of this on a recent flight to Boston, when I

beganchattingwithtwoparentswhowereontheirwaytovisittheirsonat Harvard. They were clearly proud their son was there, and I wascurious about what strategy they and he had pursued in getting himaccepted.Theysaid,“Wehadhimtryoutalotofdifferentthings,butassoonasitbecameclearanactivitywasnotgoingtobehis‘bigthing’wediscusseditandtookhimoutofit.”Thepointhereisnotthatallparentsshould want their children to go to Harvard. The point is that theseEssentialistparentshadconsciouslydecidedtheirgoalwasfortheirsonto go to Harvard and understood that that success required makingstrategictrade-offs.This logic holds true in our personal lives as well. When we were

newlyweds,AnnaandImetsomeonewhohad,asfaraswecouldtell,anamazing marriage and family. We wanted to learn from him, so weaskedhim,What’syoursecret?Oneofthethingshetolduswasthatheandhiswifehaddecidednottobeapartofanyclubs.Hedidn’tjointhelocal lodge. She didn’t join the book clubs. Itwasn’t that they hadnointerest in those things. Itwas simply that theymade the trade-off tospend that timewith their children.Over the years their children hadbecome their best friends—well worth the sacrifice of any friendshipstheymighthavemadeonthegolfcourseorovertatteredcopiesofAnnaKarenina.Essentialists see trade-offs as an inherent part of life, not as an

inherently negative part of life. Instead of asking, “What do I have togive up?” they ask, “What do I want to go big on?” The cumulativeimpactofthissmallchangeinthinkingcanbeprofound.

Nonessentialist Essentialist

Thinks,“Icandoboth.”Asks,“HowcanIdoitall?”

Asks,“Whatisthetrade-offIwanttomake?”Asks,“WhatcanIgobigon?”

In a piece called “Laugh,Kookaburra” published inTheNewYorker,David Sedaris gives a humorous account of his experience touring theAustralian“bush.”9Whilehiking,hisfriendandguideforthedaysharessomethingshehasheardinpassingatamanagementclass.“Imagineafour-burnerstove,”sheinstructsthemembersoftheparty.“Oneburnerrepresentsyourfamily,oneisyourfriends,thethirdisyourhealth,andthefourthisyourwork.Inordertobesuccessfulyouhavetocutoffoneofyourburners.Andinordertobereallysuccessfulyouhavetocutofftwo.”Of course, this was tongue-in-cheek; I am not here to suggest that

living the way of the Essentialist requires us to decide between ourfamiliesandourhealthandourwork.WhatIamsuggestingisthatwhenfacedwith a decisionwhere one option prioritizes family and anotherprioritizes friends, health, or work, we need to be prepared to ask,“Whichproblemdoyouwant?”Trade-offs are not something to be ignored or decried. They are

something to be embraced and made deliberately, strategically, andthoughtfully.

EXPLOREDiscerntheVitalFewfromtheTrivialMany

One paradox of Essentialism is that Essentialists actually exploremoreoptions than their Nonessentialist counterparts. Nonessentialists getexcitedbyvirtuallyeverythingandthusreacttoeverything.Butbecausethey are so busy pursuing every opportunity and idea they actuallyexploreless.ThewayoftheEssentialist,ontheotherhand,istoexploreandevaluateabroadsetofoptionsbeforecommitting toany.BecauseEssentialists will commit and “go big” on only the vital few ideas oractivities,theyexploremoreoptionsatfirsttoensuretheypicktherightonelater.In Part Two, we will discuss five practices for exploring what is

essential.ThegravitationalpullofNonessentialismcanbesostrongthatitcanbetemptingtoskipoverorskimover thisstep.Yet thisstep, initself, is essential to the disciplined pursuit of less. To discernwhat istruly essential we need space to think, time to look and listen,permissiontoplay,wisdomtosleep,andthedisciplinetoapplyhighlyselectivecriteriatothechoiceswemake.Ironically, in aNonessentialist culture these things—space, listening,

playing, sleeping, and selecting—can be seenas trivial distractions.Atbest they are considered nice to have. At worst they are derided asevidence of weakness and wastefulness. We all know that highlyambitious or productive personwho thinks, “Of course, I’d love to beabletosetasidetimeonthecalendarsimplytothink,butit’saluxurywe can’t afford right now.”Or “Play?Whohas time for play?We areheretowork!”orasoneleadersaidtomeinanon-boardingprocess,“Ihopeyouhadagoodnight’ssleep.Youwon’tgetmuchofthathere.”If you believe being overly busy and overextended is evidence of

productivity, thenyouprobablybelieve that creating space to explore,think,andreflectshouldbekepttoaminimum.Yettheseveryactivities

aretheantidotetothenonessentialbusynessthatinfectssomanyofus.Ratherthantrivialdiversions,theyarecriticaltodistinguishingwhat isactuallyatrivialdiversionfromwhatistrulyessential.Essentialists spend as much time as possible exploring, listening,debating,questioning,andthinking.Buttheirexplorationisnotanendinitself.Thepurposeoftheexplorationistodiscernthevitalfewfromthetrivialmany.

CHAPTER5

ESCAPE

ThePerksofBeingUnavailable

WITHOUTGREATSOLITUDENOSERIOUSWORKISPOSSIBLE.—PabloPicasso

Frank O’Brien is the founder of Conversations, a marketing servicescompanybasedinNewYorkthathasbeennamedtotheInc.500/5000List of “America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies.” In response tothefreneticpaceoftoday’sworkplacehehasinitiatedaradicalpractice.Onceamonthhegatherseachemployeeofhis fifty-personcompany

into a room for a full day. Phones are prohibited. E-mail is outlawed.There isnoagenda.Thepurposeof themeeting is simply toescape tothinkandtotalk.Mindyou,hedoesn’tholdthismeetingonthemiddleFriday of themonth,when productivitymight be sluggish and peoplearen’t getting any “real work” done anyway. He holds this daylongmeeting on the first Monday of the month. The practice isn’t just aninternaldisciplineeither:evenhisclientsknownottoexpectaresponseonthis“Do-Not-Call-Monday.”1He does this because he knows his people can’t figure out what is

essentialifthey’reconstantlyoncall.Theyneedspacetofigureoutwhatreallymatters.Hewrote:“Ithinkit’scriticaltosetasidetimetotakeabreath,lookaround,andthink.Youneedthatlevelofclarityinordertoinnovateandgrow.”Furthermore,heusesthemeetingasalitmustesttoalerthimifemployeesarespendingtoomuchtimeonthenonessential:“Ifsomebodycan’tmakethemeetingbecauseoftoomuchgoingon,thattellsme eitherwe’re doing something inefficiently orwe need to hiremorepeople.”Ifhispeoplearetoobusytothink,thenthey’retoobusy,period.Weneedspacetoescapeinordertodiscerntheessentialfewfromthe

trivialmany. Unfortunately, in our time-starved era we don’t get that

spacebydefault—onlybydesign.OneleaderIworkedwithadmittedtostayingatacompanyfiveyearstoolong.Why?Becausehewassobusyin thecompanyhedidn’t take time todecidewhetherhe shouldbeatthe company.Thedemandsof eachdaykepthim from really steppingbacktogetperspective.Similarly, a senior vice president at a major global technologycompanytoldmehespendsthirty-fivehourseveryweekinmeetings.Heis so consumed with these meetings he cannot find even an hour amonth to strategize about his own career, let alone how to take hisorganizationtothenextlevel.Insteadofgivinghimselfthespacetotalkanddebatewhatisreallygoingonandwhatreallyneedstohappen,hesquanders his time sitting through endless presentations and stuffy,cross-functionalconversationswherenothingisreallydecided.Beforeyoucanevaluatewhat isand isn’tessential,you firstneed toexplore youroptions.WhileNonessentialists automatically react to thelatest idea, jump on the latest opportunity, or respond to the latest e-mail,Essentialistschoosetocreatethespacetoexploreandponder.

Nonessentialist Essentialist

Istoobusydoingtothinkaboutlife

Createsspacetoescapeandexplorelife

SpacetoDesignThevalueof creating space to explorehasbeenemphasized forme inmy work with the d.school at Stanford (officially the Hasso PlattnerInstituteofDesignatStanford).ThefirstthingInoticedwhenIwalkedintotheroomwhereIhadbeenaskedtoteachacoursewasthelackoftraditional chairs. Instead there are foamcubesyou can sit on—ratheruncomfortably, as I soon discovered. Like almost everything at thed.school,thisisdonebydesign.Inthiscasethecubesaretheresothatafter a few minutes of uncomfortable perching students would ratherstand up, walk around, and engage with one another—not just theclassmatessittingtotheirrightortotheirleft.Andthatisthepoint.Theschoolhasusedthephysicalspacetoencouragenewwaysofengagingandthinking.Tothatend,theschoolhasalsocreatedahidingplacecalled“Booth

Noir.”Thisisasmallroomdeliberatelydesignedtofitonlyonetothreepeople.Itiswindowless,soundproof,anddeliberatelyfreeofdistraction.It is,according toScottDoorleyandScottWitthoft in theirbookMakeSpace, “beyond low-tech. It’s no tech.” It’s tuckedawayon thegroundfloor. It is not, as Doorley and Witthoft point out, on the way toanywhere else.2 The only reason you go there is to think. By creatingspacetothinkandfocus,studentscanstepbacktoseemoreclearly.For some reason there is a false associationwith theword focus.As

with choice, people tend to think of focus as a thing. Yes, focus issomethingwehave.Butfocusisalsosomethingwedo.

Inordertohavefocusweneedtoescapetofocus.

WhenIsayfocus,Idon’tmeansimplypickingaquestionorpossibility

andthinkingabout itobsessively. Imeancreatingthespace toexploreonehundredquestionsandpossibilities.AnEssentialistfocusesthewayoureyesfocus;notbyfixatingonsomethingbutbyconstantlyadjustingandadaptingtothefieldofvision.On a recentmeeting back at the d.school (in another roomwith noseatsordesksbutwithwhiteboards from floor to ceilingcoveredwithPost-itsofevery fathomablecolor), ImetwithJeremyUtley.He ismypartner in developing a new prototyped class that, in a moment ofgenius,Jeremydubbed“DesigningLife,Essentially.”Thesolepurposeoftheclassistocreatespaceforstudentstodesigntheir lives.Eachweek itgives thema scheduledexcuse to think.Theyareforcedtoturnofftheirlaptopsandsmartphonesandinsteadtoturnonthefullpoweroftheirminds.Theyaregivenassignmentstopracticedeliberatelydiscerningtheessentialfewfromthemanygood.Youdon’thavetobeat thed.school topractice thesehabits.Wecanall learn tocreatemorespaceinourlives.

SpacetoConcentrateOneexecutiveIknowisintelligentanddrivenbutconstantlydistracted.AtanygiventimehewillhaveTwitter,Gmail,Facebook,andmultipleIMconversationsgoingatonce. Inaneffort tocreateadistraction-freespace,heoncetriedhavinghisexecutiveassistantpullalloftheInternetcablesonhiscomputer.Buthestillfoundtoomanywaystogetonline.So, when hewas struggling to complete a particularly big project, heresortedtoadesperatemeasure.Hegavehisphoneawayandwenttoamotel with no Internet access. After eight weeks of almost solitaryconfinement,hewasabletogettheprojectdone.To me, it is a little sad that this executive was driven to such

measures.Yetwhilehismethodsmayhavebeenextreme,Ican’targuewith his intention. He knew that making his highest point ofcontribution on a task required that he create the space forunencumberedthought.Think of Sir Isaac Newton. He spent two years working on what

became Principia Mathematica, his famous writings on universalgravitationandthethreelawsofmotion.Thisperiodofalmostsolitaryconfinement proved critical in what became a true breakthrough thatshapedscientificthinkingforthenextthreehundredyears.RichardS.Westfallhaswritten: “In theageofhis celebrity,Newton

wasaskedhowhehaddiscovered the lawofuniversalgravitation. ‘Bythinking on it continually’ was the reply.… What he thought on, hethought on continually, which is to say exclusively, or nearlyexclusively.”3 In other words, Newton created space for intenseconcentration,andthisuninterruptedspaceenabledhimtoexploretheessentialelementsoftheuniverse.InspiredbyNewton,Itookasimilar,ifperhapslessextreme,approach

towritingthisbook.Iblockedoffeighthoursadaytowrite:from5:00A.M.to1:00P.M.,fivedaysaweek.Thebasicrulewasnoe-mail,nocalls,no appointments, and no interruptions until after 1:00 P.M. I didn’talwaysachieve it,but thedisciplinemadeabigdifference. I setmye-mail bounceback to explain that Iwas in “monkmode”until after thebookwascomplete.ItisdifficulttooverstatehowmuchfreedomIfound

in this approach. By creating space to explore, think, andwrite, I notonlygotmybookdone fasterbutgainedcontroloverhow I spent therestofmytime.Itseemsobvious,butwhendidyoulasttaketimeoutofyourbusydaysimply to sit and think? I don’t mean the five minutes during yourmorning commute you spent composing the day’s to-do list, or themeeting you spent zoned out reflecting on how to approach anotherprojectyouwereworkingon.I’mtalkingaboutdeliberatelysettingasidedistraction-freetimeinadistraction-freespacetodoabsolutelynothingotherthanthink.This is of coursemore difficult today than ever in our gadget-filled,overstimulatedworld.One leader at Twitter once askedme: “Can youremember what it was like to be bored? It doesn’t happen anymore.”He’sright; justa fewyearsagoifyouwerestuckinanairportwaitingfor a delayed flight, or in the waiting room of a doctor’s office, youprobably just sat there, staring into space, feeling bored. Today,everyone waiting around in an airport or a waiting room is glued totheirtechnologytoolsofchoice.Ofcourse,nobodylikestobebored.Butbyabolishinganychanceofbeingboredwehavealsolostthetimeweusedtohavetothinkandprocess.Here’sanotherparadox foryou: the fasterandbusier thingsget, themoreweneedtobuildthinkingtimeintoourschedule.Andthenoisierthingsget,themoreweneedtobuildquietreflectionspacesinwhichwecantrulyfocus.Nomatterhowbusyyouthinkyouare,youcancarvetimeandspaceto think out of your workday. Jeff Weiner, the CEO of LinkedIn, forexample,schedulesuptotwohoursofblankspaceonhiscalendareveryday. He divides them into thirty-minute increments, yet he schedulesnothing. It is a simple practice he developed when back-to-backmeetingslefthimwithlittletimetoprocesswhatwasgoingonaroundhim.4Atfirst it felt likeanindulgence,awasteoftime.Buteventuallyhefoundittobehissinglemostvaluableproductivitytool.Heseesitastheprimarywayhecanensureheisinchargeofhisownday,insteadofbeingatthemercyofit.Asheexplainedtome:“Idorecalloneparticulardaywhere,byvirtueofcircumstances,Iwaseitheronconferencecallsorinmeetingsnonstopfrom5:00A.M. until 9:00 P.M. At the end of the day, I remember how

frustratedIfeltbythethoughtthatIwasnotincontrolofmyschedulethat day; rather, it was in control of me. However, that frustrationimmediatelygavewaytoasenseofgratitudegivenitwastheonlydayIcouldrecallfeelinglikethatsincetakingmycurrentrole.”Inthisspaceheisabletothinkabouttheessentialquestions:whatthecompany will look like in three to five years; what’s the best way toimproveanalreadypopularproductoraddressanunmetcustomerneed;how towiden a competitive advantage or close a competitive gap.Healso uses the space he creates to recharge himself emotionally. Thisallows him to shift between problem-solving mode and the coachingmodeexpectedofhimasaleader.ForJeffcreatingspaceismorethanapractice.Itispartofabroaderphilosophy.Hehasseentheeffectsoftheundisciplinedpursuitofmoreon organizations and in the lives of executives. So for him it’s not asloganorabuzzphrase.Itisaphilosophy.

SpacetoReadWecantakefurtherinspirationfromtheexampleofCEOBillGates,whoregularly(andfamously)takesaregularweekofffromhisdailydutiesatMicrosoft simply to think and read. I once attended a question-and-answer session with Bill at the headquarters of the Bill and MelindaGates Foundation in Seattle, Washington. By chance he had justcompleted his latest “Think Week.” Though I had heard about thispractice,what I didn’t knowwas that it goes all theway back to the1980s and that he stuck to it through the height of Microsoft’sexpansion.5Inotherwords,twiceayear,duringthebusiestandmostfrenetictime

in the company’s history, he still created time and space to secludehimself foraweekanddonothingbutreadarticles(hisrecordis112)andbooks,studytechnology,andthinkaboutthebiggerpicture.Todayhe still takes the time away from the daily distractions of running hisfoundationtosimplythink.If settingasidea fullweekseemsoverwhelmingor impossible, there

arewaysofputtinga little“ThinkWeek” intoeveryday.OnepracticeI’vefoundusefulissimplytoreadsomethingfromclassicliterature(notablog,orthenewspaper,orthelatestbeachnovel)forthefirsttwentyminutesoftheday.Notonlydoesthissquashmyprevioustendencytocheckmye-mailassoonasIwakeup,itcentersmyday.Itbroadensmyperspective and reminds me of themes and ideas that are essentialenoughtohavewithstoodthetestoftime.Mypreferenceisforinspirationalliterature,thoughsuchachoiceisa

personalone.Butfortheinterested,herearesometoconsider:Zen, theReasonofUnreason;TheWisdomofConfucius;theTorah;theHolyBible;Tao,toKnowandNotBeKnowing;TheMeaningoftheGloriousKoran:AnExplanatoryTranslation;AsaManThinketh;TheEssentialGandhi;Walden,or, Life in theWoods; the Book of Mormon; TheMeditations of MarcusAurelius;andtheUpanishads.Thereareamyriadofoptions.Justmakesuretoselectsomethingthatwaswrittenbeforeourhyperconnectederaand yet seems timeless. Such writings can challenge our assumptionsaboutwhatreallymatters.Whetheryoucan invest twohoursaday, twoweeksayear,oreven

justfiveminuteseverymorning,itisimportanttomakespacetoescapeinyourbusylife.

CHAPTER6

LOOK

SeeWhatReallyMatters

WHEREISTHEKNOWLEDGEWEHAVELOSTININFORMATION?—T.S.Eliot

The late writer Nora Ephron is arguably best known for movies likeSilkwood, Sleepless in Seattle, andWhenHarryMet Sally, each ofwhichwasnominatedforanAcademyAward.Ephron’ssuccessasawriterandscreenwriterhasa lot todowithherabilitytocapturetheessenceofastory—askillshehonedinherearliercareerasajournalist.Butforallheryearsinthehigh-octaneworldofjournalism,thelessonthataffectedhermostprofoundlydatesallthewaybacktoherhighschoolyears.CharlieO.SimmstaughtaJournalism101classinBeverlyHillsHigh

School.He started the firstdayof theclassEphronattendedmuch thesamewayanyjournalismteacherwould,byexplainingtheconceptofa“lead.”Heexplainedthataleadcontainsthewhy,what,when,andwhoofthepiece.Itcoverstheessentialinformation.Thenhegavethemtheirfirstassignment:writealeadtoastory.Simmsbeganbypresentingthefactsofthestory:“KennethL.Peters,

the principal of Beverly Hills High School, announced today that theentirehighschoolfacultywilltraveltoSacramentonextThursdayforacolloquium in new teaching methods. Among the speakers will beanthropologist Margaret Mead, college president Dr. Robert MaynardHutchins,andCaliforniagovernorEdmund‘Pat’Brown.”The students hammered away on theirmanual typewriters trying to

keep up with the teacher’s pace. Then they handed in their rapidlywrittenleads.Eachattemptedtosummarizethewho,what,where,andwhyassuccinctlyaspossible:“MargaretMead,MaynardHutchins,and

Governor Brown will address the faculty on…”; “Next Thursday, thehighschoolfacultywill…”Simmsreviewedthestudents’leadsandputthemaside.He then informed them that they were all wrong. The lead to thestory,hesaid,was“TherewillbenoschoolThursday.”“In that instant,” Ephron recalls, “I realized that journalismwas notjust about regurgitating the facts but about figuring out the point. Itwasn’t enough to know thewho,what,when, andwhere; you had tounderstand what it meant. Andwhy it mattered.” Ephron added, “Hetaught me something that works just as well in life as it does injournalism.”1In every set of facts, something essential is hidden. And a goodjournalist knows that finding it involves exploring those pieces ofinformation and figuring out the relationships between them (andmyundergraduate degree was in journalism, so I take this seriously). Itmeans making those relationships and connections explicit. It meansconstructingthewholefromthesumofitspartsandunderstandinghowthese different pieces come together to matter to anyone. The bestjournalistsdonotsimplyrelayinformation.Theirvalueisindiscoveringwhatreallymatterstopeople.Haveyoueverfeltlostandunsureaboutwhattofocuson?Haveyoueverfeltoverwhelmedbyalloftheinformationbombardingyouandnotsure what to make of it? Have you ever felt dizzy from the differentrequests coming at you and unable to figure outwhich are importantandwhicharenot?Haveyouevermissedthepointtosomethinginyourworkorathomeandnotrealizedyourmistakeuntilitwastoolate?Ifso,thisnextEssentialistskillwillbeimmenselyvaluable.

TheBigPictureOnDecember 29, 1972, Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 crashed into theFloridaEverglades,killingoveronehundredpassengers.2Itwasthefirst-evercrashofawide-bodyaircraftandoneoftheworstairlinecrashesinU.S.history.Theinvestigatorswerelatershockedtodiscoverthat,inallvital ways, the plane had been in perfect working condition. Sowhatwentwrong?TheLockheedjethadbeenpreparingtolandwhenfirstofficerAlbert

Stockstillnoticedthatthelandinggearindicator,atinygreenlightthatsignalsthenosegearislockeddown,hadn’tlitup.Yetthenosegearwaslocked;theproblemwastheindicatorlight,notthegearfunction.Whilethe officers were hyperfocused on the gear indicator, however, theyfailedtonoticethattheautopilothadbeendeactivateduntilitwastoolate.Inotherwords,thenosegeardidn’tcausethedisaster.Thecrew’slosingsightofthebiggerproblem—thealtitudeoftheplane—did.Being a journalist of your own life will force you to stop hyper-

focusing on all theminor details and see the bigger picture. You canapplytheskillsofajournalistnomatterwhatfieldyouarein—youcanevenapply them toyourpersonal life.By trainingyourself to look for“the lead,” youwill suddenly find yourself able to seewhat you havemissed.You’llbeabletodomorethansimplyseethedotsofeachday:you’llalsoconnectthemtoseethetrends.Insteadofjustreactingtothefacts,you’llbeabletofocusonthelargerissuesthatreallymatter.

FilterfortheFascinatingWe know instinctively that we cannot explore every single piece ofinformationwe encounter in our lives. Discerningwhat is essential toexplore requires us to bedisciplined in howwe scan and filter all thecompetingandconflictingfacts,options,andopinionsconstantlyvyingforourattention.Recently, I chatted with Thomas Friedman, the New York Times

columnistandaward-winningjournalist,abouthowtofiltertheessentialinformationfromthenonessentialnoise.BeforeImetwithhimhehadbeen at a lunch meeting with sources for a column he was writing.Someoneatlunchthoughtatfirstthathewasnotpayingattentiontothebanter at the table. But hewas listening. Hewas taking in thewholeconversationat the table.Hewas simply filteringouteverythingotherthan those things that really grabbed his attention. Then he tried toconnect the dots by asking lots of questions only aboutwhat had justpiquedhisinterest.Thebestjournalists,asFriedmansharedlaterwithme,listenforwhat

others do not hear. At the lunch, he had been listening forwhatwasbeingsaidonlyattheperiphery.Hewaslisteningmoreforwhatwasnotbeingsaid.Essentialists are powerful observers and listeners. Knowing that the

reality of trade-offs means they can’t possibly pay attention toeverything, they listen deliberately for what is not being explicitlystated.Theyreadbetweenthe lines.OrasHermioneGranger,ofHarryPotterfame(anunlikelyEssentialist,I’llgrantyou,butanEssentialistinthis regard all the same), puts it, “Actually I’m highly logical, whichallowsmetolookpastextraneousdetailandperceiveclearlythatwhichothersoverlook.”3Nonessentialists listen too. But they listen while preparing to say

something.Theygetdistractedbyextraneousnoise.Theyhyperfocusoninconsequential details. They hear the loudest voice but they get thewrong message. In their eagerness to react they miss the point. As aresulttheymay,usingametaphorfromC.S.Lewis,runaroundwithfireextinguishersintimesofflood.4Theymissthelead.

Nonessentialist Essentialist

PaysattentiontotheloudestvoiceHearseverythingbeingsaidIsoverwhelmedbyalltheinformation

PaysattentiontothesignalinthenoiseHearswhatisnotbeingsaidScanstofindtheessenceoftheinformation

In thechaosof themodernworkplace,with somany loudvoicesallarounduspullingusinmanydirections,itismoreimportantnowthanever thatwe learn to resist the siren song of distraction and keep oureyesandearspeeledfortheheadlines.Hereareafewwaystotapintoyourinnerjournalist.

KeepaJournalStatingtheobvious,thewordsjournalandjournalistcomefromthesamerootword.Ajournalistis,intheword’smostliteralsense,someonewhowrites a journal. Therefore, one of themost obvious and yet powerfulwaystobecomeajournalistofourownlivesissimplytokeepajournal.Thesadrealityisthatwehumansareforgetfulcreatures.Iwouldeven

gosofarastosayshockinglyforgetful.Don’tbelieveme?YoucantestthistheoryrightnowbytryingtorecallfrommemorywhatyouatefordinnertwoweeksagoonThursday.Oraskyourselfwhatmeetingsyouattended threeweeksagoonMonday. If youare likemostpeopleyouwill draw a total blank on this exercise. Think of a journal as like astoragedeviceforbackingupourbrain’sfaultyharddrive.Assomeoneoncesaidtome,thefaintestpencilisbetterthanthestrongestmemory.For the last ten years now I have kept a journal, using a

counterintuitiveyeteffectivemethod.Itissimplythis:IwritelessthanIfeel like writing. Typically, when people start to keep a journal theywritepagesthefirstday.Thenbytheseconddaytheprospectofwritingsomuchisdaunting,andtheyprocrastinateorabandontheexercise.Soapplytheprincipleof“lessbutbetter”toyourjournal.Restrainyourselffromwritingmoreuntildailyjournalinghasbecomeahabit.Ialsosuggest thatonceeveryninetydaysor soyou takeanhour to

readyour journalentries fromthatperiod.Butdon’tbeoverly focusedon the details, like the budget meeting three weeks ago or lastThursday’spastadinner.Instead,focusonthebroaderpatternsortrends.Capture the headline. Look for the lead in your day, yourweek, yourlife.Small,incrementalchangesarehardtoseeinthemomentbutovertimecanhaveahugecumulativeeffect.

GetOutintotheFieldJane Chen was one of a team of students in a d.school class called“DesignforExtremeAffordability.”Theclasschallengedthemtodesignababyincubatorfor1percentofthetraditional$20,000cost.AccordingtoJane,inthedevelopingworld“4millionlow-birthweightchildrendiewithinthefirst28daysbecausetheydon’thaveenoughfattoregulatetheirbodytemperature.”5Iftheyhadracedintothisassimplyacostproblem,theywouldhave

produced an inexpensive electric incubator—a seemingly reasonablesolutionbutonethat,asitturnedout,wouldhavefailedtoaddresstherootoftheproblem.Instead,theytookthetimetofindoutwhatreallymattered. They went to Nepal to see the challenge firsthand. That’swhen theydiscovered80percent of babieswereborn athome,not inthe hospital, in rural villageswith no electricity. Thus the team’s realchallenge, it suddenly became clear,was to create something that didnotrequireelectricityatall.Withthatkeyinsighttheybeganinearnestto solve the problem at hand. Eventually Jane and three otherteammateslaunchedanonprofitcompanycalled“Embrace”andcreatedthe “EmbraceNest,”which uses awaxlike substance that is heated inwater, then placed in the sleeping bag–like pod,where it canwarm ababyforsixhoursormore.Bygettingoutthereandfullyexploringtheproblem, they were able to better clarify the question and in turn tofocusontheessentialdetailsthatultimatelyallowedthemtomakethehighestcontributiontotheproblem.

KeepyoureyespeeledforabnormalorunusualdetailsMariam Semaan is an award-winning journalist from Lebanon. SherecentlycompletedaJohnS.KnightJournalismFellowshipatStanfordUniversity, where she specialized in media innovation and designthinking. Iaskedher toshare thesecret tipsofher tradebasedonheryearsofexperiencecapturingtherealstoryamidallofthesurfacenoise.Herreactionwasencouraging:shesaidfindingtheleadandspottingtheessentialinformationareskillsthatcanbeacquired.Shesaid,youneedknowledge.Gettingtotheessenceofastorytakesadeepunderstandingofthetopic,itscontext,itsfitintothebiggerpicture,anditsrelationshiptodifferentfields.Soshewouldreadalltherelatednewsandtrytospottheonepieceofinformationthatallothershadmissedorhadn’tfocusedenoughon. “Mygoal,” she said, “was tounderstand the ‘spiderweb’ofthe story because that is what allowed me to spot any ‘abnormal’ or‘unusual’detailorbehaviorthatdidn’tquitefitintothenaturalcourseofthestory.”It’s crucial,Mariam says, to seek “adifferentperspectiveona given

story,onethatwouldshedthelightonthetopicinafresh,differentorthought-provokingway.”Onetricksheusesisroleplay:sheputsherselfin the shoes of all the main players in a story in order to betterunderstandtheirmotives,reasoning,andpointsofview.

ClarifytheQuestionAnyone who has watched skilled politicians being interviewed knowshowwelltrainedtheycanbeinnotansweringthequestionbeingasked.Evading hard questions can be tempting for us all.Often it’s easier togive a vague, blanket answer rather than to summonup the facts andinformation required to give a thoughtful, informed answer. Yetevasiveness only sends us down a nonessential spiral of furthervagueness andmisinformation. Clarifying the question is away out ofthatcycle.ElayCohen,seniorvicepresidentatSalesforce.com,wasonemember

of a six-person team crammed into a hot hotel room at the normallytranquilCavalloPoint,overlookingtheGoldenGateBridge.Forthenextthreehours theywouldcompeteagainst fiveother teams inabusinesssimulation.Thetaskinvolvedansweringaseriesofquestionsabouthowthey would handle hypothetical management situations. As the timerticked, Elay’s teamwas having trouble getting started. Each proposedanswer spawned still more opinions and comments, and soon whatshouldhavebeena fairlystraightforwardproblem-solvingexercisehaddevolvedintoasprawling,undisciplineddebate.Iwastheretoobserveand coach the team, and after fifteenminutes of this I had to ask theteamtostop.“Whatquestionareyoutryingtoanswer?”Iaskedthem.Everyone paused awkwardly. Nobody had a response. Then someonemadeacommentaboutsomethingelse,andagainthegroupwentoffonatangent.Isteppedinandposedmyquestionagain.Andagain.Eventuallythe

teamstoppedand really thoughtaboutwhatgoals theywere trying toaccomplishandwhatdecisionsreallyneededtobemadetoaccomplishthem.Theystoppedthesideconversations.Theywadedthroughalltheideasandopinionsthathadbeenhaphazardlythrownout,listeningforthehiddenthemesandbigideasthatconnectedthem.Then,finally,theymovedfromastateofmotionsicknesstomomentum.Theysettledonaplan of action, made the necessary decisions, and divided upresponsibilities.Elay’steamwonbyalandslide.

CHAPTER7

PLAY

EmbracetheWisdomofYourInnerChild

ALITTLENONSENSENOWANDTHEN,ISCHERISHEDBYTHEWISESTMEN.

—RoaldDahl

AttheendoftheclassicmusicalMaryPoppinsthegruffandjoylessMr.Banks arrives home, having been “sacked, discharged, flung into thestreet.” Yet he seems absolutely and uncharacteristically delighted—sodelightedthatoneoftheservantsconcludeshe’s“goneoffhiscrumpet”and even his son observes, “It doesn’t sound like Father.” Indeed, hisfather is almost a new person as he presents his children with theirmendedkiteandlaunchesintothesong“Let’sGoFlyaKite.”Freedfromthedreary tediumofhis jobat thebank,Banks’s inner child suddenlycomesalive.Theeffectofhisgoodcheerismagnificent,liftingthespiritsofthewholehouseandinfusingthepreviouslymelancholicBanksfamilywith joy, camaraderie, and delight. Yes, it is a fictional story, but itillustratesthepowerfuleffectsofrestoringplaytoourdailylives.Themajority of us were not formally taught how to play whenwe

were children; we picked it up naturally and instinctively. Picture anewbornbaby’spurejoyasamotherplayspeekaboo.Thinkofagroupof children unleashing their imaginations playing make-believe gamestogether. Imagine a child in a state of what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyicalls flowasheconstructshisownminikingdomoutofabunchofoldcardboardboxes.1Butthenaswegetoldersomethinghappens.Weareintroducedtotheideathatplayistrivial.Playisawasteoftime.Playisunnecessary. Play is childish. Unfortunately, many of these negativemessages come from the very placewhere imaginative play should be

mostencouraged,notstifled.The word school is derived from the Greek word schole, meaning“leisure.” Yet our modern school system, born in the IndustrialRevolution,hasremovedtheleisure—andmuchofthepleasure—outoflearning. Sir Ken Robinson, who has made the study of creativity inschools his life’s work, has observed that instead of fueling creativitythroughplay,schoolscanactuallykillit:“Wehavesoldourselvesintoafast-foodmodelof education,and it’s impoverishingour spirit andourenergies as much as fast food is depleting our physical bodies.…Imaginationisthesourceofeveryformofhumanachievement.Andit’sthe one thing that I believe we are systematically jeopardizing in thewayweeducateourchildrenandourselves.”2Inthisheiscorrect.Thisideathatplayistrivialstayswithusaswereachadulthoodandonlybecomesmoreingrainedasweentertheworkplace.Sadly,notonlydo far too few companies and organizations foster play; manyunintentionallyundermineit.True,somecompaniesandexecutivesgivelipservicetothevalueofplayinsparkingcreativity,yetmoststillfailtocreatethekindofplayfulculturethatsparkstrueexploration.Noneofthisshouldsurpriseus.Moderncorporationswerebornoutofthe Industrial Revolution, when their entire reason for being was toachieveefficiency in themassproductionofgoods.Furthermore, theseearlymanagers lookedtothemilitary—arather less-than-playfulentity—fortheirinspiration(indeed,thelanguageofthemilitaryisstillstrongincorporationstoday;westilloftentalkofemployeesbeingonthefrontlines,andthewordcompanyitselfisatermforamilitaryunit).Whiletheindustrial era is long behind us, those mores, structures, and systemscontinuetopervademostmodernorganizations.Play,which Iwould define as anythingwedo simply for the joy ofdoing rather than as ameans to an end—whether it’s flying a kite orlistening to music or throwing around a baseball—might seem like anonessential activity. Often it is treated that way. But in fact play isessential in many ways. Stuart Brown, the founder of the NationalInstituteforPlay,hasstudiedwhatarecalledtheplayhistoriesofsomesix thousand individualsandhasconcluded thatplayhas thepower tosignificantlyimproveeverythingfrompersonalhealthtorelationshipstoeducationtoorganizations’abilitytoinnovate.“Play,”hesays,“leadstobrain plasticity, adaptability, and creativity.” As he succinctly puts it,

“Nothingfiresupthebrainlikeplay.”3

Nonessentialist Essentialist

ThinksplayistrivialThinksplayisanunproductivewasteoftime

KnowsplayisessentialKnowsplaysparksexploration

AMindInvitedtoPlayThe value of play in our lives can’t be overstated. Studies from theanimalkingdomrevealthatplayissocrucialtothedevelopmentofkeycognitiveskillsitmayevenplayaroleinaspecies’survival.BobFagan,aresearcherwhohasspentfifteenyearsstudyingthebehaviorofgrizzlybears, discovered bears who played the most tended to survive thelongest.Whenaskedwhy,hesaid,“Inaworldcontinuouslypresentingunique challenges and ambiguity, play prepares these bears for achangingplanet.”4JaakPankseppconcludedsomethingsimilar inAffectiveNeuroscience:

The Foundations ofHuman andAnimal Emotions,where hewrote, “Onething iscertain,duringplay,animalsareespeciallypronetobehave inflexibleandcreativeways.”5Yetofallanimalspecies,StuartBrownwrites,humansarethebiggest

players of all.We are built to play and built through play.When weplay, we are engaged in the purest expression of our humanity, thetruest expression of our individuality. Is it any wonder that often thetimes we feel most alive, those that make up our best memories, aremomentsofplay?Playexpandsourmindsinwaysthatallowustoexplore:togerminate

newideasorseeoldideasinanewlight.Itmakesusmoreinquisitive,more attuned to novelty,more engaged. Play is fundamental to livingthewayof theEssentialistbecause it fuelsexplorationinat least threespecificways.First,playbroadenstherangeofoptionsavailabletous.Ithelpsusto

seepossibilitiesweotherwisewouldn’thaveseenandmakeconnectionswewould otherwise not havemade. It opens ourminds and broadensour perspective. It helps us challenge old assumptions and makes usmore receptive tountested ideas. It givesuspermission to expandourownstreamofconsciousnessandcomeupwithnewstories.OrasAlbertEinsteinoncesaid:“WhenIexaminemyselfandmymethodsofthought,Icometotheconclusionthatthegiftoffantasyhasmeantmoretomethanmytalentforabsorbingpositiveknowledge.”6Second,playisanantidotetostress,andthisiskeybecausestress,in

additiontobeinganenemyofproductivity,canactuallyshutdownthe

creative, inquisitive, exploratory parts of our brain. You know how itfeels: you’re stressed aboutwork and suddenly everything starts goingwrong.Youcan’tfindyourkeys,youbumpintothingsmoreeasily,youforget the critical report on the kitchen table. Recent findings suggestthis isbecausestress increasestheactivityinthepartofthebrainthatmonitors emotions (the amygdala), while reducing the activity in thepart responsible for cognitive function (the hippocampus)7—the resultbeing,simply,thatwereallycan’tthinkclearly.Ihaveseenplayreversetheseeffectsinmyownchildren.Whentheyarestressedandthingsfeeloutofcontrol,Ihavethemdraw.Whentheydo, the change is almost immediate. The stress melts away and theirabilitytoexploreisregained.Third,asEdwardM.Hallowell,apsychiatristwhospecializesinbrainscience,explains,playhasapositiveeffectontheexecutivefunctionofthe brain. “The brain’s executive functions,” he writes, “includeplanning, prioritizing, scheduling, anticipating, delegating, deciding,analyzing—in short, most of the skills any executive must master inordertoexcelinbusiness.”8Playstimulatesthepartsofthebraininvolvedinbothcareful,logicalreasoning and carefree, unbound exploration. Given that, it shouldhardlybesurprisingthatkeybreakthroughsinthinkinghavetakenplacein times of play. Hallowell writes: “Columbus was at play when itdawned on him that theworldwas round.Newtonwas at play in hismindwhenhesawtheappletreeandsuddenlyconceivedoftheforceofgravity.WatsonandCrickwereplayingwithpossibleshapesoftheDNAmolecule when they stumbled upon the double helix. Shakespeareplayed with iambic pentameter his whole life. Mozart barely lived awakingmomentwhenhewasnotatplay.Einstein’sthoughtexperimentsarebrilliantexamplesofthemindinvitedtoplay.”9

OfWorkandPlaySomeinnovativecompaniesarefinallywakinguptotheessentialvalueof play. The CEO of Twitter, Dick Costolo, promotes play throughcomedy; he instigated an improv class at the company. As a formerstand-upcomedian,heknowsthatimprovforcespeopletostretchtheirmindsandthinkmoreflexibly,unconventionally,andcreatively.Other companies promote playfulness through their physical

environments.IDEOconductsmeetingsinsideaMicrobus.InthehallsofGoogleyou’relikelytostumbleupon(inoneexampleofmany)alargedinosaur covered in pink flamingos. At Pixar studios, artists’ “offices”may be decorated like anything from an old-timewestern saloon to awoodenhut(theonethatmostamazedmewhenIvisitedwastheonelinedfloortoceilingwiththousandsofStarWarsfigurines).A successful woman I once knew at a publishing company kept an

EasyButton™fromStaplesonherdesk.Anytimeanyoneleftheroffice,theywouldenjoythechildishthrillofslammingtheirpalmdownonthebig red button—causing a recorded voice to loudly announce to theentireoffice,“Thatwaseasy!”Andanotherwomandownthehallatthatsame company had a framed poster in her office of a children’s bookillustrationtoremindherofthejoyofchildhoodreading.Desktoys,dinosaurscoveredwithflamingos,andofficesfullofaction

figuresmay seem like trivial diversions to some, but the very point isthat they can be the exact opposite. These efforts challenge theNonessentialistlogicthatplayistrivial.Instead,theycelebrateplayasavitaldriverofcreativityandexploration.

Playdoesn’tjusthelpustoexplorewhatisessential.Itis

essentialinandofitself.

Sohowcanweall introducemoreplay intoourworkplacesandourlives? In his book, Brown includes a primer to help readers reconnectwithplay.He suggests that readersmine theirpast forplaymemories.Whatdidyoudoasachildthatexcitedyou?Howcanyoure-createthattoday?

CHAPTER8

SLEEP

ProtecttheAsset

EACHNIGHT,WHENIGOTOSLEEP,IDIE.ANDTHENEXTMORNING,WHENIWAKEUP,IAMREBORN.

—MahatmaGandhi

Geoff sat straight up in bed, in a panic. He felt as if a bomb hadexplodedinhishead.Hewassweatinganddiscombobulated.Helistenedintensely.Whatwasgoingon?Everythingwas silent.Perhaps itwasaweirdreactiontosomethinghe’deaten.Hetriedtogobacktosleep.Thenextnightithappenedagain.Thenafewdayslaterithappened

inthemiddleoftheday.HehadjustreturnedfromIndiaandatfirsthethought it might be a reaction to malaria medicine he was taking incombinationwiththeBenadrylhetooktohelphimsleepwhenhewasjet-lagged. But as his situation worsened he found his condition wasmore complicated. Itwas likehewas experiencing anxiety attacks butwithoutanyanxiety—justthephysicalsymptoms.Geoffwasatextbookoverachieverwhohadadeepdesiretomakea

difference (to give some context for this, his grandfatherwas an earlyadministratorinthePeaceCorps).Geoffwasfiercelyambitious,driven,and committed tomaking a contribution to theworld: hewas on theboardofKiva,hehadbeennamedErnstandYoung’sEntrepreneuroftheYearandaYoungGlobalLeaderbytheWorldEconomicForum,hewastheco-founderofa successful impact investment fund,andhewas theCEOof aglobalmicrocreditorganization thatwas reachingmore than12millionpoor familiesaround theworld.Hewas thirty-sixyearsoldandontopofhisgame.Geoff traveled constantly, which often made sleep difficult. His

companywas based in Seattle but had offices in San Francisco, India,andKenya.HewouldroutinelyflytoLondonformeetings,thentoIndiaforsixdaystobeinfivedifferentcities,toGenevaforhoursofmeetingswithinvestors,andthenbacktoSeattleforadayandahalf.Forthreeyears he traveled 60 to 70 percent of the time. On average, he sleptaboutfourtosixhoursanight.But at the ripe age of thirty-six, his pace of work was starting tothreatenhishealthandhisability tocontribute.Whatstartedwith thenighttime attacks worsened. One by one each of his organs startedshuttingdown.Hisheartratewaserratic.Itbecamepainfultostandupstraight. He had to blend his food because he could not digest it. Hisblood pressurewas so low he blacked out if he stood up too fast. Hewent to the emergency room twice. He kept telling himself he wouldslowdownafterthenextdeal,thenthenext,thentheoneafterthat.Butofcoursehedidn’t.Hewassurethatifhejustkeptgoinghecouldworkhis way out of this. He didn’t want to face the trade-offs that scalingbackentailed.Buttheysooncaughtupwithhim:hewouldbeforcedtocancelmeetingsatthelastminutebecausehewastooweaktoattendorhewouldgivea speechbutbomb itbecausehisbrainwascloudy.Hestartedtowonderifhewasdoingthecompanymoreharmthangood—andhedefinitelywas.Eventually, after a clear diagnosis, hewas given two options by hisdoctor:hecouldtakemedicationsfortherestofhislifetodealwithhissymptoms,orhecoulddisengage fromeverything forayearor two totreat and recover from his illness. Geoff didn’t accept this trade-off atfirst.Hewasacompetitivetriathlete,andhethoughthecouldapplythesame logic he would to an ankle sprain or a torn rotator cuff. Heboastfullytoldthedoctorhewouldtakeacoupleofmonthsoffandbebacktofullform:“Watch!Justwatch!”Hetookatwo-monthsabbatical,andtohissurprisehetotallycrashed.Hesleptfourteenhourspernight!Thenherestedalldaylong.Hecouldnotevengetoutofbedsomedays.Hewastotallynonfunctionalforsixweeks.He came crawling back in to his doctor and admitted thiswasgoingtotakealotlongerthanacoupleofmonths.Truetohisword,hegotridofeverythingthatwascreatingstressinhislife.Heresignedfromhisboardsanddecidedtoleavehiscompanytoo. He said: “The decision to disengage was very, very difficult. I

walkedoutoftheboardmeeting,tearsinmyeyes,andsaidtomywife,‘ThisisnothowIwantedtoleavemybaby!’”Hedesignedalifetotallydevotedtoregenerationandrecuperationashewentthroughthetreatmentprotocol.Hechangedhisdiet.HewenttotheSouthofFranceforayearwithhisfamily.Thetreatmentandchangeinclimateandlifestyleworked.Withanewmind-set,hebegantothinkaboutwhathehadlearnedthroughtheexperience.Twoandahalfyearslater,GeoffwasinTanzaniaforaYoungGlobalLeaderseventwiththeWorldEconomicForum.Oneeveningatanopen-micnightGeoffwasurgedbythosewhoknewhisstorytosharewhathehad learned with the group of two hundred accomplished peers.Throughgreat emotion,he told them thathehadpaidahighprice tolearnasimpleyetessentiallesson:“Protecttheasset.”

ProtectingtheAssetThe best asset we have for making a contribution to the world isourselves.Ifweunderinvestinourselves,andbythatImeanourminds,ourbodies,andourspirits,wedamage thevery toolweneed tomakeour highest contribution. One of the most common ways people—especiallyambitious, successfulpeople—damagethisasset is throughalackofsleep.If we let our type A instincts take over, we will, like Geoff, be

swallowed up whole. We will burn out too early. We need to be asstrategicwithourselvesaswearewithourcareersandourbusinesses.Weneedtopaceourselves,nurtureourselves,andgiveourselvesfueltoexplore,thrive,andperform.In themanyhoursGeoff spent restinghe came to seean interesting

paradox inhisaddiction toachievement: fora typeApersonality, it isnothardtopushoneselfhard.Pushingoneselftothelimitiseasy!Thereal challenge for thepersonwho thriveson challenges isnot toworkhard.Heexplains toanyoverachievers:“Ifyouthinkyouareso toughyoucandoanythingIhaveachallengeforyou.Ifyoureallywanttodosomethinghard:saynotoanopportunitysoyoucantakeanap.”BythetimeIwastwenty-oneItoothoughtofsleepassomethingtobe

avoided. To me, it was a necessary evil: a waste of time that couldotherwisebespentproductively, something for theweak,or theweak-willed.Thevisionofbeingsuperhumanandsleepingonlyafewhoursanight was intoxicating. I even experimented with some rather drasticandunconventionalways to try to cut downon sleep.After reading asleepstudywheresomeparticipantswererequiredtosleeponlytwentyminuteseveryfourhoursaroundtheclock,Itrieditout.Itwasbearableforawhile,butIsoonfoundthatwhileyoucantechnicallysurviveonthis schedule of sleep it has its drawbacks. For example, while I wastechnicallyawake,mybrainwasjustbarelyfunctioning.Itwashardertothink, plan, prioritize, or see the bigger picture. It was hard to makedecisionsorchoicesandnearlyimpossibletodiscerntheessentialfromthetrivial.Itsoonbecameunsustainable,butstillIwasdeterminedthatthelessI

slept,themoreIcouldgetdone.SoIadoptedthenewtacticofpulling

oneall-nighterperweek.Thiswasnotmuchbetter.Thenmywife,whodidnotcareforthispractice,gavemeanarticlethatcompletelyshiftedthewayIsawsleep.Itchallengedthenotionthatsleepwasanenemyofproductivity,convincinglyarguingthatinfactsleepwasadriverofpeakperformance. I remember the article cited top business leaders whoboasted about getting a full eight hours. I also remember Bill Clintonwasquotedassayingthateverymajormistakehehadmadeinhis lifehadhappenedasaresultofsleepdeprivation.Eversince,Ihavetriedtogeteighthoursanight.Whataboutyou?Thinkaboutthelastweek.Haveyousleptlessthansevenhoursonanyofthosenights?Haveyousleptlessthansevenhoursforafewnightsinarow?Haveyoucaughtyourselfsayingorthinkingproudly:“Notme.Idon’tneedthefulleighthours. Icantotallysurviveonfourorfivehoursofsleep”(ifyouthoughtthatrightnowwhilereadingthis,youwillgetalotoutofthischapter).Well,whilethereareclearlypeoplewhocansurviveonfewerhoursofsleep,I’vefoundthatmostofthemare just soused tobeing tired theyhave forgottenwhat it reallyfeelsliketobefullyrested.ThewayoftheNonessentialististoseesleepasyetanotherburdenonone’s already overextended, overcommitted, busy-but-not-always-productivelife.Essentialistsinsteadseesleepasnecessaryforoperatingat high levels of contribution more of the time. This is why theysystematically anddeliberatelybuild sleep into their schedules so theycan do more, achieve more, and explore more. By “protecting theirasset”theyareabletogoabouttheirdailyliveswithareserveofenergy,creativity,andproblem-solvingabilitytocalluponwhenneeded—unlikeNonessentialists, who can never know when and where they’ll behijackedbytheirownfatigue.Essentialists choose to do one fewer thing right now in order to domoretomorrow.Yes,itisatrade-off.Butcumulatively,thissmalltrade-offcanyieldbigrewards.

Nonessentialist Essentialist

THINKS:Onehourlessofsleepequals

KNOWS:Onehourmoreofsleepequalsseveral

onemorehourofproductivity.Sleepisforfailures.Sleepisaluxury.Sleepbreedslaziness.Sleepgetsinthewayof“doingitall.”

morehoursofmuchhigherproductivity.Sleepisforhighperformers.Sleepisapriority.Sleepbreedscreativity.Sleepenablesthehighestlevelsofmentalcontribution.

ShatteringtheSleepStigmaSo if “protecting the asset” is so important, why do we give up ourprecious sleep so easily? For overachievers part of the reasonmay bethattheysimplysubscribetothefalsebelief,asIdid,thatiftheysleeplesstheywillachievemore.Yetthereareamplereasonstochallengethisassumption, like the growing body of research demonstrating that agoodnight’ssleepactuallymakesusmoreproductive,notless.In K. Anders Ericsson’s famous study of violinists, popularized by

MalcolmGladwellas“the10,000-HourRule,”Andersfoundthatthebestviolinistsspentmoretimepracticingthanthemerelygoodstudents.1HisfindingsupportsEssentialistlogicbyshowingthatmasterytakesfocusedand deliberate effort, and indeed it’s encouraging to learn thatexcellence is within our sphere of influence rather than a blessingbestowed only on the most naturally gifted. But it also comesdangerouslyclosetoencouragingtheNonessentialistmind-setof“Ihavetodoitall,”theperniciousmyththatcanleadpeopletojustifyspendinglongerandlongerhoursworking,withdiminishingreturns.That is, until we look at a less well-known finding from the same

study: that the second most important factor differentiating the bestviolinists fromthegoodviolinistswasactuallysleep.Thebestviolinistssleptanaverageof8.6hoursineverytwenty-four-hourperiod:aboutanhourlongerthantheaverageAmerican.Overtheperiodofaweektheyalso spent an average of 2.8 hours of napping in the afternoon: abouttwo hours longer than the average. Sleep, the authors of the studyconcluded,allowedthesetopperformerstoregeneratesothattheycouldpracticewithgreaterconcentration.Soyes,while theypracticedmore,theyalsogotmoreoutofthosehoursofpracticebecausetheywerebetterrested.In a Harvard Business Review article called “Sleep Deficit: The

PerformanceKiller,”CharlesA.Czeisler, theBaldinoProfessorofSleepMedicine at Harvard Medical School, has explained how sleepdeprivation undermines high performance. He likens sleep deficit todrinking toomuch alcohol, explaining that pulling an all-nighter (i.e.,goingtwenty-fourhourswithoutsleep)orhavingaweekofsleepingjustfourorfivehoursanightactually“inducesanimpairmentequivalentto

a blood alcohol level of 0.1%. Think about this: wewould never say,‘Thispersonisagreatworker!He’sdrunkallthetime!’yetwecontinuetocelebratepeoplewhosacrificesleepforwork.”2While sleep is often associated with giving rest to the body, recentresearchshowsthatsleepisreallymoreaboutthebrain.Indeed,astudyfrom the LuebeckUniversity inGermany provides evidence that a fullnight’s sleep may actually increase brain power and enhance ourproblem-solvingability.In the study, reported by the journal Nature, over one hundredvolunteersweregivenanumberpuzzlewithanunconventionaltwist;itrequiredfindinga“hiddencode”touncovertheanswer.3Thevolunteersweredividedintotwogroups;onewasallowedaneight-hourstretchofuninterrupted sleep and another group received interrupted sleep. Thescientists thenwatched to seewhichvolunteers found thehiddencodeandhowquicklytheyfoundit.Theresultwasthattwicethenumberofpeople who had slept for eight hours solved the problem than thevolunteers from the sleep-deprived group. Why? The researchersexplainedthatwhilewesleepourbrainsarehardatworkencodingandrestructuringinformation.Therefore,whenwewakeup,ourbrainsmayhavemadenewneuralconnections,therebyopeningupabroaderrangeofsolutionstoproblems,literallyovernight.Somegoodnewsfortheearlybirdsandnightowlsamongus:scienceshows that even a nap can increase creativity. In just one example, areportfromtheProceedingsoftheNationalAcademyofSciencesrevealedthat even a single REM—or rapid eyemovement—cycle enhanced theintegration of unassociated information. Even a brief period of deepsleep,inotherwords,helpsusmakethekindsofnewconnectionsthatallowustobetterexploreourworld.Inanutshell,sleepiswhatallowsustooperateatourhighestlevelofcontribution so that we can achieve more, in less time. While therecontinuestobeacultureofmachismowhenitcomestogoingwithoutsleep, luckily the stigma is fading, thanks in part to a few super–highperformers—particularly in industries that typically celebrate burningthecandleatbothends—whohavepubliclyboastedaboutgettingafulleighthours.Thesepeople—manyofthemtrueEssentialists—knowtheirhealthysleephabitsgivethemahugecompetitiveadvantage,andtheyareright.

JeffBezos,thefounderofAmazon.com,isoneofthem.Hesays:“I’mmore alert and I thinkmore clearly. I just feel somuchbetter all daylong if I’vehadeighthours.”MarkAndreessen,cofounderofNetscape,andareformedsleeprestrictorwhousedtoworktilltheearlyhoursbutstillbeupat7:00A.M.,isanother.Hesaid,“IwouldspendthewholedaywishingIcouldgohomeandgobacktobed.”Nowhesaysofhislevelofsleep:“Seven[hours]andIstarttodegrade.Sixissuboptimal.Fiveisabigproblem.FourmeansI’mazombie.”Onweekendshesleepstwelve-plushours.“Itmakesabigdifferenceinmyabilitytofunction,”hesaid.These executives are quoted in an article called “Sleep Is the NewStatusSymbolforSuccessfulEntrepreneurs.”4NancyJeffreyoftheWallStreetJournalwrites:“It’sofficial.Sleep,thatrarecommodityinstressed-out America, is the new status symbol. Once derided as a wimpishfailing—the same 1980s overachievers who cried ‘Lunch is for Losers’alsobelieved‘SleepisforSuckers’—slumberisnowbeingtoutedastherestorative companion to the creative executivemind.”To thiswe canadd that it is also the restorative companion to the discerningEssentialistmind.InanotherarticleintheNewYorkTimes,ErinCallan,theformerchieffinancialofficerofLehmanBrothers,tellsthestoryofhow“atanofficepartyin2005,oneofmycolleaguesaskedmythenhusbandwhatIdidonweekends.Sheknewmeassomeonewithgreatintensityandenergy.‘Does shekayak,go rockclimbingand then runahalfmarathon?’ shejoked.No,heansweredsimply, ‘shesleeps.’Andthatwastrue.WhenIwasn’t catching up on work, I spent my weekends recharging mybatteriesforthecomingweek.”5So if the stigma of sleep still exists in your workplace, considerdeveloping an initiative at work to explicitly encourage sleep. If thatsounds radical, consider how the many benefits of sleep—greatercreativity, enhanced productivity, even lower health care costs—havethepotentialtodirectlyaffectthebottomline.Withthisperspective,itisnotsohardtoimagineencouragingyourmanagerorHRdepartmenttodevelop a written policy (after all, many companies have policiesaddressingalcoholconsumption,and,aswehave seen, theparallels inhow alcohol and sleep deprivation affect performance are real). Forexample, Charles Czeisler at Harvard has proposed a policy that noemployeeisexpectedtodriveintoworkafterared-eyeflight,andother

companiesallowemployeestocomeinlateafterstayinglateatworkthepreviousnight.Companiesandleadersliketheseknowthat“protectingtheirassets”isamatteroffiduciaryresponsibility.Undertheauspicesofbookresearch,IrecentlywenttoGoogletotake

anapinoneoftheirfamousnappods.Itwasawhitespaceshippod(likesomethingyoumightimagineseeingontheseventiesTVshowMorkandMindy), of about twenty square feet, big enough to lie down but notcompletelyflat.Ithadadome-shapedcoverthatconcealedmostbutnotallofmybody,andasa result Iwasa little self-consciousat firstandwonderedwhetherIwouldbeabletofallasleep.Thirtyminuteslater,asthe pod vibrated gently to letme knowmy sessionwas over, I didn’thavetowonder.When I woke up from the nap I could really feel howmuch I had

neededit.Ifeltclearer,sharper,morealert.To use the pods at Google there is a calendar sign-up. How many

peopleusedittheweekIwasthere?Iwondered.Ofthefiftypeoplewhoworkonthefloorwhereitissituated,Iimaginedatleasttenortwenty.Wrong. According to the calendar, just a single person had taken thisopportunity to rechargebrainandbodywith thirtyminutesofmiddaysleep. Nevertheless, even the presence of the pod is important insignalingtoemployeesthatsleepisapriority.

Ourhighestpriorityistoprotectourabilityto

prioritize.

Inthissectionofthebookwehavebeentalkingabouthowtoexploreandevaluateoptionsinordertodiscerntheessentialfewfromthemanytrivial, mediocre, or even just good. By definition this is a process ofprioritization. It includes thechallengeof filteringoptions that,at first

glance,alllookimportant.YetasthelogicofanEssentialistexplains,inreality there are only a few things of exceptional value, with mosteverything else being of far less importance. The problem with beingsleep-deprived is that it compromises our ability to tell the difference,andthusourpreciousabilitytoprioritize.Sleepwillenhanceyourabilitytoexplore,makeconnections,anddolessbutbetterthroughoutyourwakinghours.

CHAPTER9

SELECT

ThePowerofExtremeCriteria

ANINNERPROCESSSTANDSINNEEDOFOUTWARDCRITERIA.—LudwigWittgenstein

In a piece called “No More Yes. It’s Either HELL YEAH! Or No,” thepopular TED speaker Derek Sivers describes a simple technique forbecomingmoreselectiveinthechoiceswemake.Thekeyistoputthedecision to an extreme test: ifwe feel total andutter conviction todosomething, then we say yes, Derek-style. Anything less gets a thumbsdown.OrasaleaderatTwitteronceputittome,“If theanswer isn’tadefinite yes then it should be a no.” It is a succinct summary of a coreEssentialist principle, and one that is critical to the process ofexploration.1Dereklivesthisprinciplehimself.Whenhewasn’tblownawaybyany

of the candidates he interviewed for a job, he said no to all of them.Eventuallyhefoundexactlytherightperson.Whenherealizedhehadsignedupforseveralconferencesaroundtheworldthathewasn’treallystokedabout,hedecidedtostayhomeandskipallofthem,andinturnearned twelve days he used to more productive ends. When he wastrying to decidewhere to live, he ruled out places that seemed prettygood (Sydney and Vancouver) until he visited New York and knewinstantlyitwasexactlytherightplaceforhim.Think back to what happens to our closets whenwe use the broad

criterion,“IsthereachancethatIwillwearthissomedayinthefuture?”Theclosetbecomesclutteredwithclotheswerarelywear.Butifweask,“DoIabsolutelylovethis?”thenwewillbeabletoeliminatetheclutterand have space for something better.We can do the samewith other

choices—whether big or small, significant or trivial—in every area ofourlives.

The90PercentRuleRecently, a colleague and Iwereworking to select twenty-four peoplefromapoolofalmostonehundredapplicantstoour“DesignYourLife,Essentially”class.First,weidentifiedasetofminimumcriteriasuchas“Canattendeveryclass.”Thenwesettledonasetofidealattributeslike“Isreadyforalife-changingexperience.”Usingthesecriteria,wescoredeach candidate on a 1 to 10 scale. The 9s and 10s,we decided,wereobviouslyin.Anyoneundera7wasautomaticallyout.Iwasthengiventheunenviabletaskofevaluatingthein-betweencandidates:the7sand8s.AsIstruggledtodeterminewhichofthesecandidateswouldbegoodenough,Ihadthethought:ifsomething(orinthiscasesomeone)isjustoralmostgoodenough—thatis,a7oran8—thentheanswershouldbeano.Itwassoliberating.You can think of this as the 90 Percent Rule, and it’s one you can

apply to just about every decision or dilemma. As you evaluate anoption,thinkaboutthesinglemostimportantcriterionforthatdecision,andthensimplygivetheoptionascorebetween0and100.Ifyourateitany lower than 90 percent, then automatically change the rating to 0andsimplyrejectit.Thiswayyouavoidgettingcaughtupinindecision,orworse,gettingstuckwiththe60sor70s.Thinkabouthowyou’dfeelifyouscoreda65onsometest.Whywouldyoudeliberatelychoosetofeelthatwayaboutanimportantchoiceinyourlife?Mastering thisEssentialist skill, perhapsmore thananyother in this

section, requires us to be vigilant about acknowledging the reality oftrade-offs.Bydefinition,applyinghighlyselectivecriteriaisatrade-off;sometimesyouwillhavetoturndownaseeminglyverygoodoptionandhave faith that the perfect optionwill soon come along. Sometimes itwill, and sometimes it won’t, but the point is that the very act ofapplyingselectivecriteria forcesyou tochoosewhichperfectoption towait for, rather than letting other people, or the universe, choose foryou.LikeanyEssentialistskill,itforcesyoutomakedecisionsbydesign,ratherthandefault.Thebenefitsof thisultraselectiveapproach todecisionmaking inall

areas of our lives should be clear: when our selection criteria are toobroad,wewill find ourselves committing to toomany options.What’s

more,assigningsimplenumericalvaluestoouroptionsforcesustomakedecisions consciously, logically, and rationally, rather than impulsivelyoremotionally.Yes,ittakesdisciplinetoapplytoughcriteria.Butfailingtodosocarriesahighcost.Nonessentialists apply implicit or unspoken criteria to the decisionsthey make in both their personal and their professional lives. Forexample, when deciding what projects to take on at work, aNonessentialist may operate by the implicit criterion, “If mymanagerasksmetodoit,thenIshoulddoit.”Orevenmorebroadly,“Ifsomeoneasksmetodosomething,Ishouldtrytodoit.”Orstillmorebroadly,“Ifotherpeopleinthecompanyaredoingit,Ishouldbedoingit.”Inaneraof socialmediawherewearevastlymoreawareofwhatotherpeopleare doing, this criterion can create a particularly serious burden byamplifyingallofthenonessentialactivitieswe“should”bedoing.

Nonessentialist Essentialist

SaysyestoalmosteveryrequestoropportunityUsesbroad,implicitcriterialike“IfsomeoneIknowisdoingit,Ishoulddoit.”

Saysyestoonlythetop10percentofopportunitiesUsesnarrow,explicitcriterialike“IsthisexactlywhatIamlookingfor?”

One executive team Iworkedwith had at one time identified threecriteria for decidingwhat projects to take on. But over time they hadbecome more and more indiscriminate, and eventually the company’sportfolioofprojectsseemedtoshareonlythecriterionthatacustomerhad asked them to do it. As a result, the morale on the team hadplummeted, and not simply because team members were overworkedandoverwhelmedfromhavingtakenontoomuch. Itwasalsobecausenoprojecteverseemedtojustifyitself,andtherewasnogreatersenseofpurpose.Worse,itnowbecamedifficulttodistinguishthemselvesinthemarketplace because their work, which had previously occupied auniqueandprofitableniche,hadbecomesogeneral.

Onlybygoingthroughtheworkof identifyingextremecriteriaweretheyable togetridof the70and80percents thatweredrainingtheirtimeandresourcesandstartfocusingonthemostinterestingworkthatbest distinguished them in the marketplace. Furthermore, this systemempoweredemployeestochoosetheprojectsonwhichtheycouldmaketheir highest contribution;where they had once been at themercy ofwhat felt likecapriciousmanagementdecisions, theynowhadavoice.OnoneoccasionIsawthequietestandmostjuniormemberoftheteampushbackonthemostseniorexecutive.Shesimplysaid,“Shouldwebetaking on this account, given the criteria we have?” This had neverhappeneduntilthecriteriaweremadebothselectiveandexplicit.Makingourcriteriabothselectiveandexplicitaffordsusasystematictoolfordiscerningwhatisessentialandfilteringoutthethingsthatarenot.

Selective,Explicit,andAlsoRightMarkAdams,themanagingdirectorofVitsoe,hasspentthelasttwenty-sevenyearsdeliberatelyapplyingselectivecriteriatohiswork.Vitsoe makes furniture. The furniture industry is notorious for

churning out a high volume of product: each season brings a vastofferingofnewcolorsandstyles.YetVitsoehasfordecadesofferedonlyone product: the 606 Universal Shelving System.Why? Because quitesimply, Vitsoe has very particular standards, and the 606 UniversalShelvingsystemistheonlyproductthatmakesthecut.The606Systemepitomizes theEssentialist ethic of “less but better”

discussedinchapter1andadvocatedbyDieterRams.Thisismorethancoincidence,giventhatthe606UniversalShelvingSystemwasdesignedbyDieter.ButVitsoe’sapproachtohiringmaybemoreselectivestill.They begin with the basic assumption that they would rather be

understaffed than hire the wrong person quickly. Accordingly, whenthey are looking for a new employee, they have a rigorous andsystematic selection process. First, they interview someone by phone.Thisisdeliberatebecausetheywanttostripawayallvisualcueswhileforming their first impression. Equally, they want to hear how theprospectiveemployeeperformsonthephoneandwhethertheemployeeisorganizedenoughtofindaquietplaceatanallottedtime.Theyweedoutmanyatthisstage—inatime-efficientmanner.Second,acandidateisinterviewedbymultiplepeoplethroughoutthe

company.Ifacandidatemakesitthroughseveralinterviews,heorsheisinvitedtospendadayworkingwiththeteam.Thenmanagementsendsaquestionnaireouttothewholeteamaskingthemhowtheyfeelaboutthe candidate. But instead of just the obvious questions, they ask,“Wouldheorsheloveworkinghere?”and“Wouldwelovehavinghimorherworkwithus?”Noofferismadeatthispoint,andnocommitmentisimpliedonthepartofthecandidate.Theobjectiveistoallowbothsidesto see each other as honestly as possible. If the fit is just right, thecandidatewillcontinuethroughthefinalinterviewsandmayreceiveanoffer.Iftheteamisn’tabsolutelysure,thentheanswerisno.Once they had a candidate applying for a job on the shelving

installationteam.Itisanimportantrole;theseinstallersarethefaceof

theproductandthecompany.Thecandidateinquestiondidagoodjobinstalling theshelvingsystem.But in thedebriefwithMarkafterwardstheteamhadaconcern.Attheendoftheday,whentheywerepackinguptheirtools,thecandidatejustthrewthetoolsintotheboxandclosedthe lid. To you and me, this would seem a minor infraction—hardlysignificant enough tomention, let alone overshadow a day’s worth ofotherwiseflawlesswork.Buttotheteamitsignifiedacarelessnessthatdidn’tjibewiththeirvisionoftheidealpersonforthejob.Marklistenedandagreed,thenpolitelytoldthecandidatehewasn’ttherightfitwiththeVitsoeculture.ForMarkandhisteam:

Ifitisn’taclearyes,thenit’saclearno.

Butundergirdingtheirhighlyselectivescreeningprocessismorethana gut reaction (although that matters too). What may seem like acapricious decision is really the result of a disciplined and continuousapproachtofigureoutwhatworksandwhatdoesn’t.Forexample,theyhavelearnedthereisahighcorrelationbetweenhowintenselysomeoneplayedwith Legos as a child andhowwell he or shewill fitwith theVitsoeculture.Theydidn’tpick thatoutof theair.Theyhave triedallmannerofthingsovertheyears;somehavestuck,butmanyhavenot.The team also uses an explicit set of criteria in making theirevaluation.Theirprimarycriterionis,“Willthispersonbeanabsolutelynatural fit?” That is why they have designed the selection process toinclude multiple interviews. That is why they developed the workdaytrialrun.It’swhytheysendthequestionnaire.LikeanytrueEssentialist,theyare trying togather the relevant information so theycanmakeaninformed,calculated,deliberatedecision.BoxCEOAaronLeviehasasimilarcriterionforhiring.Hesimplyasksifthepersonissomeonehe’dwanttoworkwitheveryday.“Oneofthe

wayswethinkaboutthisis,”hesays,“couldthispersonhavebeenoneof the foundingmembersof the team?” If theanswer isyes,heknowshe’sfoundsomeonewhowillfitrightin.2

OpportunityKnocksBeing selective when deciding what opportunities to go after is onething,butitcangetevenharderwhenopportunitiescometous.Wegetajobofferwedidn’texpect.Asideprojectcomesalongthatisn’treallywhat we do, but it is easy cash. Someone asks us to help out withsomethingwelovedoing,butitisunpaidwork.Anacquaintancehasatime share available in a less-than-ideal location but at a discountedrate.Whatdowedo?Thefearofmissingoutgoesintofulleffect.Howcanwesayno;the

offerisrighthereforthetaking.Wemightneverhavegoneafterit,butnowitissoeasytogetitweconsiderit.Butifwejustsayyesbecauseitisaneasyreward,werun theriskofhaving to later sayno toamoremeaningfulone.ThiswasthesituationNancyDuartefoundherselfinwhenbuildinga

communicationagency. In2000, thecompanywasageneralist agencydoingeverythingfromcreatingcorporateidentitiestoprintandwebsitedevelopment to designing presentations (work most designer firmsloathed doing). But without one specialty to differentiate them, thecompany started to become prettymuch like any other design agencyoutthere.ThenNancyreadJimCollins’sGoodtoGreat,inwhichhecontendsif

there’sonethingyouarepassionateabout—andthatyoucanbebestat—you should do just that one thing. That’s when she realized the realopportunity to differentiate the companymight be in the very type ofworknobodyelseintheindustrywantedtodo:designingpresentations.By focusing on work no one else was doing, they could create the

knowledge,tools,andexpertisetobecomethepremiercompanyintheworldatpresentations.Buttoachievethistheywouldhavetosaynotoeverythingelse.Eveninbadeconomictimes.Evenwhenpaidworkwasofferedtothem.Itwasthepriceforbecomingdistinct.Inotherwords,theywouldhavetobemoreselectiveintheworktheytookon,sotheycould channel all their energies toward excelling in the area that hadbecometheirspecialty.Here’s a simple, systematic process you can use to apply selective

criteria to opportunities that come your way. First, write down the

opportunity.Second,writedowna listof three“minimumcriteria”theoptions would need to “pass” in order to be considered. Third, writedownalistofthreeidealor“extremecriteria”theoptionswouldneedto“pass”inordertobeconsidered.Bydefinition,iftheopportunitydoesn’tpass the first set of criteria, the answer is obviously no. But if it alsodoesn’tpasstwoofyourthreeextremecriteria,theanswerisstillno.

opportunityWhatopportunityisbeingofferedtoyou?

minimumWhatareyourminimumcriteriaforthisoptiontobeconsidered?

extremeWhataretheidealcriteriaforthisoptiontobeapproved?

TheBestSliceofPizzainBrooklynApplying tougher criteria to life’s big decisions allowsus to better tapintoourbrain’ssophisticatedsearchengine.ThinkofitasthedifferencebetweenconductingaGooglesearch for“goodrestaurant inNewYorkCity”and“bestsliceofpizzaindowntownBrooklyn.”Ifwesearchfor“agood career opportunity,” our brain will serve up scores of pages toexploreandworkthrough.Instead,whynotconductanadvancedsearchand ask three questions: “What am I deeply passionate about?” and“What taps my talent?” and “What meets a significant need in theworld?”Naturallytherewon’tbeasmanypagestoview,butthatisthepointoftheexercise.Wearen’tlookingforaplethoraofgoodthingstodo. We are looking for the one where we can make our absolutelyhighestpointofcontribution.EnricSalaissomeonewhofoundhislife’scallinginthisway.3Early

on in his career, Enric was a professor at the prestigious ScrippsInstitutionofOceanographyinLaJolla,California.Buthecouldn’tkickthefeelingthatthecareerpathhewasonwasjustaclosesecondtothepathheshouldreallybeon.SoheleftacademiaandwenttoworkwithNational Geographic. With that success came new and intriguingopportunities in Washington, D.C., that again left him feeling he wasclosetotherightcareerpathbutnotquiteonityet.Asoftenhappenstodriven,ambitiouspeople,hisearliersuccesshaddistractedhimfromhisclarityofpurpose.SincethemomenthehadwatchedJacquesCousteauaboardthefamedCalypsohehaddreamedofdivingintheworld’smostbeautifuloceans.Soafteracoupleofyears,whenagoldenopportunitypresented itself,hechangedgearsagain inorder tobewherehecouldtruly make his highest contribution: as an explorer-in-residence withNationalGeographic, where he could spend a significant portion of histimedivinginthemostremotelocationswhilealsousinghisstrengthsinscienceand communications to influencepolicyona global scale.Thepriceofhisdreamjobwassayingnotothemanygood,evenverygood,parallelopportunitiesheencounteredandwaitingfortheonehecouldenthusiasticallysayyesto.Andthewaitwasworthit.Enricisoneofthoserelativelyrareexamplesofsomeonewhoisdoing

work that he loves, that taps his talent, and that serves an important

needintheworld.Hismainobjectiveistohelpcreatetheequivalentofnational parks to protect the last pristine places in the ocean—a trulyessentialcontribution.

ELIMINATEHowCanWeCutOuttheTrivialMany?

Thinkbacktotheclosetmetaphorwetalkedaboutinchapter1.Atthispoint in the book, you’ve taken stock of everything hanging in yourcloset. You have your clothes divided into piles of “must keep” and“probably should get rid of.” But are you really ready to stuff the“probablyshouldgetridof”pileinabagandsenditoff?Inotherwords, it’s not enough to simplydeterminewhichactivities

andeffortsdon’tmake thebestpossible contribution;you stillhave toactivelyeliminate those thatdonot.PartThreeof thisbookwill showyouhowtoeliminatethenonessentialssoyoucanmakeahigherlevelofcontributiontowardthethingsthatareactuallyvital.Andnotonlythat,butyou’lllearntodoitinawaythatactuallygarnersyoumorerespectfromcolleagues,bosses,clients,andpeers.Gettingridof thoseoldclothes isn’teasy.Afterall, there isstill that

naggingreluctance,thatnaggingfearthat“whatif”yearsdowntheroadyoucometoregretgivingawaythatblazerwiththebigshoulderpadsand loudpinstripes.This feeling isnormal; studieshave found thatwetendtovaluethingswealreadyownmorehighlythantheyareworth,andthusfindthemmoredifficulttogetridof.Ifyou’renotquitereadytopartwiththatmetaphoricalblazer,askthekillerquestion:“IfIdidn’talreadyownthis,howmuchwouldIspendtobuyit?”Likewise,inyourlife,thekillerquestionwhendecidingwhatactivitiestoeliminateis:“IfIdidn’thavethisopportunity,whatwouldIbewillingtodotoacquireit?”Ofcourse,findingthedisciplinetosaynotoopportunities—oftenvery

good opportunities—that come yourway inwork and life is infinitelyharderthanthrowingoutoldclothesinyourcloset.Butfindityoumust,because remember thatanytimeyou fail to say“no” toanonessential,you are really saying yes by default. So once you have sufficiently

exploredyouroptions,thequestionyoushouldbeaskingyourselfisnot:“What,ofmylistofcompetingpriorities,shouldIsayyesto?”Instead,asktheessentialquestion:“WhatwillIsaynoto?”Thisisthequestionthatwilluncoveryourtruepriorities.It isthequestionthatwillrevealthebestpathforwardforyourteam.Itisthequestionthatwilluncoveryour truepurposeandhelpyoumake thehighest levelofcontributionnotonlytoyourowngoalsbuttothemissionofyourorganization.Itisthatquestionthatcandelivertherareandpreciousclaritynecessarytoachievegame-changingbreakthroughsinyourcareer,andinyourlife.

CHAPTER10

CLARIFY

OneDecisionThatMakesaThousand

TOFOLLOW,WITHOUTHALT,ONEAIM:THEREISTHESECRETTOSUCCESS.

—AnnaPavlova,Russianballetdancer

Let’s startwithagame.On thenextpagearemission statements fromthree companies. Try to match each company with its missionstatement:1

COMPANY MISSIONSTATEMENT

1AGCO.Achiefmanufactureranddistributorofagriculturalequipmentsuchasreplacementparts,tractors,haytools,andimplements.

AProfitablegrowththroughsuperiorcustomerservice,innovation,quality,andcommitment.

2DOVERCORPORATION.Amanufacturerofequipmentsuchasgarbagetrucksandelectronicequipmentsuchasink-jetprintersandcircuitboardassemblies.

BTobetheleaderineverymarketweservetothebenefitofourcustomersandourshareholders.

3DEANFOODSCORPORATION.Afoodandbeveragecompany,inparticularamilk,dairy,andsoyproductsmanufacturer.

CTheCompany’sprimaryobjectiveistomaximizelong-termstockholdervalue,whileadheringtothelawsofthejurisdictionsinwhichitoperatesandatalltimesobservingthehighestethicalstandards.

How did you do? If you had absolutely no idea how to solve thispuzzle,youarenotalone.Thelargelyindistinguishablestatementsmakethetaskalmostimpossible.Suchvague,inflatedmissionstatementsmaystill be considered “best practice” in somequarters, but inmany casestheydonotachievewhattheywereintendedtoachieve:toinspiretheiremployeeswithaclearsenseofpurpose.Thissectionofthebookisallabouthowtoeliminatenonessentialsinordertoensurethatwecanpourourenergiesintotheactivitiesthataremost meaningful to us. The first type of nonessential you’re going tolearn how to eliminate is simply any activity that is misaligned withwhat you are intending to achieve. It sounds straightforward enough,but tobeable todo thatyouneed tobe really clear aboutwhat yourpurposeisinthefirstplace—whichiswherethischaptercomesin.

AnswerCode:1(A),2(B),and3(C)

From“PrettyClear”to“ReallyClear”ExecutivesIworkwithoftensuggesttheircompanypurposeorstrategyis “pretty clear,” as if to say that is sufficient. But anyonewhowearsglassesknows there is abigdifferencebetweenpretty clear and reallyclear!Thesameseemstruewithindividuals’professionalstrategy.WhenIaskpeople,“Whatdoyoureallywantoutofyourcareeroverthenextfive years?” I am still taken abackbyhow fewpeople can answer thequestion.Thiswouldmatterlessifitwerenotforthefactthatclarityofpurpose

so consistently predicts how people do their jobs. In working withexecutive teams Ihavebeenamazed to seewhathappenswhen teamsareonly“sortofclear”aboutwhattheyaretryingtoachieveratherthan“reallyclear.”Forone,thereisaheavypricejustintermsofhumandynamics.The

fact is,motivationand cooperationdeterioratewhen there is a lackofpurpose. You can train leaders on communication and teamwork andconduct360feedbackreportsuntilyouareblueintheface,butifateamdoes not have clarity of goals and roles, problems will fester andmultiply.This is not just my theory or something I read in another business

book.Ingatheringdatafrommorethanfivehundredpeopleabouttheirexperienceonmorethanonethousandteams,Ihavefoundaconsistentreality: When there is a serious lack of clarity about what the teamstands for and what their goals and roles are, people experienceconfusion, stress,and frustration.When there isahigh levelofclarity,ontheotherhand,peoplethrive.Whenthereisalackofclarity,peoplewastetimeandenergyonthe

trivialmany.Whentheyhavesufficientlevelsofclarity,theyarecapableof greater breakthroughs and innovations—greater than people evenrealize they ought to have—in those areas that are truly vital. In mywork,Ihavenoticedtwocommonpatternsthattypicallyemergewhenteamslackclarityofpurpose.

PATTERN1:PLAYINGPOLITICS

In the first pattern, the team becomes overly focused on winning theattentionofthemanager.Theproblemis,whenpeopledon’tknowwhattheendgameis,theyareunclearabouthowtowin,andasaresulttheymake up their own game and their own rules as they vie for themanager’sfavor.Insteadoffocusingtheirtimeandenergiesonmakingahigh level of contribution, they put all their effort into games likeattempting to look better than their peers, demonstrating their self-importance,andechoingtheirmanager’severyideaorsentiment.Thesekinds of activities are not only nonessential but damaging andcounterproductive.We do a similar thing in our personal lives as well. When we areunclearaboutour realpurpose in life—inotherwords,whenwedon’thave a clear sense of our goals, our aspirations, and our values—wemakeupourownsocialgames.Wewastetimeandenergiesontryingtolook good in comparison to other people.We overvalue nonessentialslike a nicer car or house, or even intangibles like the number of ourfollowersonTwitteror thewaywe look inourFacebookphotos.Asaresult,we neglect activities thatare truly essential, like spending timewithourlovedones,ornurturingourspirit,ortakingcareofourhealth.

PATTERN2:IT’SALLGOOD(WHICHISBAD)

In the second pattern, teamswithout purpose become leaderless.With

no clear direction, people pursue the things that advance their ownshort-term interests, with little awareness of how their activitiescontributeto(orinsomecases,derail)thelong-termmissionoftheteamas awhole. Often these activities arewell-intentioned, and somemayevenbeessentialonapersonal level.Butwhenpeopleareworking inteams,manydisparateprojectsthatareatoddswitheachotherdonotadduptotheteam’shighestlevelofcontribution.Teamslikethisseemtotakefivestepsbackforeachstepforward.

Inthesameway,whenindividualsareinvolvedintoomanydisparateactivities—evengoodactivities—theycan fail toachieve theiressentialmission.Onereasonforthisisthattheactivitiesdon’tworkinconcert,so they don’t add up into ameaningfulwhole. For example, pursuingfive different majors, each of them perfectly good, does not equal adegree. Likewise, five different jobs in five different industries do notadd up to a forward-moving career. Without clarity and purpose,pursuing something because it is good is not good enough tomake ahigh level of contribution. As RalphWaldo Emerson said, “The crimewhich bankrupts men and states is that of job-work;—declining fromyourmaindesigntoserveaturnhereorthere.”

Whenteamsarereallyclearabouttheirpurposeandtheir individualroles,ontheotherhand,itisamazingwhathappenstoteamdynamics.Formal momentum accelerates, adding up to a higher cumulativecontributionoftheteamasawhole.Sohowdoweachieveclarityofpurpose inour teamsandevenour

personalendeavors?Onewayistodecideonanessentialintent.

EssentialIntentTounderstandwhatanessentialintentis,wemaybebestservedbyfirstestablishingwhatit isnot.2At theriskofusingaconsultingcliché,wecanexplorethisusingatwo-by-twomatrix.

In the top left quadrant,wehavevisionandmission statements like“Wewanttochangetheworld”:statementsthatsoundinspirationalbutare so general they are almost entirely ignored. In the bottom leftquadrant, we have a set of vague, general values—like “innovation,”“leadership,” and “teamwork”—but these are typically too bland and

generic to inspire any passion. In the bottom right quadrant,we haveshorter-term quarterly objectives we pay attention to, like “Increaseprofits5percentoverlastyear’sresults”;theseshorter-termtacticsmaybeconcreteenoughtogetourattention,buttheyoftenlackinspiration.An essential intent, on the other hand, is both inspirational andconcrete, both meaningful and measurable. Done right, an essentialintent isonedecision that settlesone thousand laterdecisions. It’s likedeciding you’re going to become a doctor instead of a lawyer. Onestrategicchoiceeliminatesauniverseofotheroptionsandmapsacoursefor the next five, ten, or even twenty years of your life.Once the bigdecisionismade,allsubsequentdecisionscomeintobetterfocus.

Nonessentialist Essentialist

Hasavague,generalvisionormissionstatementHasconcretequarterlyobjectivesbutonesthatfailtoenergizeorinspirepeopletotaketheireffortstothenextlevelHasavaluesetbutnoguidingprinciplesforimplementingthem

HasastrategythatisconcreteandinspirationalHasanintentthatisbothmeaningfulandmemorableMakesonedecisionthateliminatesonethousandlaterdecisions

WhenMarthaLaneFoxwasaskedbytheBritishprimeministertobetheUnitedKingdom’sfirst“DigitalChampion,”shehadtheopportunitytocreateadescriptionforthisnewlycreatedrole.Youcanjustimagineall the vague,uninspired, or jargonywaysMarthamighthave tried toexplainit;itwasaDilbertcomicstripwaitingtohappen.Instead,Marthaandherteamcameupwiththisessentialintent:“Toget everyone in the U.K. online by the end of 2012.” It was simple,concrete, inspiring,andeasilymeasured. Itgaveeveryoneon theteamclarity about exactly what they were trying to do, so they could

coordinate their actions and energies to eliminate everything else. Itempowered everyone on the team, however junior, to push back andsay,“Butdoesthisnewideareallyhelpustoachieveourintent?”Anditenabled them to better harness the support of partners to massivelyaccelerate the journey. And even though their full aspiration isn’t yetreached, that clarity of purpose enabled them to make a far greatercontributionthantheycouldhavemadeunderanyothercircumstances.This is the kind of statement of purpose that we need for ourcompanies, teams, and careers. So how do we craft a statement ofpurposethatisbothconcreteandinspiring,meaningfulandmemorable?

STOPWORDSMITHINGANDSTARTDECIDING

Whendevelopingstatementsofpurpose—foryourcompany,yourteam,or even yourself—there is a tendency to start obsessing about trivialstylisticdetails, like “Shouldweuse thiswordor thatword?”But thismakesitalltooeasytoslipintomeaninglessclichésandbuzzwordsthatlead to vague, meaningless statements like the ones I cited at thebeginningofthechapter.Anessentialintentdoesn’thavetobeelegantlycrafted; it’s the substance, not the style that counts. Instead, ask themoreessentialquestion thatwill informevery futuredecisionyouwillevermake:“Ifwecouldbetrulyexcellentatonlyonething,whatwoulditbe?”

ASK,“HOWWILLWEKNOWWHENWE’REDONE?”

That said, when it comes to achieving clarity of purpose, inspirationdoes matter. When we think of inspiration, we often think of loftyrhetoric.Butwhilerhetoriccancertainlyinspire,weneedtorememberthatconcreteobjectiveshavethepowertoelevateandinspireaswell.Apowerfulessentialintentinspirespeoplepartiallybecauseit isconcreteenough to answer the question, “How will we know when we havesucceeded?”Thiswas illustrated brilliantly tome by Professor BillMeehan,whospent thirty yearswithMcKinsey advising CEOs and senior leaders onstrategy andnow teaches a class called “The StrategicManagement of

Nonprofits”attheStanfordSchoolofBusiness.WhenItookhiscourseasagraduate student,oneof theassignmentshegaveuswas toevaluatethevisionandmissionstatementsofnonprofitorganizations.Astheclassreviewedmorethanonehundredexamples,theynoticed

that some of themost grandiosewere actually the least inspiring. Forexample, onehad themission to “eliminate hunger in theworld,” butgiven that therewere just five people in the organization, themissionfelt like little more than empty words. Then out of the clutteredlandscapeof such loose idealismcamea statementweall immediatelyunderstood and were inspired by. It was from a slightly unexpectedplace:theactor/socialentrepreneurBradPitt,who,appalledbythelackof progress in rebuilding New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, hadstartedanorganizationcalled“MakeItRight”with theessential intent“tobuild150affordable,green,storm-resistanthomesforfamilieslivingin the Lower9thWard.”That statement took the air out of the room.The concreteness of the objective made it real. The realness made itinspiring.Itansweredthequestion:“Howwillweknowwhenwehavesucceeded?”

LivingwithIntentEssential intent applies to somuchmore than your job description oryour company’s mission statement; a true essential intent is one thatguides your greater sense of purpose, and helps you chart your life’spath. For example, Nelson Mandela spent twenty-seven years in jailbecoming anEssentialist.Whenhewas thrown in jail in 1962he hadalmost everything taken fromhim:hishome,his reputation,hispride,andofcoursehisfreedom.Hechosetousethosetwenty-sevenyearstofocus on what was really essential and eliminate everything else—including his own resentment. He made it his essential intent toeliminateapartheidinSouthAfricaandindoingsoestablishedalegacythatlivesontoday.Creating an essential intent is hard. It takes courage, insight, and

foresight to seewhich activities and effortswill addup to your singlehighest point of contribution. It takes asking tough questions, makingrealtrade-offs,andexercisingseriousdisciplinetocutoutthecompetingpriorities that distract us from our true intention. Yet it is worth theeffortbecauseonlywithrealclarityofpurposecanpeople, teams,andorganizationsfullymobilizeandachievesomethingtrulyexcellent.

CHAPTER11

DARE

ThePowerofaGraceful“No”

COURAGEISGRACEUNDERPRESSURE.—ErnestHemingway

Theright“no”spokenattherighttimecanchangethecourseofhistory.Injustoneexampleofmany,RosaParks’squietbutresoluterefusalto

give upher seat on a segregatedMontgomery bus at exactly the rightmomentcoalescedintoforcesthatpropelledthecivilrightsmovement.AsParksrecalls,“When[thebusdriver]sawmestillsitting,heaskedifIwasgoingtostandup,andIsaid,‘No,I’mnot.’”1Contrarytopopularbelief,hercourageous“no”didnotgrowoutofa

particularly assertive tendency or personality in general. In fact,whenshewasmadeasecretarytothepresidentoftheMontgomerychapterofthe NAACP she explained, “I was the only woman there, and theyneededasecretary,andIwastootimidtosayno.”2Rather,herdecisionon thebusgrewoutofadeepconvictionabout

whatdeliberatechoice shewanted tomake in thatmoment.When thebusdriverorderedheroutofherseat,shesaid,“I feltadeterminationcovermybodylikeaquiltonawinternight.”3Shedidnotknowhowher decisionwould spark amovementwith reverberations around theworld.Butshedidknowherownmind.Sheknew,evenasshewasbeingarrested, that “it was the very last time that I would ever ride inhumiliationofthiskind.”4Avoidingthathumiliationwasworththeriskofincarceration.Indeed,toher,itwasessential.It is true thatwe are (hopefully) unlikely to find ourselves facing a

situation like the one faced byRosa Parks. Yetwe can be inspired byher.Wecanthinkofherwhenweneedthecouragetodaretosayno.

Wecanrememberherstrengthofconvictionwhenweneedtostandourgroundinthefaceofsocialpressuretocapitulatetothenonessential.Haveyoueverfeltatensionbetweenwhatyoufeltwasrightandwhatsomeone was pressuring you to do? Have you ever felt the conflictbetweenyourinternalconvictionandanexternalaction?Haveyoueversaidyeswhenyoumeantnosimply toavoidconflictor friction?Haveyouever felt tooscaredor timidto turndownan invitationorrequestfrom a boss, colleague, friend, neighbor, or familymember for fear ofdisappointing them? If you have, you’re not alone. Navigating thesemomentswithcourageandgraceisoneofthemost importantskills tomasterinbecominganEssentialist—andoneofthehardest.I didnot set out towrite a chapter about courage.But thedeeper IhavelookedatthesubjectofEssentialismthemoreclearlyIhaveseencourage as key to the process of elimination. Without courage, thedisciplined pursuit of less is just lip service. It is just the stuff of onemoredinnerpartyconversation. It is skindeep.Anyonecantalkaboutthe importance of focusing on the things thatmattermost—andmanypeopledo—buttoseepeoplewhodaretoliveitisrare.Isaythiswithoutjudgment.Wehavegoodreasonstofearsayingno.Weworrywe’llmissoutonagreatopportunity.We’rescaredofrockingtheboat,stirringthingsup,burningbridges.Wecan’tbearthethoughtofdisappointingsomeonewerespectandlike.Noneofthismakesusabadperson.It’sanaturalpartofbeinghuman.Yetashardasitcanbetosay no to someone, failing to do so can cause us to miss out onsomethingfarmoreimportant.A woman named Cynthia once told me a story about the time herfather had made plans to take her on a night out in San Francisco.Twelve-year-oldCynthiaandherfatherhadbeenplanningthe“date”formonths. They had awhole itinerary planned down to theminute: shewouldattendthelasthourofhispresentation,andthenmeethimatthebackoftheroomataboutfour-thirtyandleavequicklybeforeeveryonetried to talk tohim.Theywould catcha trolley car toChinatown, eatChinese food (their favorite), shop for a souvenir, see the sights for awhileandthen“catchaflick”asherdadlikedtosay.Thentheywouldgrabataxibacktothehotel,jumpinthepoolforaquickswim(herdadwasfamousforsneakinginwhenthepoolwasclosed),orderahotfudgesundaefromroomservice,andwatchthelate,lateshow.Theydiscussed

thedetailsoverandoverbefore they left.Theanticipationwaspartofthewholeexperience.Thiswasallgoingaccording toplanuntil,asher fatherwas leavingthe convention center, he ran into an old college friend and businessassociate.Ithadbeenyearssincetheyhadseeneachother,andCynthiawatchedastheyembracedenthusiastically.Hisfriendsaid, ineffect:“Iamsogladyouaredoingsomeworkwithourcompanynow.WhenLoisandIheardaboutitwethoughtitwouldbeperfect.Wewanttoinviteyou,andofcourseCynthia,togetaspectacularseafooddinnerdownattheWharf!” Cynthia’s father responded: “Bob, it’s so great to see you.Dinneratthewharfsoundsgreat!”Cynthiawascrestfallen.Herdaydreamsoftrolleyridesandicecreamsundaesevaporatedinaninstant.Plus,shehatedseafoodandshecouldjust imagine how bored she would be listening to the adults talk allnight. But then her father continued: “But not tonight. Cynthia and Ihave a special date planned, don’t we?” He winked at Cynthia andgrabbedherhandandtheyranoutofthedoorandcontinuedwithwhatwasanunforgettablenightinSanFrancisco.As ithappens,Cynthia’s fatherwasthemanagementthinkerStephenR.Covey(authorofTheSevenHabitsofHighlyEffectivePeople)whohadpassed away only weeks before Cynthia told me this story. So it waswithdeepemotionsherecalledthateveninginSanFrancisco.Hissimpledecision“BondedhimtomeforeverbecauseIknewwhatmatteredmosttohimwasme!”shesaid.5StephenR.Covey,oneofthemostrespectedandwidelyreadbusinessthinkersofhisgeneration,wasanEssentialist.NotonlydidheroutinelyteachEssentialist principles—like “Themain thing is to keep themainthing themain thing”—to important leadersandheadsof statearoundtheworld,helivedthem.6Andinthismomentof livingthemwithhisdaughter hemade amemory that literally outlasted his lifetime. Seenwith some perspective, his decision seems obvious. But many in hisshoes would have accepted the friend’s invitation for fear of seemingrudeorungrateful,orpassinguparareopportunitytodinewithanoldfriend. So why is it so hard in the moment to dare to choose what isessentialoverwhatisnonessential?One simple answer iswe are unclear aboutwhat is essential.Whenthishappenswebecomedefenseless.Ontheotherhand,whenwehave

stronginternalclarityitisalmostasifwehaveaforcefieldprotectingusfromthenonessentialscomingatusfromalldirections.WithRosaitwasherdeepmoralclaritythatgaveherunusualcourageofconviction.With Stephen it was the clarity of his vision for the eveningwith hisloving daughter. In virtually every instance, clarity about what isessentialfuelsuswiththestrengthtosaynotothenonessentials.

EssentiallyAwkwardAsecondreasonwhyitishardtochoosewhatisessentialinthemomentisassimpleasaninnatefearofsocialawkwardness.Thefactis,weashumansarewiredtowanttogetalongwithothers.Afterall,thousandsofyearsagowhenwealllivedintribesofhuntergatherers,oursurvivaldependedonit.Andwhileconformingtowhatpeopleinagroupexpectof us—what psychologists call normative conformity—is no longer amatteroflifeanddeath,thedesireisstilldeeplyingrainedinus.7Thisiswhy,whetherit’sanoldfriendwhoinvitesyoutodinnerorabosswhoasksyoutotakeonanimportantandhigh-profileproject,oraneighborwhobegsyoutohelpwiththePTAbakesale,theverythoughtofsayingnoliterallybringsusphysicaldiscomfort.Wefeelguilty.Wedon’twanttoletsomeonedown.Weareworriedaboutdamagingtherelationship.Buttheseemotionsmuddleourclarity.Theydistractusfromtherealityofthefactthateitherwecansaynoandregretitforafewminutes,orwecansayyesandregretitfordays,weeks,months,orevenyears.Theonlywayoutofthistrapistolearntosaynofirmly,resolutely,

andyetgracefully.Becauseoncewedo,wefind,notonlythatourfearsof disappointing or angering otherswere exaggerated, but that peopleactuallyrespectusmore.SincebecominganEssentialistIhavefounditalmost universally true that people respect and admire thosewith thecourageofconvictiontosayno.PeterDrucker,inmyviewthefatherofmodernmanagementthinking,

was also a master of the art of the graceful no. When MihalyCsikszentmihalyi,theHungarianprofessormostwellknownforhisworkon“flow,”reachedouttointerviewaseriesofcreativeindividualsforabook he was writing on creativity, Drucker’s response was interestingenoughtoMihalythathequoteditverbatim:“Iamgreatlyhonoredandflatteredbyyourkind letterofFebruary14th—for Ihaveadmiredyouandyourworkformanyyears,andIhavelearnedmuchfromit.But,mydearProfessorCsikszentmihalyi,IamafraidIhavetodisappointyou.Icould not possibly answer your questions. I am told I am creative—Idon’t knowwhat thatmeans.… I just keep on plodding.… I hope youwillnotthinkmepresumptuousorrudeifIsaythatoneofthesecretsofproductivity(inwhichIbelievewhereasIdonotbelieveincreativity)is

tohaveaVERYBIGwastepaperbaskettotakecareofALLinvitationssuch as yours—productivity in my experience consists of NOT doinganythingthathelpstheworkofotherpeoplebuttospendallone’stimeontheworktheGoodLordhasfittedonetodo,andtodowell.”8A true Essentialist, PeterDrucker believed that “people are effectivebecausetheysayno.”Nonessentialistssayyesbecauseoffeelingsofsocialawkwardnessandpressure.Theysayyesautomatically,withoutthinking,ofteninpursuitof the rush one gets from having pleased someone. But Essentialistsknowthataftertherushcomesthepangofregret.Theyknowtheywillsoon feel bullied and resentful—both at the other person and atthemselves.Eventuallytheywillwakeuptotheunpleasantrealitythatsomethingmoreimportantmustnowbesacrificedtoaccommodatethisnewcommitment.Ofcourse, thepoint isnot to sayno toall requests.The point is to say no to the nonessentials so we can say yes to thethings thatreallymatter. It is tosayno—frequentlyandgracefully—toeverythingbutwhatistrulyvital.

Nonessentialist Essentialist

AvoidssayingnotoavoidfeelingsocialawkwardnessandpressureSaysyestoeverything

Darestosaynofirmly,resolutely,andgracefullySaysyesonlytothethingsthatreallymatter

Sohowdowelearntosaynogracefully?Belowaregeneralguidelinesfollowedbyanumberofspecificscriptsfordeliveringthegraceful“no.”

SEPARATETHEDECISIONFROMTHERELATIONSHIP

Whenpeopleaskus todosomething,wecanconfuse therequestwithourrelationshipwiththem.Sometimestheyseemsointerconnected,weforget that denying the request is not the same as denying theperson.Onlyonceweseparatethedecisionfromtherelationshipcanwemakeacleardecisionand then separately find the courageand compassion to

communicateit.9

SAYING“NO”GRACEFULLYDOESN’THAVETOMEANUSINGTHEWORDNO

Essentialistschoose “no”moreoften than they say no. Theremay be atimewhenthemostgracefulwaytosaynoistosimplysayabluntno.Butwhetherit’s“IamflatteredthatyouthoughtofmebutI’mafraidIdon’t have the bandwidth” or “I would very much like to but I’movercommitted,”thereareavarietyofwaysofrefusingsomeoneclearlyand politely without actually using the word no. Later in the chapteryou’llfindmoreexamplesofwaystogracefullywordyour“no.”

FOCUSONTHETRADE-OFF

Themorewe think aboutwhatwe are giving upwhenwe say yes tosomeone, the easier it is to say no. If we have no clear sense of theopportunitycost—inotherwords,thevalueofwhatwearegivingup—then it is especially easy to fall into the nonessential trap of tellingourselveswecangetitalldone.Wecan’t.Agraceful“no”growsoutofaclearbutunstatedcalculationofthetrade-off.

REMINDYOURSELFTHATEVERYONEISSELLINGSOMETHING

Thisdoesn’tmeanyouhavetobecynicalaboutpeople.Idon’tmeantoimplypeopleshouldn’tbetrusted.Iamsimplysayingeveryoneissellingsomething—an idea, a viewpoint, an opinion—in exchange for yourtime. Simply being aware of what is being sold allows us to bemoredeliberateindecidingwhetherwewanttobuyit.

MAKEYOURPEACEWITHTHEFACTTHATSAYING“NO”OFTENREQUIRESTRADINGPOPULARITYFORRESPECT

When you say no, there is usually a short-term impact on therelationship.Afterall,whensomeoneasksforsomethinganddoesn’tgetit,hisorher immediate reactionmaybeannoyanceordisappointment

orevenanger.Thisdownsideisclear.Thepotentialupside,however,isless obvious: when the initial annoyance or disappointment or angerwearsoff,therespectkicksin.Whenwepushbackeffectively,itshowspeoplethatourtimeishighlyvaluable.Itdistinguishestheprofessionalfromtheamateur.AcaseinpointisthetimethegraphicdesignerPaulRandhadtheguts

to say no to Steve Jobs.10 When Jobs was looking for a logo for thecompanyNeXT,heaskedRand,whoseworkincludedthelogosforIBM,UPS,Enron,Westinghouse,andABC,tocomeupwithafewoptions.ButRanddidn’twanttocomeupwith“afewoptions.”Hewantedtodesignjust oneoption. SoRand said: “No. Iwill solveyourproblem for you.And youwill payme. And you don’t have to use the solution. If youwantoptionsgo talk tootherpeople.But Iwill solve theproblem thebest way I know how. And you use it or not. That’s up to you.” Notsurprisingly,Randsolvedtheproblemandcreatedthe“jewel”logoJobswanted,butthereallessonhereistheeffectRand’s“pushback”hadonJobs,wholatersaidofRand,“HeisoneofthemostprofessionalpeopleIhaveeverworkedwith:inthesensethathehadthoughtthroughallofthe formal relationship between a client and a professional such ashimself.” Rand took a risk when he said no. He bet a short-termpopularitylossforalong-termgaininrespect.Anditpaidoff.Essentialists accept they cannot be popularwith everyone all of the

time.Yes,sayingnorespectfully,reasonably,andgracefullycancomeatashort-termsocialcost.ButpartoflivingthewayoftheEssentialistisrealizingrespectisfarmorevaluablethanpopularityinthelongrun.

REMEMBERTHATACLEAR“NO”CANBEMOREGRACEFULTHANAVAGUEORNONCOMMITTAL“YES”

As anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of this situationknows,aclear“Iamgoingtopassonthis”isfarbetterthannotgettingback to someone or stringing them along with some noncommittalanswerlike“Iwilltrytomakethiswork”or“Imightbeableto”whenyouknowyoucan’t.Beingvagueisnotthesameasbeinggraceful,anddelayingtheeventual“no”willonlymakeitthatmuchharder—andtherecipientthatmuchmoreresentful.

The“No”RepertoireRemember, Essentialists don’t say no just occasionally. It is a part oftheirregularrepertoire.Toconsistentlysaynowithgrace,then,ithelpsto have a variety of responses to call upon. Below are eight responsesyoucanputinyour“no”repertoire.1.Theawkwardpause.Insteadofbeingcontrolledbythethreatofan

awkwardsilence,ownit.Useitasatool.Whenarequestcomestoyou(obviouslythisworksonlyinperson),justpauseforamoment.Counttothree before delivering your verdict. Or if you get a bit more bold,simplywaitfortheotherpersontofillthevoid.2.Thesoft“no”(orthe“nobut”).Irecentlyreceivedane-mailinviting

metocoffee.Ireplied:“Iamconsumedwithwritingmybookrightnow:) But I would love to get together once the book is finished. Letmeknowifwecangettogethertowardstheendofthesummer.”E-mailisalsoagoodwaytostartpracticingsaying“nobut”becauseit

gives you the chance to draft and redraft your “no” to make it asgracefulaspossible.Plus,manypeople find that thedistanceofe-mailreducesthefearofawkwardness.3.“Letmecheckmycalendarandgetbacktoyou.”OneleaderIknow

found her time being hijacked by other people all day. A classicNonessentialist,shewascapableandsmartandunabletosayno,andasaresultshesoonbecamea“goto”person.Peoplewouldrunuptoherandsay,“CouldyouhelpwithXproject?”Meaningtobeagoodcitizen,she said yes. But soon she felt burdened with all of these differentagendas.Thingschangedforherwhenshelearnedtouseanewphrase:“Letmecheckmycalendarandgetbacktoyou.”Itgaveherthetimetopause and reflect and ultimately reply that she was regretfullyunavailable. It enabled her to take back control of her own decisionsratherthanberushedintoa“yes”whenshewasasked.4.Usee-mailbouncebacks. It is totallynaturalandexpectedtogetan

autoresponsewhensomeoneistravelingoroutoftheoffice.Really,thisis themost socially acceptable “no” there is.Peoplearen’t saying theydon’twanttoreplytoyoure-mail,they’rejustsayingtheycan’tgetbackto you for a period of time. So why limit these to vacations andholidays?WhenIwaswritingthisbookIsetane-mailbouncebackwith

the subject line “InMonkMode.”Thee-mail said: “DearFriends, I amcurrentlyworkingonanewbookwhichhasputenormousburdensonmytime.Unfortunately,IamunabletorespondinthemannerIwouldlike. For this, I apologize.—Greg.” And guesswhat? People seemed toadapttomytemporaryabsenceandnonresponsivenessjustfine.5.Say,“Yes.WhatshouldIdeprioritize?”Sayingnotoaseniorleaderatworkisalmostunthinkable,evenlaughable,formanypeople.However,whensayingyesisgoingtocompromiseyourabilitytomakethehighestlevelofcontributiontoyourwork,itisalsoyourobligation.Inthiscaseitisnotonlyreasonabletosayno,itisessential.Oneeffectivewaytodothat is to remind your superiorswhat youwould be neglecting if yousaidyesandforcethemtograpplewiththetrade-off.Forexample,ifyourmanagercomestoyouandasksyoutodoX,youcan respondwith “Yes, I’m happy tomake this the priority.Which ofthese other projects should I deprioritize to pay attention to this newproject?”Orsimplysay,“Iwouldwanttodoagreatjob,andgivenmyothercommitmentsIwouldn’tbeabletodoajobIwasproudofifItookthison.”Iknowaleaderwhoreceivedthisresponsefromasubordinate.Therewasnowayhewanted toberesponsible fordisrupting thisproductiveandorganizedemployee,sohetookthenonessentialworkprojectbackandgaveittosomeoneelsewhowaslessorganized!6.Say itwithhumor. I recentlywasaskedbya friend to joinhim intrainingforamarathon.Myresponsewassimple:“Nope!”Helaughedalittle and said, “Ah,youpracticewhatyoupreach.” Justgoes to showhowusefulitistohaveareputationasanEssentialist!7.Usethewords“YouarewelcometoX.IamwillingtoY.”Forexample,“Youarewelcometoborrowmycar.Iamwillingtomakesurethekeysarehereforyou.”Bythisyouarealsosaying,“Iwon’tbeabletodriveyou.”Youare sayingwhatyouwillnotdo,butyouarecouching it intermsofwhatyouarewillingtodo.Thisisaparticularlygoodwaytonavigate a request you would like to support somewhat but cannotthrowyourfullweightbehind.Iparticularlylikethisconstructbecauseitalsoexpressesarespectfortheotherperson’sabilitytochoose,aswellasyourown.Itremindsbothpartiesofthechoicestheyhave.8.“Ican’tdoit,butXmightbeinterested.” It is temptingtothinkthat

ourhelp isuniquely invaluable,butoftenpeople requestingsomethingdon’t reallycare ifwe’re theoneswhohelp them—as longas theygetthehelp.KayKrill,theCEOofAnn,Inc.(a.k.a.AnnTaylorandLOFTwomen’sclothing retailers), used to have a terrible time saying no to socialinvitations.Asaresult,shewouldendupatnetworkingeventsshehadno interest in attending. Shewould findherself going to office partiesandregrettingitthemomentshegotthere.Thenonedayoneofhermentors came toherand toldher that shehadtolearntojettisonthepeopleandthingsofherlifethatjustdidn’tmatter, and that doing so would allow her to put 100 percent of herenergy into the things thathadmeaning forher.Thatadvice liberatedher.Nowsheisabletopickandchoose.Withpractice,politelydeclininganinvitationhasbecomeeasyforher.Kayexplains:“IsaynoveryeasilybecauseIknowwhatisimportanttome.IonlywishthatIlearnedhowtodothatearlierinmylife.”11Sayingno is itsown leadership capability. It isnot just aperipheralskill. As with any ability, we start with limited experience. We arenovicesat“no.”Thenwe learnacoupleofbasic techniques.Wemakemistakes. We learn from them. We develop more skills. We keeppracticing. After a while we have a whole repertoire available at ourdisposal, and in time we have gained mastery of a type of social artform. We can handle almost any request from almost anybody withgrace anddignity.TomFriel, the formerCEOofHeidrick&Struggles,oncesaidtome,“Weneedtolearntheslow‘yes’andthequick‘no.’”

CHAPTER12

UNCOMMIT

WinBigbyCuttingYourLosses

HALFOFTHETROUBLESOFTHISLIFECANBETRACEDTOSAYINGYESTOOQUICKLYANDNOTSAYINGNOSOONENOUGH.

—JoshBillings

By any estimation, the Concorde jet was a striking achievement inaeronautical engineering. Aboard this passenger plane you could flyfromLondon toNewYork in as little as two hours, fifty-twominutes,and fifty-nine seconds.1 That’s less than half the time of a traditionalplane,makingtheConcordethefastestpassengerplaneintheworld.Unfortunately,itwasalsoanextraordinaryfinancialfailure.Ofcourse

manygreatideas,innovations,andproductsare.Butwhatmadethisonedifferentwasthat itconsistently lostmoneyformorethanfourdecades.Yeteach time itwentoverbudget theFrenchandBritishgovernmentspouredmoreandmoremoneyin.Theydidthisevenknowingthat thechanceof recouping theircontinued investments, letalone theoriginalexpenditures, were miniscule; with the plane’s limited seating, feworderscomingin,andthehighcostofproduction,itwasclearthatevenwith exaggerated estimates the project would never be profitable.Indeed,whentheBritishcabinetpaperswerereleasedunderthethirty-yearrule,theyrevealedthatgovernmentministersatthetimeknewtheinvestment“couldnotstandonnormaleconomicgrounds.”2Why would intelligent, capable British and French government

officialscontinuetoinvestinwhatwasclearlyalosingpropositionforsolong?One reason is a very common psychological phenomenon called“sunk-costbias.”Sunk-cost bias is the tendency to continue to invest time,money, or

energy into somethingweknow isa losingproposition simplybecausewehavealreadyincurred,orsunk,acostthatcannotberecouped.Butofcoursethiscaneasilybecomeaviciouscycle:themoreweinvest,themoredeterminedwebecome to see it throughand seeour investmentpayoff.Themoreweinvestinsomething,theharderitistoletgo.ThesunkcostsfordevelopingandbuildingtheConcordewerearound$1 billion. Yet the more money the British and French governmentspouredintoit,theharderitwastowalkaway.3Individualsareequallyvulnerable to sunk-cost bias. It explains why we’ll continue to sitthroughaterriblemoviebecausewe’vealreadypaidthepriceofaticket.Itexplainswhywecontinuetopourmoneyintoahomerenovationthatneverseemstonearcompletion.Itexplainswhywe’llcontinuetowaitforabusora subway train thatnever comes insteadofhailinga cab,and it explains why we invest in toxic relationships even when oureffortsonlymakethingsworse.Exampleslikethisabound;considerthesomewhatbizarrestoryofamannamedHenryGribbohm,whorecentlyspenthisentirelifesavings,$2,600intotal,atacarnivalgametryingtowinanXboxKinect.Themorehespent,themoredeterminedhebecametowin.Henrysaid,“Youjustgetcaughtupinthewhole‘I’vegottowinmymoneyback,’butitdidn’tturnoutthatway.”4Themoreheinvestedintryingtowinthisnonessentialitem,theharderitwasforhimtowalkaway.Have you ever continued to invest time or effort in a nonessentialprojectinsteadofcuttingyourlosses?Haveyouevercontinuedtopourmoney into an investment thatwasn’t panning out instead ofwalkingaway?Haveyoueverkeptploddingdownadeadendbecauseyoucouldnot admit, “I shouldn’t havepursued this direction in the first place”?Ever been stuck in a cycle of “throwing good money after bad”? ANonessentialistcan’tbreakfreeoftrapslikethese.AnEssentialisthasthecourageandconfidencetoadmithisorhermistakesanduncommit,nomatterthesunkcosts.

Nonessentialist Essentialist

Asks,“WhystopnowwhenI’veAsks,“IfIweren’talreadyinvestedinthisproject,howmuchwouldIinvest

alreadyinvestedsomuchinthisproject?”Thinks,“IfIjustkeeptrying,Icanmakethiswork.”Hatesadmittingtomistakes

initnow?”Thinks,“WhatelsecouldIdowiththistimeormoneyifIpulledtheplugnow?”Comfortablewithcuttinglosses

Sunk-cost bias, while all too common, isn’t the only Nonessentialisttraptowatchoutfor.Belowareseveralothercommontrapsandtipsforhowtoextricateyourselfpolitely,gracefully,andwithminimalcost.

AvoidingCommitmentTraps

BEWAREOFTHEENDOWMENTEFFECT

Asenseofownershipisapowerfulthing.Asthesayinggoes,nobodyinthehistoryoftheworldhaswashedtheirrentalcar!Thisisbecauseofsomething called “the endowment effect,” our tendency to undervaluethingsthataren’toursandtoovervaluethingsbecausewealreadyownthem.In one study demonstrating the power of the endowment effect, the

Nobel Prize–winning researcher Daniel Kahneman and colleaguesrandomlygavecoffeemugstoonlyhalfthesubjectsinanexperiment.5Thefirstgroupwasaskedhowmuchtheywouldbewillingtoselltheirmugfor,whilethesecondgroupwasaskedwhattheywouldbewillingtopayforit.Itturnedoutthestudentswho“owned”themugsrefusedtosellforlessthan$5.25,whilethosewithoutthecupswerewillingtopayonly$2.25to$2.75.Themerefactofownership,inotherwords,causedthemugowners to value the objectsmorehighly andmade them lesswillingtopartwiththem.Inyourownlife,I’msureyoucanthinkofitemsthatseemtobemore

valuable the moment you think about giving them away. Think of abookonyourshelfyouhaven’treadinyears,orakitchenappliancestillsittinginthebox,orthesweateryougotfromAuntMildredbutneverwore. Whether or not you get any use or enjoyment out of them,subconsciously,theveryfactthattheyareyoursmakesyouvaluethemmorehighlythanyouwouldiftheydidn’tbelongtoyou.Unfortunately, we have this bias when it comes to nonessential

activitiesaswellasbelongings.Theproject that isn’tgettinganywhereatworkseemsthatmuchmorecriticalwhenwe’retheteamleaderonit.Thecommitmenttovolunteerat the localbakesalebecomeshardertogetoutofwhenwe’re theonewhoput the fund-raiser together.Whenwe feel we “own” an activity, it becomes harder to uncommit.Nonetheless,hereisausefultip:

PRETENDYOUDON’TOWNITYET

Tom Stafford describes a simple antidote to the endowment effect.6Insteadofasking,“HowmuchdoIvaluethisitem?”weshouldask,“IfIdidnotownthisitem,howmuchwouldIpaytoobtainit?”Wecandothesameforopportunitiesandcommitment.Don’task,“HowwillIfeelif I miss out on this opportunity?” but rather, “If I did not have thisopportunity,howmuchwouldIbewillingtosacrificeinordertoobtainit?”Similarly,wecanask,“If Iwasn’talready involved in thisproject,howhardwouldIworktogetonit?”7

GETOVERTHEFEAROFWASTE

Hal Arkes, a professor of psychology at Ohio State University whostudies judgment indecisionmaking,waspuzzledby an enigma.Whyare adults somuchmore vulnerable to the sunk-cost bias than youngchildren?Theanswer,hebelieves,isalifetimeofexposuretothe“Don’twaste” rule, so thatby the timeweareadultsweare trained toavoidappearing wasteful, even to ourselves.8 “Abandoning a project thatyou’veinvestedalotinfeelslikeyou’vewastedeverything,andwasteissomethingwe’retoldtoavoid,”Arkessaid.9To illustrate this he gave the following scenario to a group ofparticipants: “Assume that you have spent $100 on a ticket for aweekendskitriptoMichigan.Severalweekslateryoubuya$50ticketfor a weekend ski trip to Wisconsin. You think you will enjoy theWisconsin ski tripmore than theMichiganski trip.Asyouareputtingyour newly purchasedWisconsin ticket in yourwallet you notice thatthe Michigan ski trip and the Wisconsin ski trip are for the sameweekend. It’s too late to sell or return either ticket. Youmust choosewhichtouse.”Whenasked,“Whichskitripwillyougoon?”morethanhalfsaidtheywouldoptforthemoreexpensivetrip,eventhoughtheywouldenjoyitless.Their(faulty)reasoningwasthatusingthecheaperticketwouldbewastingmoremoneythanusingtheexpensiveticket.It’snaturalnot towant to let goofwhatwewastedonabad choice, butwhenwedon’t,wedoomourselvestokeepwastingevenmore.

INSTEAD,ADMITFAILURETOBEGINSUCCESS

Irememberafriendwhowouldneverstoptoaskfordirectionsbecausehecouldneveradmithewaslost.Sowewouldwastetimeandenergydriving around in circles, getting nowhere—the epitome of anonessentialactivity.Only when we admit we have made a mistake in committing tosomethingcanwemakeamistakeapartofourpast.Whenweremainindenial,ontheotherhand,wecontinuetocirclepointlessly.Thereshouldbe no shame in admitting to a mistake; after all, we really are onlyadmittingthatwearenowwiserthanweoncewere.

STOPTRYINGTOFORCEAFIT

In themovie Tootsie, Dustin Hoffman plays a struggling actor who istrying to getwork. Themovie begins comicallywith a series of failedauditions. At one he is told, “We need someone a little older.” At thenextheistold,“We’relookingforsomeoneyounger.”Thenatthenext,“You’rethewrongheight,”towhichheresponds,“Icanbetaller.”Theexecutive responds, “No. We’re looking for somebody shorter.”Desperatetomakeitwork,Hoffman’scharacterexplains:“Look.Idon’thave to be this tall. See, I’m wearing lifts. I can be shorter.” But theexecutive also insists, “I know, but we’re looking for somebodydifferent.”Stillpersistent,thewould-beactorpushesbackagain:“Icanbe different.” The point is that we often act like Dustin Hoffman’scharacterbytryingtoohardtobesomethingwe’renot.Whetherinourpersonalorprofessional lives, it is all too tempting to force somethingthatissimplyamismatch.Thesolution?

GETANEUTRALSECONDOPINION

Whenwegetsoemotionallyhungupontryingtoforcesomethingthatisnottherightfit,wecanoftenbenefitfromasoundingboard.Someonewhoisnotemotionally involved in thesituationandunaffectedbythechoicewemake can give us the permission to stop forcing somethingthatisclearlynotworkingout.Ioncewastedmonthsofefforttryingtoforceaprojectthatjustwasn’t

working out. Looking back, the more I put into it the worse thingsbecame.Butmyirrationalresponsewastoinveststillmore.Ithought,“Icanmake thiswork!” Ididnotwant toaccept Ihadbeenwastingmyeffort. I finally shared my frustration with a friend who had theadvantage of being emotionally removed from the project—someonewho wasn’t burdened with the sunk costs and could evaluate mydecisionswith someperspective.After listening tomehe said, “You’renotmarriedtothis.”AndwiththosesimplewordsIwasliberatedtostopinvestinginanonessential.

BEAWAREOFTHESTATUSQUOBIAS

The tendency to continue doing something simply because we havealwaysdoneitissometimescalledthe“statusquobias.”Ionceworkedatacompanythatusedanemployeeevaluationsystemthatseemedtome sowoefullyoutdated that I becamecurious abouthow long ithadbeeninplace.AsIsearchedforitscreatorinthecompanyIfoundthatnobody,uptoandincludingthelong-standingheadofHR,knewof itsorigin. More shocking still, in the ten years she had been at thecompany, nobody had once questioned the system. It’s all too easy toblindlyacceptandnotbothertoquestioncommitmentssimplybecausetheyhavealreadybeenestablished.One cure for the status quo bias is borrowed from the world of

accounting:

APPLYZERO-BASEDBUDGETING

Typically, when accountants allocate a budget they use last year’sbudgetasthebaselineforthenextyear’sprojection.Butwithzero-basedbudgeting, theyusezeroas thebaseline. Inotherwords,every iteminthe proposed budget must be justified from scratch. While this takesmoreeffortithasmanyadvantages:itefficientlyallocatesresourcesonthe basis of needs rather than history, it detects exaggerated budgetrequests, it draws attention to obsolete operations, and it encouragespeople to be clearer in their purpose and how their expenses align tothatproject.

Youcanapplyzero-basedbudgetingtoyourownendeavors.Insteadoftryingtobudgetyourtimeonthebasisofexistingcommitments,assumethat all bets are off. All previous commitments are gone. Then beginfromscratch,askingwhichyouwouldaddtoday.Youcandothiswitheverything from the financial obligations youhave to projects you arecommittedto,evenrelationshipsyouarein.Everyuseoftime,energy,or resources has to justify itself anew. If it no longer fits, eliminate italtogether.

STOPMAKINGCASUALCOMMITMENTS

Somepeople’sdaysarefulltothebrimwithsoftcommitmentstheyhavetaken on unintentionally through an offhand comment or casualconversation theyhad somewherewith someone.Youknow thekind Imean—you’rechattingwithyourneighboraboutherworkonthePTA,yourcolleagueaboutanewinitiativesheisheadingup,oryourfriendaboutanewrestauranthewantstotry,andbeforeyouknowit,boom,you’recommitted.

FROMNOWON,PAUSEBEFOREYOUSPEAK

Itmightsoundobvious,butpausingforjustfivesecondsbeforeofferingyourservicescangreatlyreducethepossibilityofmakingacommitmentyou’llregret.Beforethewords“Thatsoundsgreat,I’dloveto”flyoutofyourmouth, askyourself, “Is this essential?” If you’ve alreadymadeacasualcommitmentyou’reregretting,findanicewaytowormyourwayout. Simply apologize and tell the person that when you made thecommitmentyoudidn’tfullyrealizewhatitwouldentail.

GETOVERTHEFEAROFMISSINGOUT

We’veseenampleevidenceinthischaptersuggestingthatthemajorityofusarenaturallyvery loss-averse.Asaresult,oneof theobstaclestouncommittingourselvesfromapresentcourseisthefearofmissingoutonsomethinggreat.

TOFIGHTTHISFEAR,RUNAREVERSEPILOT

One of the ideas that has grown popular in business circles in recentyearsis“prototyping.”Buildingaprototype,orlarge-scalemodel,allowscompanies to test-run an idea or product without making a hugeinvestment up front. Exactly the same idea can be used in reverse toeliminate nonessentials in a relatively low-risk way, by running whatDanielShapero,adirectoratLinkedIn,callsa“reversepilot.”10In a reverse pilot you testwhether removing an initiative or activity

willhaveanynegativeconsequences.Forexample,whenanexecutiveIwork with took on a new senior role in the company, he inherited aprocesshispredecessorhadgonetoahugeefforttoimplement:ahuge,highly visual report on a myriad of subjects produced for the otherexecutiveseachweek.Itconsumedenormousenergyfromhisteam,andhe hypothesized that it was not adding a great deal of value to thecompany. So to test his hypothesis he ran a reverse pilot. He simplystopped publishing the report and waited to see what the responsewould be. What he found was that no one seemed to miss it; afterseveral weeks nobody had evenmentioned the report. As a result, heconcludedthatthereportwasnotessentialtothebusinessandcouldbeeliminated.Asimilarreversepilotcanbecarriedoutinoursociallives.Arethere

commitments you routinely make to customers, colleagues, friends oreven family members that you have always assumed made a bigdifferencetothembutthatinfacttheymightbarelynotice?Byquietlyeliminatingorat leastscalingbackanactivityforafewdaysorweeksyoumightbeable toassesswhether it is reallymakingadifferenceorwhethernoonereallycares.Even using these techniques, it’s true that “uncommitting” can be

harder than simply not committing in the first place. We feel guiltysayingnotosomethingorsomeonewehavealreadycommittedto,andlet’sfaceit,noonelikesgoingbackontheirword.Yetlearninghowtodoso—inwaysthatwillgarneryourespectforyourcourage,focus,anddiscipline—iscrucialtobecominganEssentialist.

CHAPTER13

EDIT

TheInvisibleArt

ISAWTHEANGELINTHEMARBLEANDCARVEDUNTILISETHIMFREE.—Michelangelo

Everyyear at theAcademyAwards themostnotableprize is for “BestPicture.”Themediaspeculateonitforweekspriortothebroadcast,andmostviewersstayupwellpasttheirbedtimestoseeitawarded.Thereisafarlesshypedawardonthenight:theoneforfilmediting.Let’sfaceit:most viewers flip the channel or go into the kitchen to refill theirpopcornbowlwhenthewinnerof“BestFilmEditing”isannounced.Yetwhat most people don’t know is that the two awards are highlycorrelated:since1981notasinglefilmhaswonBestPicturewithoutatleastbeingnominatedforFilmEditing.Infact,inabouttwo-thirdsofthecases the movie nominated for Film Editing has gone on to win BestPicture.1In the history of the Academy Awards, the most respected (if not

exactlycelebrated)filmeditorisMichaelKahn,witheightnominations—morethananyoneelseinthebusiness—andthreewinsunderhisbelt.Whilehisishardlyahouseholdname,thefilmshehaseditedcertainlyare.HeistheeditorofsuchnotablefilmsasSavingPrivateRyan,Raidersof the Lost Ark, Schindler’s List, and Lincoln. Indeed, over thirty-sevenyearshehaseditedalmostallofStevenSpielberg’smovies,becominghisright-handmanintheprocess.YetonlyahandfulofpeopleknowKahn’sname.Itisforgoodreasonthatfilmeditingissometimesknownasthe“invisibleart.”Clearly, editing—which involves the strict elimination of the trivial,

unimportant, or irrelevant—is an Essentialist craft. So what makes a

goodeditor?WhentheeditingbranchoftheAcademyofMotionPictureArts and Sciences sits down to select their nominees for film editing,they try, as Mark Harris has written, “very hard not to look at whatthey’resupposedtobe lookingat.”2 Inotherwords,agoodfilmeditormakes it hard not to see what’s important because she eliminateseverythingbuttheelementsthatabsolutelyneedtobethere.In chapter 6 we likened exploring to being a journalist; it involvesasking questions, listening, and connecting the dots in order todistinguish the essential few from the trivialmany. So itmakes sensethat the next stage in the Essentialist process, eliminating thenonessentials, means taking on the role of an editor in your life andleadership.JackDorseyisbestknownasthecreatorofTwitterandasthefounderand CEO of Square, a mobile payments company. His Essentialistapproachtomanagementisarelativelyrareone.AtadinnerIattendedrecentlywherehespoke,hesaidhethinksof theroleofCEOasbeingthe chief editor of the company. At another event at Stanford heexplained further: “Byeditorial Imean therearea thousand thingswecouldbedoing.Butthere[are]onlyoneortwothatareimportant.Andalloftheseideas…andinputsfromengineers,supportpeople,designersaregoingtoconstantlyfloodwhatweshouldbedoing.…AsaneditorIamconstantlytakingtheseinputsanddecidingtheone,or intersectionofafew,thatmakesenseforwhatwearedoing.”3Aneditorisnotmerelysomeonewhosaysnotothings.Athree-year-oldcandothat.Nordoesaneditorsimplyeliminate;infact, inaway,aneditor actuallyadds.What Imean is that a goodeditor is someonewhousesdeliberatesubtraction toactuallyadd life to the ideas, setting,plot,andcharacters.Likewise, in life, disciplined editing can help add to your level ofcontribution.Itincreasesyourabilitytofocusonandgiveenergytothethingsthatreallymatter.Itlendsthemostmeaningfulrelationshipsandactivitiesmorespacetoblossom.Editing aids the effortless execution of the Essentialist by removinganythingdistractingorunnecessaryorawkward.Or,asonebookeditorputit:“Myjobistomakelifeaseffortlessaspossibleforthereader.Thegoalistohelpthereaderhavetheclearestpossibleunderstandingofthemostimportantmessageortakeaway.”

Ofcourse,editingalsoinvolvesmakingtrade-offs.Insteadoftryingtofit it all in—every character, every plot twist, every detail—an editorasks,“Willthischaracterorplottwistordetailmakeitbetter?”Foranauthor—whetheroffilms,books,orjournalism—itiseasytogetoverlycommittedtoacertainideaorbodyofwork,especiallyoneyouslavedover. It can be quite painful to eliminate passages, pages, or evenchaptersthattookweeks,months,maybeevenyearstowriteinthefirstplace.Yetsuchdisciplinedeliminationiscriticaltothecraft.Youmust,as Stephen King has said, “kill your darlings, kill your darlings, evenwhen it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill yourdarlings.”4

Nonessentialist Essentialist

ThinksthatmakingthingsbettermeansaddingsomethingAttachedtoeveryword,image,ordetail

ThinksthatmakingthingsbettermeanssubtractingsomethingEliminatesthedistractingwords,images,anddetails

Ofcourse,editingafilm,orabook,oranyothercreativeworkisnotthe same as editing your life. In life, we don’t have the luxury ofrevisitingaconversationwehavejusthad,orameetingwejustled,orapresentation we just made and reworking it, red pen in hand.Nevertheless, four simple principles inherent in editing do apply toeditingthenonessentialsoutofourlives.

EditingLife

CUTOUTOPTIONS

Tostatetheobvious,editinginvolvescuttingoutthingsthatconfusethereaderandcloudthemessageorstory.Itisamatterofrecordthatwell-editedmoviesandbooksareeasyontheeyeandthebrain.Whenmakingdecisions,decidingtocutoptionscanbeterrifying—but

thetruthis,itistheveryessenceofdecisionmaking.5Infact:

TheLatinrootoftheworddecision—cisorcid—literallymeans“tocut”or“tokill.”

You can see this in words like scissors, homicide, or fratricide. Sinceultimately,havingfeweroptionsactuallymakesadecision“easierontheeyeandthebrain,”wemustsummonthedisciplinetogetridofoptionsoractivities thatmaybegood,orevenreallygood,but thatget in theway.Yes,makingthechoicetoeliminatesomethinggoodcanbepainful.Buteventually, everycutproduces joy—maybenot in themomentbutafterwards, when we realize that every additional moment we havegainedcanbespentonsomethingbetter.ThatmaybeonereasonwhyStephenKinghaswritten,“Towriteishuman,toeditisdivine.”6

CONDENSE

Manypeoplehavebeencreditedwithcomingupwiththisaptsentiment:“Imust apologize: if I hadmore time I would have written a shorter

letter.” It’s true that doing less can be harder, both in art and in life.Everyword,everyscene,everyactivitymustcountformore.Aneditorisruthlessinthepursuitofmakingeverywordcount.Insteadofsayingitin twosentences,canyousay it inone? Is itpossible touseonewordwheretwoarecurrentlybeingused?AsAlanD.Williamsobservedintheessay “What Is an Editor?” there are “two basic questions the editorshould be addressing to the author:Are you sayingwhat youwant tosay? and, Are you saying it as clearly and concisely as possible?”7Condensingmeanssayingitasclearlyandconciselyaspossible.Likewise, in life, condensing allows us to do more with less. Forexample,whenGrahamHillmovedintoa420-square-footapartmentinNewYork,hewantedtoseehowwellhecouldcondenseeverythingheowned.Theultimateresultwasadesignhecallsa“littlejewelbox.”Thejewelboxworksbecauseeverypieceoffurniturehasmultiplefunctions.Thewallontheleftofthepicture,forexample,actsasalargeprojectorscreenforwatchingmoviesandalsohousestwoguestbedsthatcanbepulledoutwhenvisitorscometostay.Thewalltotherightfoldsdown,overthecouch,torevealaqueenbed.Everythingdoesdoubleortripleduty; in other words, everything makes a greater contribution toapartmentlife.Thisdesignturnedouttobesoinnovativethatheturneditintoabusinessdevotedtotheartofgettingmoreoutoflessspace.Henamedit,appropriately,LifeEdited.com.Buttobeclear,condensingdoesn’tmeandoingmoreatonce,itsimplymeanslesswaste.Itmeansloweringtheratioofwordstoideas,squarefeet to usefulness, or effort to results. Thus to apply the principle ofcondensingtoourlivesweneedtoshifttheratioofactivitytomeaning.Weneed toeliminatemultiplemeaninglessactivitiesand replace themwith one very meaningful activity. For example, one employee at acompanyI’veworkedwith(onewhowaswellenoughestablishedtonothavetoworryaboutbeingfired)routinelyskippedtheweeklymeetingotherpeopleattendedandwouldsimplyaskthemwhathehadmissed.Thus he condensed a two-hourmeeting into tenminutes and investedtherestofthatredeemedtimegettingtheimportantworkdone.

CORRECT

Aneditor’sjobisnotjusttocutorcondensebutalsotomakesomething

right. It can be a change as minor as a grammar correction or asinvolvedas fixing the flaws inanargument.Todo thiswell,aneditormusthaveaclearsenseoftheoverarchingpurposeoftheworkheorsheis editing. As Michael Kahn explains, he doesn’t always do whatSpielberg tells him to do; instead, he does what he thinks Spielbergreallywants.Understandingtheoverarchingintentallowshimtomakethe corrections that even Spielberg himself might not be able toverbalize.Similarly,inourownprofessionalorprivateliveswecanmakecoursecorrections by coming back to our core purpose. Having a clearoverarching intent, as discussed in chapter 10, enables us to checkourselves—to regularly compareour activities or behaviors to our realintent.Iftheyareincorrect,wecaneditthem.

EDITLESS

Thismayseemalittlecounterintuitive.Butthebesteditorsdon’tfeeltheneed to change everything. They know that sometimes having thediscipline to leave certain things exactly as they are is the best useoftheireditorialjudgment.Itisjustonemorewayinwhichbeinganeditorisaninvisiblecraft.Thebestsurgeonisnottheonewhomakesthemostincisions;similarly,thebesteditorscansometimesbetheleastintrusive,themostrestrained.Becominganeditorinourlivesalsoincludesknowingwhentoshowrestraint.Onewaywecandothisisbyeditingourtendencytostepin.Whenwe are addedonto an e-mail thread, for example,we can resistour usual temptation to be the first to reply all. When sitting in ameeting,wecanresisttheurgetoaddourtwocents.Wecanwait.Wecan observe.We can see how things develop. Doing less is not just apowerfulEssentialiststrategy,it’sapowerfuleditorialoneaswell.

ANonessentialistviewseditingasadiscrete task tobeperformedonlywhen things become overwhelming. But waiting too long to edit willforceustomakemajorcutsnotalwaysofourchoosing.Editingourtimeandactivitiescontinuouslyallowsustomakemoreminorbutdeliberateadjustments along the way. Becoming an Essentialist means making

cutting,condensing,andcorrectinganaturalpartofourdailyroutine—makingeditinganaturalcadenceinourlives.

CHAPTER14

LIMIT

TheFreedomofSettingBoundaries

NOISACOMPLETESENTENCE.—AnneLamott

Jin-Yung1 was an employee at a technology company in Korea whofoundherselfplanningherweddingwhilesimultaneouslypreparingforaboardmeetingthatwastotakeplacethreeweekspriortoherbigday.Whenhermanager,Hyori,askedJin-Yungtocreatethescriptandalltheslidesfortheirjointpresentationattheboardmeeting,Jin-Yungputinseveral fifteen-hourdaysandcompleted theworkquickly so shecoulddevote the days leading up to the board meeting to planning herwedding.Hermanagerwas surprisedanddelighted that theworkwasdoneaheadofschedule,andJin-Yungwasnowfreetoimmerseherselfinfiveuninterrupteddaysofweddingplanning.Then Jin-Yung received an urgent request from hermanager asking

hertocompleteanadditionalprojectpriortotheboardmeeting.Intheirseveralyearsofworkingtogether,Jin-YunghadnevertoldHyori“No,”evenwhensayingyesthrewherlifeintotemporaryturmoil(asitoftendid). Up to this point, Jin-Yung had given unknowable hours toexecuting every request and task, and delivering them in neat andcompletepackages,nomatterthesacrifice.Thistime,however,shedidnothesitateandshetoldhermanager“No.”Shechosenottoapologizeoroverjustifyheranswer.Shesimplysaid,“Ihaveplannedforthistime,IhaveworkedhardforitandIdeservetohaveit…guilt-free!”Then something shockinghappened.Everyone else on the team said

“No”andHyori,themanager,waslefttocompletethetaskonherown.At first, Hyoriwas fuming. It had taken her allweek to complete the

task,andshewasn’thappyaboutit.Butafterlaboringoverthetaskfordays,shesawallsortsofflawsinthewayshe’dbeendoingthings.Shesoon realized that if she wanted to be a more effective manager, sheneededtopullinthereins,andgetclearwitheachmemberoftheteamabout expectations, accountability, and outcomes. In the end, shewasgrateful to Jin-Yung for helping her see the error of her ways. Byestablishingboundaries,Jin-Yungnotonlyopenedhermanager’seyestounhealthyteamdynamicsandopenedupaspaceforchange,shediditinawaythatearnedherabidinggratitudeandrespect.ThedisappearanceofboundariesistypicalofourNonessentialistera.For one thing, of course, technology has completely blurred the linesbetween work and family. These days there don’t seem to be anyboundaries at all regarding when people expect us to be available towork.(Irecentlyhadanexecutiveassistantprovidemewithtimesforaclientmeeting that includedSaturdaymorning,even though therewasno particular urgency for the meeting, and no acknowledgment thatSaturday was an unusual day to offer. Has Saturday become the newFriday? I wondered.) But what most people don’t realize is that theproblem isnot just that theboundarieshavebeenblurred; it’s that theboundaryofworkhasedgedinsidiouslyintofamilyterritory.It ishardto imagine executives in most companies who would be comfortablewithemployeesbringingtheirchildrentoworkonMondaymorning,yetthey seem tohavenoproblemexpecting theiremployees tocome intotheofficeortoworkonaprojectonaSaturdayorSunday.ClaytonChristensen,theHarvardbusinessprofessorandauthorofTheInnovator’sDilemma,wasonceaskedtomakejustsuchasacrifice.Atthetime,hewasworkingatamanagementconsultingfirm,andoneofthepartnerscametohimandtoldhimheneededtocomeinonSaturdaytohelpwork on a project. Clay simply responded: “Oh, I am so sorry. IhavemadethecommitmentthateverySaturdayisadaytobewithmywifeandchildren.”Thepartner,displeased,stormedoff,butlaterhereturnedandhesaid:“Clay,fine.IhavetalkedwitheveryoneontheteamandtheysaidtheywillcomeinonSundayinstead.SoIwillexpectyoutobethere.”Claysighedandsaid:“Iappreciateyoutryingtodothat.ButSundaywillnotwork.IhavegivenSundaytoGodandsoIwon’tbeabletocomein.”Ifthepartnerwasfrustratedbefore,hewasmuchmoresonow.

Still,Claywasnotfiredforstandinghisground,andwhilehischoicewasnotpopularinthemoment,ultimatelyhewasrespectedforit.Theboundariespaidoff.Clay recalls: “That taughtmean important lesson. If I hadmadeanexception then I might have made it many times.”2 Boundaries are alittlelikethewallsofasandcastle.Thesecondweletonefallover,therestofthemcomecrashingdown.I won’t deny that setting boundaries can be hard. Just because itworkedoutforJin-YungandClaydoesn’tmeanitalwaysdoes.Jin-Yungcould have lost the job opportunity. Clay’s unwillingness to work onweekends could have limited his career. It’s true that boundaries cancomeatahighprice.However,notpushingbackcostsmore:ourabilitytochoosewhat ismost essential in life. For Jin-YungandClay, respect in theworkplaceand time for God and familyweremost important, so thesewere thethingstheydeliberatelyandstrategicallychosetoprioritize.Afterall,ifyoudon’tsetboundaries—therewon’tbeany.Orevenworse,therewillbe boundaries, but they’ll be set by default—or by another person—insteadofbydesign.Nonessentialists tend to think of boundaries as constraints or limits,things that get in the way of their hyperproductive life. To aNonessentialist, settingboundaries is evidenceofweakness. If theyarestrong enough, they think, they don’t need boundaries. They can copewithitall.Theycandoitall.Butwithoutlimits,theyeventuallybecomespreadsothinthatgettinganythingdonebecomesvirtuallyimpossible.Essentialists,ontheotherhand,seeboundariesasempowering.Theyrecognize that boundaries protect their time from being hijacked andoften free them from the burden of having to say no to things thatfurther others’ objectives instead of their own. They know that clearboundaries allow them to proactively eliminate the demands andencumbrancesfromothersthatdistractthemfromthetrueessentials.

Nonessentialist Essentialist

Thinksifyouhavelimitsyouwillbelimited Knowsthatifyouhavelimitsyouwill

SeesboundariesasconstrainingExertseffortattemptingthedirect“no”

becomelimitlessSeesboundariesasliberatingSetsrulesinadvancethateliminatetheneedforthedirect“no”

TheirProblemIsNotYourProblemOf course, the challenge of setting boundaries goes far beyond theworkplace.Inourpersonallives,too,therearesomepeoplewhoseemtoknownoboundarieswhentheymakedemandsonourtime.HowoftendoyoufeelyourSaturdayorSundayisbeinghijackedbysomeoneelse’sagenda? Is there someone in your personal life who doesn’t seem tosensewhenheorsheiscrossingtheline?We all have some people in our lives who tend to be higher

maintenance for us than others. These are the peoplewhomake theirproblemourproblem.Theydistractusfromourpurpose.Theycareonlyabout their own agendas, and if we let them they prevent us frommaking our highest level of contribution by siphoning our time andenergyofftoactivitiesthatareessentialtothem,ratherthanthosethatareessentialtous.SohowdowetakeapagefromJin-YungandClaytonChristensenand

set the kinds of boundaries that will protect us from other people’sagendas?Belowareseveralguidelinesforyourconsideration.

DON’TROBPEOPLEOFTHEIRPROBLEMS

Iamnotsayingweshouldneverhelppeople.Weshouldserve,andlove,andmakeadifferenceinthelivesofothers,ofcourse.Butwhenpeoplemaketheirproblemourproblem,wearen’thelpingthem;we’reenablingthem.Oncewe take their problem for them, allwe’re doing is takingawaytheirabilitytosolveit.TheauthorHenryCloudtellsastoryaboutjustthiskindofsituation

inhisbookBoundaries.Once,theparentsofatwenty-five-year-oldmancame to see him. Theywanted him to “fix” their son.He asked themwhytheyhadcomewithouttheirson,andtheysaid,“Well,hedoesn’tthinkhehasaproblem.”AfterlisteningtotheirstoryHenryconcluded,totheirsurprise:“Ithinkyoursonisright.Hedoesn’thaveaproblem.…Youdo.…Youpay,youfret,youworry,youplan,youexertenergytokeephimgoing.Hedoesn’thaveaproblembecauseyouhave taken itfromhim.”3Cloud thenoffered themametaphor. Imagineaneighborwhonever

waters his lawn.Butwhenever you turnon your sprinkler system, thewaterfallsonhislawn.Yourgrassisturningbrownanddying,butBilllooksdownathisgreengrassandthinkstohimself,“Myyardisdoingfine.”Thuseveryoneloses:youreffortshavebeenwasted,andBillneverdevelops the habit of watering his own lawn. The solution? As Cloudputs it, “Youneed some fences to keephis problems out of your yardandinhis,wheretheybelong.”Intheworkingworld,people try touseoursprinklers towater theirowngrassall the time.Thismaycomein the formofabosswhoputsyouonacommittee forherpetproject,acolleaguewhoasks foryourinputonareportorpresentationorproposalshehasn’ttakenthetimetoperfectyetherself,oracolleaguewhostopsyouinthehallwayandtalksyour ear offwhen youhave an importantmeeting to get to or a vitalphonecalltomakeorcriticalworkonyourdesk.Whoever it is that’s trying to siphon off your time and energies fortheirownpurpose,theonlysolutionistoputupfences.Andnotatthemoment the request ismade—you need to put up your fenceswell inadvance,clearlydemarcatingwhat’sofflimitssoyoucanheadofftimewasters and boundary pushers at the pass. Remember, forcing thesepeopletosolvetheirownproblemsisequallybeneficialforyouandforthem.

BOUNDARIESAREASOURCEOFLIBERATION

Thistruthisdemonstratedelegantlybythestoryofaschoollocatednexttoabusyroad.Atfirstthechildrenplayedonlyonasmallswathoftheplayground,closetothebuildingwherethegrownupscouldkeeptheireyes on them. But then someone constructed a fence around theplayground. Now the children were able to play anywhere andeverywhere on the playground. Their freedom, in effect, more thandoubled.4Similarly,whenwedon’tsetclearboundariesinourliveswecanendupimprisonedbythelimitsothershavesetforus.Whenwehaveclearboundaries,ontheotherhand,wearefreetoselectfromthewholearea—or thewhole range of options—thatwe have deliberately chosen toexplore.

FINDYOURDEALBREAKERS

WhenIaskexecutivestoidentifytheirboundariestheycanrarelydoit.Theyknowtheyhavesome,buttheycannotputthemintowords.Thesimple reality is, if you can’t articulate these toyourself andothers, itmaybeunrealistictoexpectotherpeopletorespectthemorevenfigurethemout.Thinkofonepersonwhofrequentlypullsyouoffyourmostessentialpath.Makealistofyourdealbreakers—thetypesofrequestsoractivitiesfrom that person that you simply refuse to say yes to unless theysomehowoverlapwithyourownprioritiesoragenda.Anotherquicktestforfindingyourdealbreakersistowritedownanytimeyoufeelviolatedorputuponbysomeone’srequest.Itdoesn’thavetobeinsomeextremewayforyoutonoticeit.Evenasmall“pinch”(touse a description I think is helpful for describing aminor violation ofyour boundaries) that makes you feel even a twinge of resentment—whether it’sanunwanted invitation,anunsolicited“opportunity,”orarequest for a small favor—is a clue for discovering your own hiddenboundaries.

CRAFTSOCIALCONTRACTS

I was once paired with a colleague who approached projects in acompletely opposite way. People predicted there would be fireworksbetween us. But our working relationship was actually quiteharmonious.Why?BecausewhenwefirstgottogetherImadeitapointto layoutmyprioritiesandwhatextrawork Iwouldandwouldn’tbewillingtotakeonoverthe lifespanof theproject.“Let’s justagreeonwhatwewant to achieve,” I began. “Here are a couple of things thatreallymattertome…”AndIaskedhimtodothesame.Thusweworked througha“socialcontract,”notunlike theoneJin-Yungandherbossworkedout in theopening story.Simplyhavinganunderstandingupfrontaboutwhatwewerereallytryingtoachieveandwhat our boundaries were kept us from wasting each other’s time,saddling each other with burdensome requests, and distracting eachotherfromthethingsthatwereessentialtous.Asaresult,wewereeachable tomakeourhighest levelof contributionon theproject—andwe

gotalongfamously,despiteourdifferences,throughouttheprocess.Withpractice,enforcingyourlimitswillbecomeeasierandeasier.

EXECUTEHowtoMakeExecutionEffortless

Therearetwowaysofthinkingaboutexecution.WhileNonessentialiststendtoforceexecution,Essentialistsinvestthe

time theyhavesavedbyeliminating thenonessentials intodesigningasystemtomakeexecutionalmosteffortless.Inchapter1wetalkedhowourlifecanresembleanoverlyfullcloset

andhowanEssentialistwouldapproachorganizingit.Wetalkedabouthowifyouwantyourclosettostaytidyyouneedaregularroutine.Youneedtohaveonelargebagforitemsyouneedtothrowawayandaverysmall pile for items youwant to keep. You need to know the dropofflocation and the hours of your local thrift store. You need to have ascheduledtimetogothere.Inotherwords,onceyou’vefiguredoutwhichactivitiesandeffortsto

keep in your life, you have to have a system for executing them.Youcan’t wait until that closet is bursting at the seams and then takesuperhumanefforts topurge it.Youhave tohavea system inplace sothatkeepingitneatbecomesroutineandeffortless.Itishumannaturetowanttodoeasythings.Inthispartofthebook

you’lllearnhowtomakeexecutingtherightthings—theessentialthings—aseasyandfrictionlessaspossible.

CHAPTER15

BUFFER

TheUnfairAdvantage

GIVEMESIXHOURSTOCHOPDOWNATREEANDIWILLSPENDTHEFIRSTFOURSHARPENINGTHEAXE.

—AttributedtoAbrahamLincoln

In the Hebrew Bible a story is told of Joseph (ofAmazing TechnicolorDreamcoat fame), who saved Egypt from a savage, seven-year famine.ThePharaohhad a dreamhe couldnot interpret and askedhiswisestadviserstoexplainitcorrectlytohim.Theycouldn’tinterpretiteither,but someone remembered that Joseph,whowas inprisonat the time,hadareputationforexplainingthemeaningofdreams,andthushewascalledfor.InthedreamPharaohwasstandingbyariverwhenhesawseven“fat-

fleshed”kine (or cows) comeout of thewater and feed in ameadow.Thensevenotherscameoutthatwere“lean-fleshed.”Thesecondsetofcows ate the first set. Joseph explained that the dream meant therewouldbesevenyearsofplentyinEgyptandthensevenyearsoffamine.Therefore,JosephsuggestedthatthePharaohappointsomeone“discreetandwise” to takea fifthof theharvesteveryyear for sevenyearsandstoreitasabufferfortheyearsoffamine.TheplanwasapprovedandJoseph was given the position of vizier, or second in command, overEgypt.Heexecuted theplanperfectly so thatwhen the sevenyearsoffaminearrivedeveryone inEgyptand thesurroundingareas, includingJoseph’sextendedfamily,wassaved.InthissimplestoryisonethemostpowerfulpracticesEssentialistsemploytoensureeffortlessexecution.Therealityisthatweliveinanunpredictableworld.Evenapartfrom

extremeeventssuchasfamines,wefacetheunexpectedconstantly.We

donotknowwhether the trafficwillbeclearorcongested.Wedonotknowifourflightwillbedelayedorcanceled.Wedonotknowifwe’llslip on a slick road tomorrow and break our wrist. Similarly, in theworkplacewedonotknowifasupplierwillbelate,oracolleaguewilldroptheball,oraclientwillchangehisorherdirectionsattheeleventhhour,andsoon.Theonlythingwecanexpect(withanygreatcertainty)is the unexpected. Therefore, we can either wait for themoment andreacttoitorwecanprepare.Wecancreateabuffer.A “buffer” can be defined literally as something that prevents twothingsfromcomingintocontactandharmingeachother.Forexample,a“buffer zone”at theperipheryofaprotectedenvironmentalarea is anareaoflandthatisusedtocreateextraspacebetweenthatareaandanypotentialthreatsthatmightinfiltrateit.OnoneoccasionIwastryingtoexplaintheconceptofbufferstomychildren.WewereinthecartogetheratthetimeandItriedtoexplainthe idea using a game. Imagine, I said, that we had to get to ourdestination three miles away without stopping. Almost at once thechildrencouldseethechallenge.Wecouldn’tpredictwhatwasgoingtohappeninfrontofusandaroundus.Wedidn’tknowhowlongthelightwouldstayongreenorifthecarinfrontwouldsuddenlyswerveorputonitsbrakes.Theonlywaytokeepfromcrashingwastoputextraspacebetweenourcarandthecarinfrontofus.Thisspaceactedasabuffer.Itgaveustimetorespondandadapttoanysuddenorunexpectedmovesby other cars. It allowed us to avoid the friction of violent stops andstarts.Similarly,wecanreducethefrictionofexecutingtheessentialinourworkandlivessimplybycreatingabuffer.Duringthecar“game”withmychildren,theynoticedthatwhenIgotdistracted talking and laughing Iwould forget thebuffer zone andgettooclose to thecar in frontofus.ThenIwouldhavetodosomething“unnatural”—like swerve or slam on the brakes at the last second—toadjust.Asimilarthingcanhappenifweforgettorespectandmaintainbuffersinourlives.Wegetbusyanddistracted,andbeforeweknowittheprojectisdue,thedayofthebigpresentationhasarrived—nomatterhowmuchextratimewebuiltin.Asaresultweareforcedto“swerve”or“slamonthebrakes”atthelastminute.Fromchemistryweknowthatgases expand to fill the space they are in; similarly, we’ve all

experiencedhowprojectsandcommitmentstendtoexpand—despiteourbestefforts—tofilltheamountoftimeallottedtothem.Just thinkofhowoften thishappens inpresentations,meetings,andworkshopsyouhaveattended.Howmanytimeshaveyouseensomeonetrytofittoomanyslidesintotoolittletime?Howmanytimeshaveyoubeen to a conference where you felt that the presenter cut off ameaningfulconversationbecauseoffeelingobligedtogetthroughallthecontentheorshehadplanned?Ihaveseenthissooften,ithasstartedtoseemthedefaultposition.SowhenIworkedwithafacilitatorwhohadadifferent philosophy it was truly liberating. He was designing a four-hourworkshop. But instead of allowing the typical tenminutes at theendofthesessionforquestionsandcommentshesuggestedafullhour.He explained, “I like to allow a luxurious amount of time just in casethingscomeup.”Atfirsthisideawasdismissedasindulgent,andhewasinstructed to go back to the traditional format. Sure enough, the classranoveritsallottedtime,andthefacilitatorhadtotrytorushthroughthe remaining content. So the class was changed to allow the houroriginallysuggested.Thingscameupashehadexpected,butthis timetherewas a buffer built in. Now the class could end on time and thefacilitatorcouldfocusonteaching,ratherthanrushing.AmotherIknowlearnedasimilarlessonwhenpreparingtogoonaholidaywith her family. In the past,when theywent on vacation shewould leave the packing until the night before. Inevitably, she wouldendupstayinguplate,losingsteam,gettingtoolittlesleep,finishingthepacking in themorning, forgetting something, leaving late,andhavingto“pushthrough”thelongdrivetocompensate.Thistime,however,shestartedpackingaweek inadvance.Shemadecertain thecarwas fullypackedthenightbeforesothatinthemorningtheonlythingshehadtodowaswake up the children and get everyone in the car. It worked.Theygotoffearly,withagoodnight’ssleep,nothingwasforgotten,andwhentheyhittrafficitwasn’tstressfulbecausetheyhadabufferforthatpossibility. As a result they not only arrived on time but enjoyed africtionlessandevenpleasantjourney.TheNonessentialist tends to always assumeabest-case scenario.Weallknowthosepeople(andmanyofus,myselfincluded,havebeenthatperson)whochronicallyunderestimatehow long somethingwill reallytake: “This will just take five minutes,” or “I’ll be finished with that

projectbyFriday,”or“Itwillonlytakemeayeartowritemymagnumopus.” Yet inevitably these things take longer; something unexpectedcomesup,orthetaskendsupbeingmoreinvolvedthananticipated,orthe estimate was simply too optimistic in the first place. When thishappens, they are left reacting to the problem, and results inevitablysuffer.Perhapstheypullanall-nightertomakeithappen.Perhapstheycutcorners,handinanincompleteproject,orworse,failtogetitdoneatall.Orperhaps they leave someoneelseon the team topickup theslack.Eitherway,theyfailtoexecuteattheirhighestlevel.Thewayof theEssentialist isdifferent.TheEssentialist looksahead.

She plans. She prepares for different contingencies. She expects theunexpected. She creates a buffer to prepare for the unforeseen, thusgiving herself some wiggle room when things come up, as theyinevitablydo.

Nonessentialist Essentialist

Assumesthebest-casescenariowillhappenForcesexecutionatthelastminute

BuildsinabufferforunexpectedeventsPracticesextremeandearlypreparation

When aNonessentialist receives awindfall, she tends to consume itratherthantosetitasideforarainyday.Wecanseeanexampleofthisinthewaynationshaverespondedtofindingoil.Forexample,in1980,whenBritaindiscoveredNorthSeaoil, thegovernmentsuddenlyhadamassivewindfall in additional tax revenues, to the tune of 166billionpounds($250billion)overadecade.1Argumentscanbemade forandagainst how thismoneywas used. Butwhat is beyond contestation isthat itwasused; insteadof creating an endowment to prepare againstunexpecteddisasters(suchas,inhindsight,thecominggreatrecession),theBritishgovernmentspentitinotherways.ThewayoftheEssentialist,ontheotherhand,istousethegoodtimes

tocreateabuffer for thebad.Norwayalsobenefitedenormously fromwindfalltaxesfromoilbutunlikeBritain,Norwayinvestedmuchofits

goodfortuneinanendowment.2Today,thisendowmenthasgrownovertime to beworth an extraordinary $720 billion,making it theworld’slargestsovereignwealthfundandprovidingacushionagainstunknownfuturescenarios.3Thesedaysthepaceofourlivesisonlygettingfasterandfaster.Itisasifwearedrivingoneinchbehindanothercaratonehundredmilesanhour.Ifthatdrivermakeseventhetiniestunexpectedmove—ifheslowsdownevenalittle,orswerveseventhesmallestbit—we’llramrightintohim.There is no room for error.As a result, execution is oftenhighlystressful,frustrating,andforced.Here are a few tips for keeping your work—and sanity—fromswervingofftheroadbycreatingabuffer.

USEEXTREMEPREPARATION

WhenIwasagraduatestudentatStanfordIlearnedthekeytoreceivingtop grades was extreme preparation. The moment we received thesyllabiforourclassesIwouldmakecopiesofthemandpastetogetheracalendarforthewholesemester.EvenbeforethefirstdayofclassIknewwhat thebigprojectswereandwouldstartonthemimmediately.ThissmallinvestmentinpreparationreducedthestressoftheentiresemesterbecauseIknewIhadplentyoftimetogetalltheassignmentsdoneevenifmyworkloadsuddenlygotheavy,orifafamilyemergencyforcedmetomisssomeclasses,orifanyotherunexpectedeventshouldhappen.ThevalueofextremepreparationonagranderscalecanbeseeninthestoryofRoaldAmundsenandRobertFalconScottintheirracetobethefirst people inmodern history to reach the South Pole. Bothmenhadexactly the same objective. But their approaches differed.4 Amundsenprepared for anything and everything that could possibly go wrong;Scotthopedforthebest-casescenario.Hebroughtjustonethermometerfor the trip and was furious when it broke. Amundsen brought fourthermometers. Scott stored one ton of food for his seventeen men.Amundsen stored three tons. Scott stashed supplies for the returnjourneyinonespotmarkedwithasingleflag,meaningthatifhewentevenafractionoffcoursehisteamcouldmissit.Amundsen,bycontrast,plantedtwentymarkers,milesapart,toensurethathisteamwouldseethem.RoaldAmundsenprepareddiligentlyandreadobsessivelyforhis

journey,whereasRobertFalconScottdidthebareminimum.While Amundsen deliberately built slack and buffers into his plan,

Scotthopedfortheidealcircumstances.WhileScott’smensufferedfromfatigue,hunger,andfrostbite,Amundsen’steam’sjourneywasrelatively(underthecircumstances)frictionless.Amundsensuccessfullymadethejourney.Scottandhisteamtragicallydied.Theimportanceofextremepreparednessholdstrueforusinbusiness.

In fact, this example is used by Jim Collins and Morten Hansen todemonstrate why some companies have thrived under extreme anddifficult circumstances while others have not. In filtering out 7companies from20,400, theauthors found that theones thatexecutedmost successfully did not have any better ability to predict the futurethantheirlesssuccessfulcounterparts.Instead,theyweretheoneswhoacknowledged they could not predict the unexpected and thereforepreparedbetter.5

ADD50PERCENTTOYOURTIMEESTIMATE

Iknowsomeonewhoalwaysthinksitwilltakeherfiveminutestogettothestorebecauseshemadethejourneyinfiveminutesonce.Thetruthisitusuallytakestentofifteenminutes.Inandofitselfthiswouldnotbeahugeproblem,butunfortunatelyitistypicalofmostofherestimationsinlife.Asaresultsheisperenniallylateand,tomakemattersworse,inaconstant stateof stressandguiltabout it.Shehasbeen stuck in thiscycleforsomanyyearsshenolongerevenrecognizesthatshelivesinconstantstress.Ithasevenaffectedherphysically.Butshestillcontinuesto believe she canmake it to the store in fiveminutes—or finish theconference call in half an hour or the major report in a week, orwhateverelsesheistryingtosqueezein—andeveryonceinawhileshedoes.Butthecostsarehightoherandthepeoplearoundher.Shewouldmakeafargreatercontributiononalltheserushedendeavorsifsheweresimplytocreateabuffer.Haveyoueverunderestimatedhowlongataskwilltake?Ifyouhave,

youarefarfromalone.Thetermforthisverycommonphenomenonisthe“planningfallacy.”6Thisterm,coinedbyDanielKahnemanin1979,refers topeople’s tendencytounderestimatehowlongataskwill take,even when they have actually done the task before. In one study thirty-

sevenstudentswereaskedhowlongtheythoughtitwouldtakethemtocompletetheirsenior thesis.Whenthestudentswereaskedtoestimatehowlongitwouldtake“ifeverythingwentaswellasitpossiblycould,”theiraveragedestimatewas27.4days.Whentheywereaskedhowlongitwould take“if everythingwentaspoorlyas itpossiblycould,” theiraveragedestimatewas48.6days.Intheendtheaveragetimeitactuallytook the students was 55.5 days. Only 30 percent of the studentscompleted the task in the time they had estimated.7 Curiously, peoplewilladmittohavingatendencytounderestimatewhilesimultaneouslybelievingtheircurrentestimatesareaccurate.8Ofthevarietyofexplanations forwhyweunderestimatetheamount

of time something will take, I believe social pressure is the mostinteresting.Onestudy found that ifpeopleestimatedanonymouslyhowlongitwouldtaketocompleteatasktheywerenolongerguiltyoftheplanningfallacy.9This impliesthatoftenweactuallyknowwecan’tdothingsinagiventimeframe,butwedon’twanttoadmitittosomeone.Whatever the reasons, the result is thatwe tend tobe later thanwe

saywewillbe:latertomeetings,latertodeliverthingsatwork,laterinpayingourbills,andsoon.Thusexecutionbecomesfrustratingwhenitcouldhavebeenfrictionless.Onewaytoprotectagainstthisissimplytoadda50percentbufferto

theamountoftimeweestimateitwilltaketocompleteataskorproject(if 50 percent seems overly generous, consider how frequently thingsactuallydotakeus50percentlongerthanexpected).Soifyouhaveanhour set aside for a conference call, block off an additional thirtyminutes.Ifyou’veestimateditwilltaketenminutestogetyoursontosoccerpractice, leave thehouse fifteenminutesbeforepracticebegins.Notonlydoes this relieve the stresswe feel aboutbeing late (imaginehowmuchlessstressfulsittingintrafficwouldfeelifweweren’trunninglate),butifwedofindthatthetaskwasfasterandeasiertoexecutethanweexpected(thoughthisisarareexperienceformostofus),theextrafoundtimefeelslikeabonus.

CONDUCTSCENARIOPLANNING

ErwannMichel-Kerjan, themanagingdirector of theRiskManagementandDecisionProcessesCenteratWharton, recommends thateveryone,

starting with heads of state, develop a risk management strategy. Forexample,hehasworked,inconnectionwiththeWorldBank,toidentifythe most vulnerable countries in the world, and as a result Morocco,identified as number 58 out of the 85, has an action plan to prepareagainstareasofrisk.10When Erwannworks with national governments to create their riskmanagement strategies,he suggests theystartbyasking fivequestions:(1)Whatrisksdowefaceandwhere?(2)Whatassetsandpopulationsareexposedandtowhatdegree?(3)Howvulnerablearethey?(4)Whatfinancialburdendotheserisksplaceonindividuals,businesses,andthegovernmentbudget?and(5)Howbestcanweinvesttoreducerisksandstrengtheneconomicandsocialresilience?11We can apply these five questions to our own attempts at buildingbuffers.Thinkofthemostimportantprojectyouaretryingtogetdoneatworkorathome.Thenaskthefollowingfivequestions:(1)Whatrisksdo you face on this project? (2)What is the worst-case scenario? (3)Whatwould thesocialeffectsof thisbe? (4)Whatwould the financialimpact of this be? and (5) How can you invest to reduce risks orstrengthen financial or social resilience?Your answer to that fifth andcrucial questionwill point you to buffers—perhaps adding another 20percent to the project’s budget, or getting a PR person on board tohandle any potential negative press, or calling a board meeting tomanageshareholderexpectations—thatyoucancreatetosafeguardyouagainstunknowableevents.

Essentialists accept the reality that we can never fully anticipate orprepare for every scenario or eventuality; the future is simply toounpredictable.Instead,theybuildinbufferstoreducethefrictioncausedbytheunexpected.

CHAPTER16

SUBTRACT

BringForthMorebyRemovingObstacles

TOATTAINKNOWLEDGEADDTHINGSEVERYDAY.TOATTAINWISDOMSUBTRACTTHINGSEVERYDAY.—Lao-tzu

InthebusinessparableTheGoal,AlexRogoisafictionalcharacterwhois overwhelmed by the responsibility of turning around a failingproductionplantwithinthreemonths.1Atfirsthedoesnotseehowthisis possible. Then he ismentored by a professor who tells him he canmakeincredibleprogress inashorttimeifonlyhecanfindtheplant’s“constraints.”Constraints,heistold,aretheobstaclesholdingthewholesystemback.Evenifheimproveseverythingelseintheplant,hismentortells him, if he doesn’t address the constraints the plant will notmateriallyimprove.AsAlexistryingtomakesenseofwhatheisbeingtaught,hegoeson

ahikewithhissonandsomeotherfriends.AstheScoutleader,it’shisresponsibilitytogetalloftheboystothecampsitebeforethesunsets.Butasanyonewhohasbeenonsuchahikeknows,gettingagroupofyoungboystokeepupapaceismoredifficultthanitsounds,andAlexsoonrunsintoaproblem:someoftheScoutsgoreallyfastandothersgoreally slow. One boy in particular, Herbie, is the slowest of all. Theresult is that the gap between the hikers at the front of the line andHerbie,thestraggler,growstobemileslong.AtfirstAlextriestomanagetheproblembygettingthegroupatthe

front tostopandwait for theothers tocatchup.Thiskeeps thegrouptogetherforatime,butthemomenttheystartwalkingagainthesamegapbeginstoformalloveragain.

SoAlexdecidestotryadifferentapproach.HeputsHerbieatthefrontofthepackandlinesupalltheotherboysinorderofspeed:slowesttofastest.It’scounterintuitivetohavethefastestpersonatthebackoftheline, but the moment he does it the pack begins to move in a singlegroup.Everyboycankeepupwiththeboyinfrontofhim.Theupsideisthathecannowkeepaneyeonthewholegroupatonce,andtheywillallarriveatthecampsitesafelyandatthesametime.ThedownsideisthatthewholetroopisnowmovingatHerbie’spacesotheywillarrivelate.Sowhatshouldhedo?The answer, Alex finds, is to do anything and everything to makethingseasierforHerbie.Withtheslowestboyatthefrontoftheline,ifHerbiemoves one yard an hour faster, thewhole troopwill get therethatmuchfaster.ThatisanamazinginsighttoAlex.AnyimprovementwithHerbie, however small,will improve the pace of thewhole teamimmediately. So he actually takes weight out from Herbie’s backpack(the extra food and supplies he brought with him) and distributes itthroughouttherestofthegroup.Andindeed,thisinstantlyimprovesthespeedofthewholegroup.Theymakeittocampingoodtime.In amoment of insight, Alex sees how this approach could also beapplied to turning around his production plant. Instead of trying toimprove every aspect of the facility he needs to identify the “Herbie”:thepartoftheprocessthatisslowerrelativetoeveryotherpartoftheplant.Hedoes thisby findingwhichmachinehas thebiggestqueueofmaterials waiting behind it and finds a way to increase its efficiency.This in turn improves the next “slowest hiker’s” efficiency, and so on,untiltheproductivityofthewholeplantbeginstoimprove.Thequestion is this:What is the“slowesthiker” inyour joboryourlife?Whatistheobstaclethatiskeepingyoubackfromachievingwhatreallymatters to you?By systematically identifying and removing this“constraint” you’ll be able to significantly reduce the friction keepingyoufromexecutingwhatisessential.Butthiscan’tbedoneinahaphazardway.Simplyfindingthingsthatneed fixing here and there might lead to marginal, short-termimprovementsatbest;atworst,you’llwaste timeandeffort improvingthings that don’t reallymatter. But if you reallywant to improve theoverall functioning of the system—whether that system is amanufacturingprocess,aprocedureinyourdepartment,orsomeroutine

inyourdailylife—youneedtoidentifythe“slowesthiker.”A Nonessentialist approaches execution in a reactive, haphazardmanner.Because theNonessentialist is always reacting to crises ratherthan anticipating them, he is forced to apply quick-fix solutions: theequivalent to plugging his finger into the hole of a leaking dam andhoping thewhole thing doesn’t burst. Being goodwith a hammer, theNonessentialist thinks everything is a nail. Thus he applies more andmore pressure, but this ends up only adding more friction andfrustration.Indeed,insomesituationstheharderyoupushonsomeonetheharderheorshewillpushback.Essentialistsdon’tdefaulttoBand-Aidsolutions.Insteadoflookingforthemostobviousorimmediateobstacles,theylookfortheonesslowingdownprogress.Theyask,“Whatisgettinginthewayofachievingwhatisessential?”WhiletheNonessentialistisbusyapplyingmoreandmorepressureandpilingonmoreandmoresolutions,theEssentialistsimplymakesaone-timeinvestmentinremovingobstacles.Thisapproachgoesbeyond just solvingproblems; it’samethodof reducingyourefforts tomaximizeyourresults.

Nonessentialist Essentialist

Pilesonquick-fixsolutionsDoesmore

RemovesobstaclestoprogressBringsforthmore

ProduceMorebyRemovingMoreAristotletalkedaboutthreekindsofwork,whereasinourmodernworldwetendtoemphasizeonlytwo.Thefirstistheoreticalwork,forwhichtheendgoalistruth.Thesecondispracticalwork,wheretheobjectiveisaction.Butthereisathird:itispoieticalwork.2ThephilosopherMartinHeidegger described poiesis as a “bringing-forth.”3 This third type ofworkistheEssentialistwayofapproachingexecution:

AnEssentialistproducesmore—bringsforthmore—byremovingmoreinsteadofdoingmore.

Oftenwedon’t takethetimetoreally thinkaboutwhicheffortswillproduceresultsandwhichwillnot.Butevenwhenwedo,itiseasiertothink of execution in terms of addition rather than subtraction. If wewanttosellmoreproducts,thenwegetmoresalespeople.Ifwewanttoproduce more output, then we ramp up production. There is clearlyevidence to support this approach. However, there is another way tothink of improving results. Instead of focusing on the efforts andresourcesweneedtoadd, theEssentialist focusesontheconstraintsorobstaclesweneedtoremove.Buthow?

1.BECLEARABOUTTHEESSENTIALINTENT

We can’t know what obstacles to remove until we are clear on thedesired outcome. When we don’t know what we’re really trying toachieve, all change is arbitrary. So ask yourself, “How will we knowwhenwearedone?”Forthepurposesofthischapter,let’ssayyourgoal

is to get adraft of a fifteen-page,written report attached to an e-mailandsenttotheclientby2:00P.M.onThursday.Note:thisisdeliberatelyapreciseoutcome,notavagueone.

2.IDENTIFYTHE“SLOWESTHIKER”

Insteadofjustjumpingintotheproject,takeafewminutestothink.Askyourself, “What are all the obstacles standing betweenme and gettingthisdone?”and“Whatiskeepingmefromcompletingthis?”Makealistof theseobstacles.Theymight include:nothavingthe informationyouneed, your energy level, your desire for perfection. Prioritize the listusingthequestion,“Whatistheobstaclethat,ifremoved,wouldmakethemajorityofotherobstaclesdisappear?”Whenidentifyingyour“slowesthiker,”oneimportantthingtokeepinmind is thatevenactivities thatare“productive”—likedoing research,ore-mailingpeoplefor information,orrewritingthereport inordertoget it perfect the first time around—can be obstacles. Remember, thedesired goal is to get a draft of the report finished. Anything slowingdowntheexecutionofthatgoalshouldbequestioned.There are oftenmultiple obstacles to achieving any essential intent.However, at any one time there is only ever one priority; removingarbitraryobstaclescanhavenoeffectwhatsoeveriftheprimaryonestilldoesn’tbudge.Totakeourexample,ifgettingwordsonthepageisyourprimary obstacle, you could hire someone to do research for you andstill beno closer towriting theaforementioned report. So just asAlexfixes the least efficient machine first, followed by the second leastefficient, and so on—insteadof trying to fix themall at once—we toomusttackletheremovalofobstaclesonebyone.

3.REMOVETHEOBSTACLE

Let’s sayyour “slowesthiker” turnsout tobeyourdesire tomake thereport perfect. There may be dozens of ideas you have to make thereport better, but in this case your essential intent is to send off thedraft.Sotoremovetheobstacleyouneedtoreplacetheidea“Thishastobeperfectorelse”with“Done isbetter thanperfect.”Giveyourself

permission to not have it polished in the first draft. By removing theprimaryobstacleyouhavemadeeveryotheraspectofthejobeasier.The“slowesthiker”couldevenbeanotherperson—whetherit’sabosswhowon’tgivethegreenlightonaproject,thefinancedepartmentwhowon’tapprovethebudget,oraclientwhowon’tsignonthedottedline.Toreducethefrictionwithanotherperson,applythe“catchmoreflieswithhoney”approach.Sendhimane-mail,but insteadofasking ifhehasdonetheworkforyou(whichobviouslyhehasn’t),goandseehim.Ask him, “What obstacles or bottlenecks are holding you back fromachieving X, and how can I help remove these?” Instead of pesteringhim, offer sincerely to support him.Youwill get awarmer reply thanyouwouldbyjuste-mailinghimanotherdemand.WhenourchildrenwerereallylittleandIwasatgraduateschool,mywifewasfeelingstrainedbythedemandsoflookingafterthechildrenalldayeveryday,anddidn’tknowquitewhattodoaboutit.IwasreadingabouttheTheoryofConstraintsatthetimesoitwasparticularlyonmymind.Asweapplied thestepsabove,werealized theprimaryobstaclekeeping her from making her highest point of contribution in ourchildren’sliveswasalackoftimetoplan,think,andprepare;afterall,withthreelittlechildrenitwasnearlyimpossibletohaveuninterruptedtime.Soweworkedtoremovethisobstacle.Ioptedoutofmanyoftheextracurricular activities to be home in the evenings and we foundsomeonewhowould lookafter thechildrenfora fewhoursduringtheweek.Asa result,wewereable tobemore fully engagedandpresentduring the timewe spent with our children. In other words, we bothactuallyendedupdoingless,butbetter.

Removing obstacles does not have to be hard or take a superhumaneffort.Instead,wecanstartsmall.It’skindoflikedislodgingaboulderat the topof ahill.All it takes is a small shove, thenmomentumwillnaturallybuild.

CHAPTER17

PROGRESS

ThePowerofSmallWins

EVERYDAYDOSOMETHINGTHATWILLINCHYOUCLOSERTOABETTERTOMORROW.—DougFirebaugh

Thinkofthelasttimeyouwerepulledoverbythepolicewhiledriving.Didyouwondertoyourself:“Isthisgoingtobeagoodticketorabadone?”Notlikely.Everyoneknowsticketsareallbad,right?Yetatleastone innovative police precinct in Richmond, Canada, thinks this is anassumptionthatoughttobechallenged.1Thereisawell-establishedapproachtocrackingdownoncrime:pass

newandharsherlaws,setstrongersentencing,orinitiatezero-toleranceinitiatives.Inotherwords,domoreofwhatwealreadydo—onlymoreforcefully. For years, the Richmond Police Department followed thesecore and long-held practices of policing systems everywhere andexperienced the typical results: recidivism rates at 65 percent andspiraling youth crime. That is, until a young, forward-thinking newsuperintendent,WardClapham,cameinandchallengedthem.2Why,heasked,doallofourpolicingeffortshavetobesoreactive,sonegative,and so after the fact? What if, instead of just focusing on catchingcriminals—and serving up ever harsher punishments—after theycommittedthecrime,thepolicedevotedsignificantresourcesandefforttoeliminatingcriminalbehaviorbeforeithappens?ToquoteTonyBlair,what if they could be tough on crime but also tough on the causes ofcrime?3Out of these questions came the novel idea for Positive Tickets, a

programwherebypolice, insteadof focusingoncatchingyoungpeopleperpetrating crimes, would focus on catching youth doing something

good—somethingassimpleasthrowinglitterawayinabinratherthanontheground,wearingahelmetwhileridingtheirbike,skateboardingin the designated area, or getting to school on time—andwould givethematicketforpositivebehavior.Theticket,ofcourse,wouldn’tcarryafinelikeaparkingticketbutinsteadwouldberedeemableforsomekindofsmall reward, like freeentry to themoviesor toaneventata localyouthcenter—wholesomeactivities thatalsohad thebonusofkeepingtheyoungpeopleoffthestreetsandoutoftrouble.So how well did Richmond’s unconventional effort to reimaginepolicingwork?Amazinglywell,asitturnedout.Ittooksometime,buttheyinvestedintheapproachasalong-termstrategy,andafteradecadethePositiveTicketssystemhadreducedrecidivismfrom60percentto8percent.You might not think of a police department as a place where youwouldexpect to seeEssentialismatwork,but in factWard’s systemofPositiveTicketsisalessoninthepracticeofeffortlessexecution.ThewayoftheNonessentialististogobigoneverything:totrytodoitall,haveitall,fititallin.TheNonessentialistoperatesunderthefalselogicthatthemorehestrives,themorehewillachieve,buttherealityis, themorewereachforthestars, theharder it is togetourselvesofftheground.ThewayoftheEssentialistisdifferent.Insteadoftryingtoaccomplishitall—andallatonce—andflaringout,theEssentialiststartssmallandcelebratesprogress. Insteadofgoing for thebig, flashywins thatdon’treallymatter,theEssentialistpursuessmallandsimplewinsinareasthatareessential.

Nonessentialist Essentialist

StartswithabiggoalandgetssmallresultsGoesfortheflashiestwins

StartssmallandgetsbigresultsCelebratessmallactsofprogress

Bycatchingandrewardingpeopleinthemidstof“smallwins,”Ward

Clapham’s approach tapped into the power of celebrating progress. Inonemoving example, a police officer pulled over a teenagerwho hadsavedagirlfrombeinghitbyacar,gavehimaPositiveTicket,andsaid:“Youdidagreatthingtoday.Youcanmakeadifference.”Theboywenthome and put the Positive Ticket on his wall. After a few weeks hisfoster mother asked him whether he was going to cash it in. To hersurprise he said he never would. An adult had told him he could besomebody,andthatwasworthmorethanfreepizzaorbowling.Multiply that type of positive interaction by forty thousand times ayearfortenyearsandyoucansensewhyitstartedtomakeadifference.Each time a young person was recognized and commended for doingsomethinggood,heor shewas thatmuchmoremotivated tocontinuedoinggooduntil,eventually,doinggoodbecamenaturalandeffortless.Whenwewanttocreatemajorchangeweoftenthinkweneedtoleadwith something huge or grandiose, like the executive I knew whoannouncedwithgreatfanfarethathehaddecidedtobuildhisdaughtersanelaboratedollhouse—butthen,becausehisvisionsforitweresolargeand ambitious, abandoned the project as too burdensome. There is anappealing logic to this: that todo somethingbigwehave to start big.However, just think of all of the “big,” hyped-up initiatives inorganizationsthatneverendedupamountingtoanything—justlikethatexecutive’sdollhouse.Researchhas shown thatofall formsofhumanmotivation themosteffective one is progress.Why? Because a small, concrete win createsmomentum and affirms our faith in our further success. In his 1968HarvardBusinessReview article entitled “OneMoreTime:HowDoYouMotivateEmployees?”amongthemostpopularHarvardBusinessReviewarticlesofalltime,FrederickHerzbergrevealsresearchshowingthatthetwo primary internal motivators for people are achievement andrecognitionforachievement.4Morerecently,TeresaAmabileandStevenKramergatheredanonymousdiaryentriesfromhundredsofpeopleandcovering thousands of workdays. On the basis of these hundreds ofthousandsofreflections,AmabileandKramerconcludedthat“everydayprogress—evenasmallwin”canmakeallthedifferenceinhowpeoplefeelandperform.“Ofallthethingsthatcanboostemotions,motivation,andperceptionsduringaworkday,thesinglemostimportantismakingprogressinmeaningfulwork,”theysaid.5

Insteadofstartingbigandthenflaringoutwithnothingtoshowforitotherthantimeandenergywasted,toreallygetessentialthingsdoneweneed to start small and build momentum. Then we can use thatmomentum towork toward thenextwin, and thenext one and so onuntilwehaveasignificantbreakthrough—andwhenwedo,ourprogresswillhavebecomesofrictionlessandeffortlessthatthebreakthroughwillseemlikeovernightsuccess.AsformerStanfordprofessorandeducatorHenryB.Eyringhaswritten, “Myexperiencehas taughtme thisabouthow people and organizations improve: the best place to look is forsmallchangeswecouldmakeinthethingswedooften.Thereispowerinsteadinessandrepetition.”6WhenImetDr.PhilZimbardo,theformerpresidentoftheAmerican

Psychological Association, for lunch, I knew him primarily as themastermind behind the famous Stanford prison experiment.7 In thesummer of 1971, Zimbardo took healthy Stanford students, assignedthem roles as either “guards” or “inmates,” and locked them in a

makeshift“prison”inthebasementofStanfordUniversity.Injustdays,the “prisoners” began to demonstrate symptoms of depression andextreme stress,while the “guards” began to act cruel and sadistic (theexperiment was ended early, for obvious reasons). The point is thatsimplybeingtreatedlikeprisonersandguardshad,overthecourseofjusta few days, created a momentum that caused the subjects to act likeprisonersandguards.The Stanford prison experiment is legendary, and much has beenwritten about itsmany implications. Butwhat Iwonderedwas this: Ifsimply being treated in a certain way conditioned these Stanfordstudents to gradually adopt these negative behaviors, could the samekindofconditioningworkformorepositivebehaviortoo?Indeed,todayZimbardoisattemptingagrandsocialexperimentalongthose lines called the “Heroic Imagination Project.”8 The logic is toincreasetheoddsofpeopleoperatingwithcouragebyteachingthemtheprinciples of heroism. By encouraging and rewarding heroic acts,Zimbardobelieves,wecanconsciouslyanddeliberatelycreateasystemwhereheroicactseventuallybecomenaturalandeffortless.We have a choice.We can use our energies to set up a system thatmakes execution of goodness easy, or we can resign ourselves to asystemthatactuallymakesithardertodowhatisgood.Ward’sPositiveTickets systemdid the former, and itworked.We can apply the sameprinciple to the choices we face when designing systems in our ownlives.MywifeAnnaandIhavetriedtoapplythese ideastooursystemofparenting. At one point, we had become concerned with how muchscreen time had crept into our family. Between television, computers,tablets,andsmartphonesithadbecomejusttooeasyforthechildrentowastetimeonnonessentialentertainment.Butourattemptstogetthemtochangethesehabits,asyoucanimagine,weremetwithfriction.ThechildrenwouldcomplainwheneverweturnedtheTVoffortriedtolimittheir“screentime.”Andweastheparentshadtoconsciouslypolicethesituation,whichtookusawayfromdoingthingsthatwereessential.Soweintroducedatokensystem.9Thechildrenweregivententokensat thebeginningof theweek.Thesecouldeachbe traded in foreitherthirty minutes of screen time or fifty cents at the end of the week,addingup to$5or fivehoursof screen timeaweek. If a child reada

bookforthirtyminutes,heorshewouldearnanadditionaltoken,whichcouldalsobe traded in for screen timeor formoney.Theresultswereincredible:overnight,screentimewentdown90percent,readingwentup by the same amount, and the overall effort we had to put intopolicingthesystemwentway,waydown. Inotherwords,nonessentialactivity dramatically decreased and essential activity dramaticallyincreased.Oncea smallamountof initial effortwas invested to setupthesystem,itworkedwithoutfriction.Wecanallcreatesystemslikethisbothathomeandatwork.Thekey

istostartsmall,encourageprogress,andcelebratesmallwins.Hereareafewtechniques.

FOCUSONMINIMALVIABLEPROGRESS

Apopular idea inSiliconValley is“Done isbetter thanperfect.”10Thesentimentisnotthatweshouldproducerubbish.Theidea,asIreadit,isnot to waste time on nonessentials and just to get the thing done. Inentrepreneurial circles the idea is expressed as creating a “minimalviable product.”11 The idea is, “What is the simplest possible productthatwillbeusefulandvaluabletotheintendedcustomer?”Similarly,we can adopt amethod of “minimal viable progress.”We

canaskourselves,“Whatisthesmallestamountofprogressthatwillbeuseful andvaluable to the essential taskweare trying to get done?” Iusedthispracticeinwritingthisbook.Forexample,whenIwasstillintheexploratorymodeof thebook,before I’devenbeguntoputpentopaper(orfingerstokeyboard),Iwouldshareashortidea(myminimalviableproduct)onTwitter.Ifitseemedtoresonatewithpeoplethere,Iwould write a blog piece on Harvard Business Review. Through thisiterative process, which required very little effort, I was able to findwherethereseemedtobeaconnectionbetweenwhatIwasthinkingandwhatseemedtohavethehighestrelevancyinotherpeople’slives.ItistheprocessPixarusesontheirmovies.Insteadofstartingwitha

script,theystartwithstoryboards—orwhathavebeendescribedasthecomicbookversionofamovie.Theytryideasoutandseewhatworks.They do this in small cycles hundreds of times. Then they put out amovie to small groups of people to give them advance feedback. Thisallows them to learn as quickly as possible with as little effort as

possible. As John Lasseter, the chief creative officer at Pixar and nowDisney,said,“Wedon’tactuallyfinishourfilms,wereleasethem.”12

DOTHEMINIMALVIABLEPREPARATION

Therearetwoopposingwaystoapproachanimportantgoalordeadline.Youcanstartearlyandsmallorstartlateandbig.“Lateandbig”meansdoing it all at the last minute: pulling an all-nighter and “making ithappen.” “Early and small” means starting at the earliest possiblemomentwiththeminimalpossibletimeinvestment.Oftenjusttenminutesinvestedinaprojectorassignmenttwoweeks

beforeitisduecansaveyoumuchfranticandstressed-outscramblingattheeleventhhour.Takeagoalordeadlineyouhavecomingupandaskyourself,“WhatistheminimalamountIcoulddorightnowtoprepare?”One leader who is an exceptionally inspiring speaker has explained

that thekey forhim is to start topreparehisbig speeches sixmonthsbeforehedoesthem.Heisn’tpreparingtheentirespeech;hejuststarts.If you have a big presentation coming up over the next fewweeks ormonths, open a file right now and spend fourminutes starting to putdown any ideas. Then close the file. Nomore than fourminutes. Juststartit.AcolleagueinNewYorkusesasimplehack:wheneversheschedulesa

meetingorphonecall, she takesexactly fifteenseconds to typeup themainobjectivesforthatmeeting,soonthemorningofthemeetingwhenshesitsdowntopreparetalkingpointsshecanrefertothem.Shedoesn’tneed to plan the whole meeting agenda. Just a few seconds of earlypreparationpayavaluabledividend.

VISUALLYREWARDPROGRESS

Doyourememberwhenyouwerefiveyearsoldandyourschoolheldafund-raiser? Remember the big thermometer that visually showed theprogress the school was making toward the goal? Can you rememberhow exciting and motivating it was to watch the level of thethermometergoupeachday?Orperhapsyourparentshadastarchartfor you. Every time you ate your spinach, orwent to bed on time, or

cleanedyourroomyougotastar,andprettysoonyouweredoingthosethingsvirtuallywithoutanyprodding.There is something powerful about visibly seeing progress toward agoal.Don’tbeaboveapplyingthesametechniquetoyourownessentialgoals,athomeoratwork.Whenwestartsmallandrewardprogress,weendupachievingmorethanwhenwesetbig,lofty,andoftenimpossiblegoals.Andasabonus,the act of positively reinforcing our successes allows us to reapmoreenjoymentandsatisfactionoutoftheprocess.

CHAPTER18

FLOW

TheGeniusofRoutine

ROUTINE,INANINTELLIGENTMAN,ISASIGNOFAMBITION.—W.H.Auden

ForyearsbeforetheOlympicswimmerMichaelPhelpswonthegoldatthe2008BeijingOlympics,hefollowedthesameroutineateveryrace.Hearrivedtwohoursearly.1Hestretchedandloosenedup,accordingtoa precise pattern: eight hundred mixer, fifty freestyle, six hundredkickingwith kickboard, four hundred pulling a buoy, andmore. Afterthewarm-uphewoulddryoff,putinhisearphones,andsit—neverliedown—onthemassagetable.Fromthatmoment,heandhiscoach,BobBowman,wouldn’tspeakawordtoeachotheruntilafter theracewasover.Atforty-fiveminutesbeforetheracehewouldputonhisracesuit.At

thirtyminuteshewouldgetintothewarm-uppoolanddosixhundredtoeighthundredmeters.Withtenminutestogohewouldwalktothereadyroom.Hewouldfindaseatalone,nevernexttoanyone.Helikedtokeeptheseatsonbothsidesofhimclearforhisthings:gogglesononesideandhistowelontheother.Whenhisracewascalledhewouldwalktotheblocks.Therehewoulddowhathealwaysdid:twostretches,firstastraight-legstretchandthenwithabentknee.Leftlegfirsteverytime.Then therightearbudwouldcomeout.Whenhisnamewascalled,hewould takeout the left earbud.Hewould steponto theblock—alwaysfromtheleftside.Hewoulddrytheblock—everytime.Thenhewouldstandandflaphisarmsinsuchawaythathishandshithisback.Phelps explains: “It’s just a routine.My routine. It’s the routine I’ve

gone throughmywhole life. I’m not going to change it.” And that is

that. His coach, Bob Bowman, designed this physical routine withPhelps.Butthat’snotall.HealsogavePhelpsaroutineforwhattothinkaboutashewent to sleepand first thingwhenheawoke.Hecalled it“Watching the Videotape.”2 There was no actual tape, of course. The“tape” was a visualization of the perfect race. In exquisite detail andslow motion Phelps would visualize every moment from his startingposition on top of the blocks, through each stroke, until he emergedfromthepool,victorious,withwaterdrippingoffhisface.Phelpsdidn’tdothismentalroutineoccasionally.Hediditeverydaybeforehewenttobedandeverydaywhenhewokeup—foryears.WhenBobwanted to challengehim inpracticeshewould shout, “Put in thevideotape!” and Phelps would push beyond his limits. Eventually thementalroutinewassodeeplyingrainedthatBobbarelyhadtowhisperthephrase,“Getthevideotapeready,”beforearace.Phelpswasalwaysreadyto“hitplay.”When asked about the routine, Bowman said: “If you were to askMichaelwhat’sgoingon inhisheadbefore competition,hewould sayhe’snotreallythinkingaboutanything.He’sjustfollowingtheprogram.Butthat’snotright.It’smorelikehishabitshavetakenover.Whentherace arrives, he’s more than halfway through his plan and he’s beenvictorious at every step. All the stretches went like he planned. Thewarm-up lapswere just likehevisualized.Hisheadphonesareplayingexactly what he expected. The actual race is just another step in apatternthatstartedearlierthatdayandhasbeennothingbutvictories.Winningisanaturalextension.”3Asweallknow,Phelpswontherecordeightgoldmedalsatthe2008Beijing Olympics. When visiting Beijing, years after Phelps’sbreathtaking accomplishment, I couldn’t help but think about howPhelps and the other Olympians make all these feats of amazingathleticism seem so effortless. Of course Olympic athletes arguablypracticelongerandtrainharderthananyotherathletesintheworld—butwhentheygetinthatpool,oronthattrack,orontothatrink,theymake it lookpositively easy. It’smore than just anatural extensionoftheirtraining.It’satestamenttothegeniusoftherightroutine.ThewayoftheNonessentialististothinktheessentialsonlygetdonewhentheyareforced.Thatexecutionisamatterofraweffortalone.Youlabortomakeithappen.Youpushthrough.

The way of the Essentialist is different. The Essentialist designs aroutine thatmakesachievingwhatyouhave identifiedasessential thedefaultposition.Yes, insomeinstancesanEssentialiststillhastoworkhard,butwiththerightroutineinplaceeacheffortyieldsexponentiallygreaterresults.

Nonessentialist Essentialist

TriestoexecutetheessentialsbyforceAllowsnonessentialstobethedefault

Designsaroutinethatenshrineswhatisessential,makingexecutionalmosteffortlessMakestheessentialthedefaultposition

MakingItLookEasyRoutine is one of the most powerful tools for removing obstacles.Withoutroutine,thepullofnonessentialdistractionswilloverpowerus.Butifwecreatearoutinethatenshrinestheessentials,wewillbegintoexecute them on autopilot. Instead of our consciously pursuing theessential,itwillhappenwithoutourhavingtothinkaboutit.Wewon’thave to expend precious energy every day prioritizing everything.Wemust simply expend a small amount of initial energy to create theroutine,andthenallthatislefttodoisfollowit.Thereisahugebodyofscientificresearchtoexplainthemechanism

bywhichroutineenablesdifficultthingstobecomeeasy.Onesimplifiedexplanation is that aswe repeatedly do a certain task the neurons, ornerve cells, make new connections through communication gatewayscalled “synapses.” With repetition, the connections strengthen and itbecomes easier for thebrain to activate them.For example,whenyoulearnanewwordittakesseveralrepetitionsatvariousintervalsforthewordtobemastered.Torecallthewordlateryouwillneedtoactivatethe same synapses until eventually you know the word withoutconsciouslythinkingaboutit.4AsimilarprocessexplainshowwhenwedrivefrompointAtopointB

every day we can eventually make the journey without consciouslythinkingaboutit,orwhyoncewe’vecookedthesamemealafewtimesweno longer have to consult the recipe, orwhy anymental task getseasierandeasiereachtimeweattemptit.Withrepetitiontheroutineismasteredandtheactivitybecomessecondnature.Our ability to execute the essential improveswith practice, just like

anyotherability.Thinkaboutthefirsttimeyouhadtoperformacertaincriticalfunctionatwork.Atfirstyoufeltlikeanovice.Youprobablyfeltunsure and awkward. The effort to focus drained your willpower.Decision fatigue set in. You were probably easily distracted. This isperfectly normal. But once you performed the function over and over,yougainedconfidence.Youwerenolongersidetracked.Youwereableto perform the function better and faster, andwith less concentrationand effort. This power of a routine grows out of our brain’s ability totakeoverentirelyuntiltheprocessbecomesfullyunconscious.

Thereisanothercognitiveadvantagetoroutineaswell.Oncethementalworkshiftstothebasalganglia,mentalspaceisfreeduptoconcentrateon something new. This allows us to autopilot the execution of oneessential activity while simultaneously actively engaging in another,withoutsacrificingourleveloffocusorcontribution.“Infact,thebrainstartsworking less and less,” says Charles Duhigg, author of the bookThePowerofHabit.“Thebraincanalmostcompletelyshutdown.…Andthis is a real advantage, because itmeans you have all of thismentalactivityyoucandevotetosomethingelse.”5Tosome,routinecansoundlikewherecreativityandinnovationgotodie—the ultimate exercise in boredom. We even use the word as asynonymforpallidandbland,as in“Ithas justbecomeroutine forme.”Androutinescanindeedbecomethis—thewrongroutines.Buttherightroutinescanactuallyenhanceinnovationandcreativitybygivingustheequivalentofanenergyrebate.Insteadofspendingourlimitedsupplyofdisciplineonmakingthesamedecisionsagainandagain,embeddingourdecisions into our routine allows us to channel that discipline towardsomeotheressentialactivity.The work Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has done on creativitydemonstrates howhighly creative people use strict routines to free uptheir minds. “Most creative individuals find out early what their bestrhythmsareforsleeping,eating,andworking,andabidebythemevenwhen it is tempting todootherwise,”Mihaly says. “Theywearclothesthatarecomfortable,theyinteractonlywithpeopletheyfindcongenial,they do only things they think are important. Of course, suchidiosyncrasiesarenotendearingtothosetheyhavetodealwith.…Butpersonalizing patterns of action helps to free the mind from theexpectations that make demands on attention and allows intenseconcentrationonmattersthatcount.”6One CEO in one of Silicon Valley’s most innovative companies haswhatatfirstglancewouldseemlikeaboring,creativity-killingroutine.Heholdsathree-hourmeetingthatstartsat9:00A.M.onedayaweek.Itis never missed. It is never rescheduled at a different time. It ismandatory—somuchsothateveninthisglobalfirmall theexecutivesknownevertoscheduleanytravelthatwillconflictwiththemeeting.Ifitis9:00A.M.onMonday,everypersonwillbethere.Itisadiscipline.At

first blush there is nothing particularly unique about this. Butwhat isunique is the quality of ideas that come out of this regular meeting.BecausetheCEOhaseliminatedthementalcostinvolvedinplanningthemeetingorthinkingaboutwhowillorwon’tbethere,peoplecanfocusonthecreativeproblemsolving.Andindeed,histeammakescomingupwithcreative,inventiveideasandsolutionslooknaturalandeasy.

ThePoweroftheRightRoutineAccording to researchers at DukeUniversity, nearly 40 percent of ourchoicesaredeeplyunconscious.7Wedon’tthinkaboutthemintheusualsense.Thereisbothdangerandopportunityinthis.Theopportunityisthat we can develop new abilities that eventually become instinctive.Thedangeristhatwemaydeveloproutinesthatarecounterproductive.Withoutbeing fully aware,we canget caught innonessentialhabits—likecheckingoure-mailthesecondwegetoutofbedeverymorning,orpicking up a doughnut on the way home from work each day, orspendingourlunchhourtrollingtheInternetinsteadofusingthetimetothink,reflect,recharge,orconnectwithfriendsandcolleagues.Sohowcanwediscard the routines that keepus locked innonessential habitsand replace themwith routines thatmake executing essentials almosteffortless?

OVERHAULYOURTRIGGERS

Mostofushaveabehavioralhabitwewant tochange,whether it’s toeat less junkfood,waste less time,orworry less.Butwhenwetry,wefind that changing even the simplest, tiniest habit is amazingly,disturbingly hard. There seems to be a gravitational force pulling usinexorably back to thewarm embrace of those French fries, thatWebsite with the pictures of the goofy cats, or the spiral of worry aboutthingsoutsideourcontrol.Howdoweresistthepowerfulpullofthesehabits?InaninterviewabouthisbookThePowerofHabitCharlesDuhiggsaid

“in the last15years,aswe’ve learnedhowhabitsworkandhow theycanbechanged,scientistshaveexplainedthateveryhabitismadeupofacue,aroutine,andareward.Thecueisatriggerthattellsyourbrainto go into automaticmode andwhich habit to use. Then there is theroutine—the behavior itself—which can be physical or mental oremotional.Finally,thereisareward,whichhelpsyourbrainfigureoutif thisparticularhabit isworthrememberingfor thefuture.Overtime,this loop—cue, routine, reward; cue, routine, reward—becomes moreautomaticasthecueandrewardbecomeneurologicallyintertwined.”8

What thismeans is that ifwewant to changeour routine,wedon’treallyneedtochangethebehavior.Rather,weneedtofindthecuethatis triggering the nonessential activity or behavior and find a way toassociatethatsamecuewithsomethingthatisessential.So,forexample,ifthebakeryyoupassonthewayhomefromworktriggersyoutopickup a doughnut, next time you pass by that bakery, use that cue toremindyoutopickupasaladfromthedeliacrossthestreet.Orifyouralarmclockgoingoffinthemorningtriggersyoutocheckyoure-mail,use it as a cue to get up and read instead. At first, overcoming thetemptationtostopatthebakeryorcheckthee-mailwillbedifficult.Buteach time you execute the new behavior—each time you pick up thesalad—strengthensthelinkinyourbrainbetweenthecueandthenewbehavior,andsoon,you’llbesubconsciouslyandautomaticallyperformingthenewroutine.

CREATENEWTRIGGERS

Ifthegoalistocreatesomebehavioralchange,we’renotjustconfinedto our existing cues; we can create brand-new ones to trigger theexecutionofsomeessentialroutine.Iusedthistechniquetodevelopthedailyroutineofwritinginajournal,anditworkedwondersforme.ForalongtimeIwroteinmyjournalonlysporadically.Iwouldputitoffallday;thenatnightIwouldrationalize,“Iwilldoitinthemorning.”ButinevitablyIwouldn’t,andthenbythenextnightIhadtwodays’worthtowriteanditwasoverwhelming.SoIputitoffagain.Andsoon.ThenIheardsomeonesayhehaddevelopedaroutineofwritingafewlinesattheexactsametimeeachday.Thisseemedlikeamanageablehabit,butI knew that I would need some cue reminding me to write at thespecified time each day or I would continue to put it off as I’d beendoing.SoIstartedputtingmyjournalinmybagrightnexttomyphone.Thatway,whenIpullmyphoneoutofmybagtochargeiteachevening(alreadyawell-establishedhabit)Iseethejournal,andthiscuesmetowriteinit.Nowitisinstinctive.Natural.Ilookforwardtoit.IthasbeentenyearsnowandIhavealmostnevermissedaday.

DOTHEMOSTDIFFICULTTHINGFIRST

RayZinnisthefounderandCEOofMicrel,asemiconductorbusinessinSiliconValley.Heisacontrarianinlotsofways.Heisseventy-fiveyearsold in an industry and city that usually celebrates twenty-year-oldcollegedropouts.In1978heandhisbusinesspartnerinvested$300,000tolaunchthecompanyandithasbeenprofitableeverysingleyear,sinceinception (except for one year when they consolidated twomanufacturingfacilities).Sincegoingpublic,theirstockpricehasneverfallen below its IPO price. Ray credits this success to their highlydisciplined focus on profitability. He has led the company as CEO forthirty-five years, and throughout that period Ray has followed anextraordinarilyconsistentroutine.Hewakesupat5:30A.M.everysinglemorning, including Saturday and Sunday (as he’s done for more thanfiftyyears).Hethenexercisesforanhour.Heeatsbreakfastat7:30A.M.andarrivesatworkat8:15A.M.Dinner isat6:30P.M.withhis family.Bedtime is 10:00 P.M. But what really enables Ray to operate at hishighest level of contribution is that throughout the day, his routine isgovernedbyasinglerule:“Focusonthehardestthingfirst.”Afterall,asRay said tome: “We already have toomuch to think about.Why noteliminatesomeofthembyestablishingaroutine?”Usethetipsabovetodeveloparoutineofdoingyourhardesttaskinthe day first thing in themorning. Find a cue—whether it’s that firstglassoforangejuiceyouhaveatyourdesk,oranalarmyousetonyourcellphone,oranythingyou’realreadyaccustomedtodoingfirstthinginthemorning—totriggeryoutositdownandfocusonyourhardestthing.

MIXUPYOURROUTINES

It’struethatdoingthesamethingsatthesametime,dayafterday,cangetboring.Toavoidthiskindofroutinefatigue,there’snoreasonwhyyou can’t have different routines for different days of the week. JackDorsey, the cofounder of Twitter and founder of Square, has aninterestingapproachtohisweeklyroutine.Hehasdivideduphisweekinto themes. Monday is for management meetings and “running thecompany”work.Tuesdayisforproductdevelopment.Wednesdayisformarketing,communications,andgrowth.Thursdayisfordevelopersandpartnerships. Friday is for the company and its culture.9 This routine

helps toprovidecalmnessamid thechaosofahigh-growth start-up. Itenableshim to focushisenergyona single themeeachday insteadoffeelingpulledintoeverything.Headherestothisroutineeachweek,noexceptions,andovertimepeoplelearnthisabouthimandcanorganizemeetingsandrequestsaroundit.

TACKLEYOURROUTINESONEBYONE

Itwouldbeunfortunate tobecomesotakenwiththegeniusofroutinethatwe’d be tempted to try to overhaulmultiple routines at the sametime.Butaswe learned in the last chapter, togetbig resultswemuststartsmall.Sostartwithonechangeinyourdailyorweeklyroutineandthenbuildonyourprogressfromthere.Idon’twanttoimplythatanyofthisiseasy.Manyofournonessential

routinesaredeepandemotional.Theyhavebeenformedinthefurnaceofsomestrongemotions.Theideathatwecanjustsnapourfingersandreplace themwith a newone is naive. Learning essential new skills isnevereasy.Butoncewemasterthemandmakethemautomaticwehavewonanenormousvictory,becausetheskillremainswithusfortherestofourlives.Thesameistruewithroutines.Oncetheyareinplacetheyaregiftsthatkeepongiving.

CHAPTER19

FOCUS

What’sImportantNow?

LIFEISAVAILABLEONLYINTHEPRESENTMOMENT.IFYOUABANDONTHEPRESENTMOMENTYOUCANNOTLIVETHE

MOMENTSOFYOURDAILYLIFEDEEPLY.—ThichNhatHanh

LarryGelwixcoachedtheHighlandHighSchoolrugbyteamto418winswithonly ten lossesand twentynational championshipsover thirty-sixyears.Hedescribeshissuccessthisway:“Wealwayswin.”WitharecordlikeHighland’shehastherighttomakethestatement.Butheisactuallyreferring to something more than his winning record. When he says,“win,”he’salsoreferringtoasinglequestion,withitsaptacronym,thatguideswhatheexpectsfromhisplayers:“What’simportantnow?”Bykeepinghisplayersfullypresentinthemomentandfullyfocused

onwhat ismost important—not on nextweek’smatch, or tomorrow’spractice,orthenextplay,butnow—Gelwixhelpsmakewinningalmosteffortless.Buthow?First,theplayersapplythequestionconstantlythroughoutthegame.

Insteadofgettingcaughtuprehashingthelastplaythatwentwrong,orspendingtheirmentalenergyworryingaboutwhethertheyaregoingtolose the game, neither of which is helpful or constructive, Larryencouragesthemtofocusonlyontheplaytheyareinrightnow.Second, the question “What’s important now?” helps them stay

focusedonhowtheyareplaying.Larrybelievesahugepartofwinningisdeterminedbywhethertheplayersarefocusedontheirowngameorontheiropponent’sgame.Iftheplayersstartthinkingabouttheotherteamthey lose focus.Consciouslyornot, theystartwantingtoplaytheway

theotherteamisplaying.Theygetdistractedanddivided.Byfocusingon their game in thehere andnow, they can all unite arounda singlestrategy. This level of unity makes execution of their game planrelativelyfrictionless.Indeed, Larry has a fundamentally Essentialist approach to winningandlosing.Ashetellshisplayers:“Thereisadifferencebetweenlosingandbeingbeaten.Beingbeatenmeanstheyarebetterthanyou.Theyarefaster, stronger, andmore talented.”ToLarry, losingmeans somethingelse. Itmeansyou lost focus. Itmeansyoudidn’t concentrateonwhatwasessential.Itisallbasedonasimplebutpowerfulidea:tooperateatyourhighestlevelofcontributionrequiresthatyoudeliberatelytuneintowhatisimportantinthehereandnow.

ThereIsOnlyNowThink about how this might apply in your own life. Have you everbecome trapped reliving past mistakes … over and over like a videoplayer,stuckonendlessreplay?Doyouspendtimeandenergyworryingaboutthefuture?Doyouspendmoretimethinkingaboutthethingsyoucan’t control rather than the things you can control about the areaswhere your efforts matter? Do you ever find yourself busy trying tomentally prepare for the nextmeeting, or the next assignment, or thenextchapter inyour life,ratherthanbeingfullypresent inthecurrentone? It’snaturalandhuman toobsessoverpastmistakesor feel stressaboutwhatmaybeaheadofus.Yeteverysecondspentworryingaboutapastorfuturemomentdistractsusfromwhatisimportantinthehereandnow.TheancientGreekshadtwowordsfortime.Thefirstwaschronos.The

secondwaskairos.TheGreekgodChronoswasimaginedasanelderly,gray-haired man, and his name connotes the literal ticking clock, thechronological time, thekindwemeasure(andraceabout trying touseefficiently).Kairosisdifferent.Whileitisdifficulttotranslateprecisely,it refers to time that is opportune, right, different. Chronos isquantitative;kairosisqualitative.Thelatterisexperiencedonlywhenwearefullyinthemoment—whenweexistinthenow.It is mind-bending to consider that in practical terms we only ever

havenow.Wecan’tcontrolthefutureinaliteralsense,justthenow.Ofcourse,welearnfromthepastandcanimaginethefuture.Yetonly inthe here and now can we actually execute on the things that reallymatter.Nonessentialists tend to be so preoccupied with past successes and

failures, aswell as future challenges and opportunities, that theymissthe present moment. They become distracted. Unfocused. They aren’treallythere.ThewayoftheEssentialist istotuneintothepresent.Toexperience

life in kairos, not just chronos. To focus on the things that are trulyimportant—notyesterdayortomorrow,butrightnow.

Nonessentialist Essentialist

MindisspinningoutaboutthepastorthefutureThinksaboutwhatwasimportantyesterdayortomorrowWorriesaboutthefutureorstressesaboutthepast

MindisfocusedonthepresentTunesintowhatisimportantrightnowEnjoysthemoment

RecentlyAnnaandImetforlunchinthemiddleofabusyworkday.Usuallywhenwemeetforlunchwe’resobusycatchingeachotherupontheeventsofourmorningsorplanningtheactivitiesfortheeveningthatweforgettoenjoytheactofhavinglunchtogetherinthehereandnow.So this time, as the food arrived, Anna suggested an experiment: weshouldfocusonlyonthemoment.Norehashingourmorningmeetings,no talkingaboutwhowouldpickup the children fromkarateorwhatwe’dcookfordinnerthatnight.Weshouldeatslowlyanddeliberately,fullyfocusedonthepresent.Iwastotallygameforit.As I slowly took my first bite something happened. I noticed mybreathing.Thenwithout conscious intent I found it slowing.Suddenly,time itself felt as if it wasmoving slower. Instead of feeling as if mybodywas inoneplaceandmymindwas in fiveotherplaces, I felt asthoughbothmymindandmybodywerefullythere.The sensation stayed with me into the afternoon, where I noticedanother change. Insteadof being interruptedbydistracting thoughts, Iwasabletogivemyfullconcentrationtomywork.BecauseIwascalmandpresentonthetasksathand,eachoneflowednaturally.Insteadofmyusual stateofhavingmymentalenergies splitandscatteredacrossmany competing subjects, my state was one of being focused on thesubject thatwasmost important in thepresent.Gettingmyworkdonenotonlybecamemoreeffortlessbutactuallygaveme joy. In thiscase,whatwasgoodforthemindwasalsogoodforthesoul.JiroOnoistheworld’sgreatestsushichefandthesubjectofthemovieJiroDreamsofSushi,directedbyDavidGeld.1Ateighty-fiveyearsofage,

he has beenmaking sushi for decades, and indeed for him the art ofmakingsushihasbecomenearlyeffortless.Yethisisn’tsimplythestoryof how practice and experience lead to mastery.Watching himwork,youseesomeoneentirelyinthemoment.Essentialists live theirwhole lives in thismanner.Andbecause theydo,theycanapplytheirfullenergytothejobathand.Theydon’tdiffusetheir effortswithdistractions.Theyknow that execution is easy if youworkhardatitandhardifyouworkeasyatit.

MultitaskingVersusMultifocusingI ran into a former classmate of mine years after graduating fromStanford.Iwasoncampusdoingsomeworkonacomputerinoneoftheofficeswhenhecameovertometosayhi.Afteraminuteofpleasantrieshetoldmehewasinbetweenjobs.HeexplainedalittleaboutthejobhewaslookingforandaskedifIcouldhelphim.IstartedaskinghimsomequestionstoseehowIcouldbehelpfultohim,buttwentysecondsintotheconversationhegotatextonhisphone.Withoutsayingaword,helookeddownandstartedrespondingtoit.IdidwhatItypicallydowhenthathappens.Ipausedandwaited.Ten seconds went by. Then twenty. I simply stood there as he

continued to text away furiously. He didn’t say anything. He didn’tacknowledgeme.OutofcuriosityIwaitedtoseehowlongitwouldgoon.Butaftertwofullminutes,whichisquitealotoftimewhenyouarestandingwaitingforsomeone, Igaveup,walkedbacktomydesk,andwent back tomywork. After another fiveminutes he became presentagain, interruptingme for the second time.Nowhewanted to resumetheconversation,toaskforhelpwithhisjobsearchagain.InitiallyIhadbeenreadytorecommendhimforajobopeningIknewof,butafterthisincident I admit to feeling hesitant about recommending him for aninterviewwhere hemight suddenly not be present: he’d be present inbody,perhaps,butnotinmind.At thispointyoumightexpectme to start talkingabout theevilsof

multitasking—abouthowa trueEssentialistneverattempts todomorethanonethingatatime.Butinfactwecaneasilydotwothingsatthesametime:washthedishesandlistentotheradio,eatandtalk,cleartheclutter on our desk while thinking about where to go for lunch, textmessagewhilewatchingtelevision,andsoon.Whatwecan’tdoisconcentrateontwothingsatthesametime.When

Italkaboutbeingpresent,I’mnottalkingaboutdoingonlyonethingata time. I’m talking about being focused on one thing at a time.Multitasking itself isnot theenemyofEssentialism;pretendingwecan“multifocus”is.

HowtoBeintheNowWhatcanwedotobefullypresentonwhatisinfrontofus?Belowaresomesimpletechniquestoconsider.

FIGUREOUTWHATISMOSTIMPORTANTRIGHTNOW

RecentlyIhadtaughtafulldayonEssentialismtoanexecutiveteaminNew York. I had thoroughly enjoyed the day and had felt presentthroughout.ButbythetimeIreturnedtomyroomIfeltasuddenpullinamilliondirections.EverythingaroundmewasareminderofallofthethingsIcouldbedoing:checkmye-mail,listentomessages,readabookI feltobligated to read,prepare thepresentation fora fewweeks fromnow, record interesting ideas that had grown out of the day’sexperiences,andmore.Itwasn’tjustthesheernumberofthingsthatfeltoverwhelming, it was that familiar stress of many tasks vying for topbillingatthesametime.AsIfelttheanxietyandtensionriseIstopped.Ikneltdown.Iclosedmyeyesandasked,“What’simportantnow?”AfteramomentofreflectionIrealizedthatuntilIknewwhatwasimportantright now,whatwas important right nowwas to figure outwhatwasimportantrightnow!Istoodup.Itidiedup.Iputalloftheobjectsstrewnaroundmeaway,

intheirproperplace,sotheywouldn’tdistractmeandpressuremetodotheirbiddingeverytimeIwalkedby.Iturnedoffmyphone.Itwassucharelieftohaveabarrierbetweenmeandsomeone’sabilitytotextme.Iopenedmy journalandwroteabout theday. Itcenteredme. Iwrotealistinpencilofallthethingsonmymind.ThenIclarifiedthisbyasking,“Whatdoyouneedtodotobeabletogotosleeppeacefully?”Whatwasessential,Idecided,wastoconnectwithmywifeandchildren.Thenitwastodojust thosefewthingsthatwouldmakethefirst fewhoursofthenextmorningaseffortlessaspossible: scheduleawake-upcallandbreakfast in the room; getmy slides loadedon the computer; ironmyshirt.Icrossedoffthethingsthatwerenotimportantrightthen.Whenfacedwithsomanytasksandobligationsthatyoucan’t figure

outwhich to tackle first, stop. Take a deep breath.Get present in themomentandaskyourselfwhatismostimportantthisverysecond—not

what’smost important tomorrowor even anhour fromnow. If you’renotsure,makealistofeverythingvyingforyourattentionandcrossoffanythingthatisnotimportantrightnow.

GETTHEFUTUREOUTOFYOURHEAD

Gettingthefutureoutofyourheadenablesyoutomorefullyfocuson“whatisimportantnow.”Inthiscase,mynextstepwastositdownandlistthosethingsthatmighthavebeenessential—justnotrightnow.SoIopenedtoanotherpageinmyjournal.Thistime,Iaskedmyself,“Whatmightyouwanttodosomedayasaresultoftoday?”Thiswasnotalistoffirmcommitments, justawaytogetalloftheideasoutofmyheadandonpaper.Thishadtwopurposes.First,itensuredIwouldn’tforgetaboutthoseideas,whichmightproveuseful later.Second, italleviatedthatstressfulanddistractingfeelingthatIneededtoactuponthemrightthissecond.

PRIORITIZE

After this I prioritized each list. Then I worked on each item on the“whatisessentialnow”listoneatatime.Ijustcalmlyworkedthroughthelistanderasedeachitemwhenitwascomplete.BythetimeIwenttosleepIhadnotonlydoneallthethingsthatneededtobeexecutedatthatmoment,butIhadexecutedthembetterandfaster,becauseIwasfocused.

ThePauseThatRefreshesJeffrey A. Rodgers, an executive vice president at Cornish & CareyCommercial/NewmarkKnightFrank,wasoncetaughtthesimpleideaofpausing to refresh. It beganwhen Jeff realized that as he drove homefrom work each evening his mind was still focused on work-relatedprojects. We all know this feeling. We may have left the officephysically,butweareverymuchstill therementally,asourmindsgetcaughtintheendlessloopofreplayingtheeventsoftodayandworryingaboutallthethingsweneedtogetdonethefollowingday.Sonow,ashegetstothedoorofhishouse,heapplieswhathecalls

“the pause that refreshes.” This technique is easy. He stops for just amoment.He closes his eyes.He breathes in and out once: deeply andslowly.Asheexhales,heletstheworkissuesfallaway.Thisallowshimto walk through the front door to his family with more singleness ofpurpose. It supports the sentiment attributed to LaoTzu: “Inwork, dowhatyouenjoy.Infamilylife,becompletelypresent.”ThichNhatHanh, theVietnameseZenBuddhistmonkwhohasbeen

calledthe“world’scalmestman,”hasspentalifetimeexploringhowtoliveinkairos,albeitbyadifferentname.Hehastaughtitasmindfulnessor maintaining “beginner’s mind.” He has written: “Mindfulness helpsyougohometothepresent.Andeverytimeyougothereandrecognizeaconditionofhappinessthatyouhave,happinesscomes.”2Thisfocusonbeinginthemomentaffectsthewayhedoeseverything.

He takesa fullhour todrinka cupof teawith theothermonkseveryday.Heexplains:“Supposeyouaredrinkingacupoftea.Whenyouholdyourcup,youmayliketobreathein,tobringyourmindbacktoyourbody, and you become fully present. And when you are truly there,somethingelseisalsothere—life,representedbythecupoftea.Inthatmomentyouarereal,andthecupofteaisreal.Youarenotlostinthepast, inthefuture, inyourprojects, inyourworries.Youarefreefromall of these afflictions.And in that state of being free, you enjoy yourtea.Thatisthemomentofhappiness,andofpeace.”Pay attention through the day for your own kairos moments. Write

them down in your journal. Think about what triggered thatmomentandwhatbroughtyououtof it.Now thatyouknowwhat triggers the

moment,trytore-createit.Training yourself to tune into kairos will not only enable you toachieveahigherlevelofcontributionbutalsomakeyouhappier.

CHAPTER20

BE

TheEssentialistLife

BEWARETHEBARRENNESSOFABUSYLIFE.—Socrates

It all began while he was studying to become a barrister in England.With a wealthy family and good professional prospects, the futurelookedbright.Everydayhewokeupwithasenseofcertainty.Hewasclearonhismainobjective:topreparetobecomeaprofessionalinlawandthenmakeacomfortableliving.Butthenhetooktheopportunitytogoonajourneyaroundtheworldandeverythingchanged.MohandasK.GandhiwenttoSouthAfricaandsawoppressionthere.

Suddenly, he found a higher purpose: the liberation of the oppressedeverywhere.With this new singleness of purpose, he eliminated everything else

from his life. He called the process “reducing himself to zero.”1 Hedressedinhisownhomespuncloth(khadi)andinspiredhisfollowerstodothesame.Hespentthreeyearsnotreadinganynewspapersbecausehe found that their contents added only nonessential confusion to hislife.Hespentthirty-fiveyearsexperimentingwithsimplifyinghisdiet.2He spent a day each week without speaking. It would be anunderstatement to say he eschewed consumerism: when he died heownedfewerthantenitems.Moreimportantly,ofcourse,hedevotedhislifetohelpingthepeople

of India gain independence. He intentionally never held a politicalpositionofanykind,yethebecame,officiallywithinIndia,the“Fatherof the Nation.” But his contribution extended well beyond India. AsGeneralGeorgeC.Marshall,theAmericansecretaryofstate,saidonthe

occasion of Gandhi’s passing: “Mahatma Gandhi had become thespokesman for the conscience ofmankind, amanwhomade humilityand simple truth more powerful than empires.”3 And Albert Einsteinadded:“Generationstocomewillscarcebelievethatsuchaoneasthiseverinfleshandbloodwalkeduponthisearth.”4It is impossible to arguewith the statement thatGandhi lived a lifethatreallymattered.Ofcourse,wedon’thavetotrytoreplicateGandhitobenefitfromhisexampleassomeonewholived,fullyandcompletely,asanEssentialist.Wecanallpurgeour livesof thenonessentialandembracethewayoftheEssentialist—inourownways,andinourowntime,andonourownscale.Wecanalllivealifenotjustofsimplicitybutofhighcontributionandmeaning.

LivingEssentiallyTherearetwowaysofthinkingaboutEssentialism.Thefirstistothinkof it as something youdo occasionally. The second is to think of it assomethingyouare.Intheformer,Essentialismisonemorethingtoaddto your already overstuffed life. In the latter, it is a different way—asimplerway—ofdoingeverything.Itbecomesalifestyle.Itbecomesanall-encompassingapproachtolivingandleading.Itbecomestheessenceofwhoweare.Essentialismhasdeeprootsinmanyspiritualandreligioustraditions.

GautamaBuddhalefthislifeasaprincetoseektheasceticlife.ThisledhimtohisenlightenmentandthebirthofBuddhism.Likewise,Judaismgrew out of the story ofMoses leaving his opulent life as an adoptedprinceinEgypttoliveinthewildernessasasheepherder. Itwasthereheencounteredtheburningbushanddiscoveredhisessentialmissiontobring the Israelites out of bondage. The ProphetMuhammad lived anessential life that included mending his own shoes and clothes andmilkinghisowngoatandtaughthisfollowersinIslamtodothesame.JohntheBaptist,too,hadtheepitomeofasimplelifestyle—livinginthedesert, wearing camel hair clothes, and eating off the land. ChristiangroupssuchasQuakersalsomaintainedastaunchlyEssentialistelementtotheirfaith:forexample,theypracticed“theTestimonyofSimplicity,”inwhich they committed to a life of onlywhatwas essential. And ofcourse Jesus lived as carpenter and then in hisministry livedwithoutwealth,politicalposition,ormaterialbelongings.Wecanseethephilosophyof“lessbutbetter”reflectedinthelivesof

other notable and diverse figures—both religious and secular—throughout history: to name a few, the Dalai Lama, Steve Jobs, LeoTolstoy, Michael Jordan, Warren Buffett, Mother Teresa, and HenryDavidThoreau(whowrote,“Idobelieveinsimplicity.Itisastonishingaswellassad,howmanytrivialaffairseventhewisest thinkshemustattend to in a day;… so simplify the problem of life, distinguish thenecessaryandthereal”).5Indeed,wecanfindEssentialistsamongthemostsuccessfulpeoplein

every type of human endeavor. These include religious leaders,journalists, politicians, lawyers, doctors, investors, athletes, authors,

artists.Thesepeoplemaketheirgreatestcontributioninmanydifferentways.Buttheyshareonetrait:theydon’tjustgivelipservicetotheideaof“lessbutbetter.”TheyhavedeliberatelychosentofullyembracethewayoftheEssentialist.Regardlessofwhatjob,field,orindustrywearein,wecanallchoosetodothesame.Hopefully,at thispoint inthebook,you’ve learnedandabsorbedallthecore tenetsandskillsofanEssentialist. In thischapter, it’s timetotakethatfinalstepandlearnhowtousethoseskillsnotjusttopracticeEssentialismoccasionallybuttobecomeatrueEssentialist.

MAJORINGINMINORACTIVITIES

There isabigdifferencebetweenbeingaNonessentialistwhohappenstoapplyEssentialistpracticesandanEssentialistwhoonlyoccasionallyslipsbackintosomeNonessentialistpractices.Thequestionis,“Whichisyour major and which is your minor?” Most of us have a littleEssentialistandalittleNonessentialistinus,butthequestionis,Whichareyouatthecore?

People with Essentialism at their core get far more from theirinvestment than thosewho absorb it only at the surface level. Indeed,the benefits become cumulative. Every choice wemake to pursue theessential and eliminate the nonessential builds on itself, making thatchoicemoreandmorehabitualuntilitbecomesvirtuallysecondnature.Withtime,thatinnercoreexpandsoutwardsuntilithasallbuteclipsedthepartofusstillmiredinthenonessential.

Itiseasytogetcaughtupinthe“paradoxofsuccess”wediscussedinchapter 1.We have clarity of purpose, which leads us to success. Butwithoursuccesswegetnewoptionsandopportunities.Thissoundslikea good thing, but remember, these options unintentionally distract us,temptus,lureusaway.Ourclaritybecomesclouded,andsoonwefindourselvesspreadtoothin.Now,insteadofbeingutilizedatourhighest

levelofcontribution,wemakeonlyamillimeterofprogressinamilliondirections.Ultimately,oursuccessbecomesacatalystforourfailure.TheonlywayoutofthiscycleisthewayoftheEssentialist.ButthewayoftheEssentialistisn’tjustaboutsuccess;it’saboutliving

a lifeofmeaningandpurpose.Whenwe lookbackonourcareersandourlives,wouldweratherseealonglaundrylistof“accomplishments”thatdon’treallymatteror justafewmajoraccomplishmentsthathaverealmeaningandsignificance?IfyouallowyourselftofullyembraceEssentialism—toreallyliveit,in

everythingyoudo,whetherathomeoratwork—itcanbecomeapartofthe way you see and understand the world. You can change yourthinkingsodeeplythatthepracticesofEssentialismwehavediscussed,andmanyothersyouwilldevelop,becomenaturalandinstinctive:

Astheseideasbecomeemotionallytrue,theytakeon

thepowertochangeyou.

TheGreeks had aword,metanoia, that refers to a transformation oftheheart.Wetendtothinkoftransformationsashappeningonlyinthemind.Butastheproverbgoes,“Asamanthinkethinhisheart,soishe”(italicsadded).6OncetheessenceofEssentialismentersourhearts, theway of the Essentialist becomes who we are. We become a different,betterversionofourselves.Once you become an Essentialist, you will find that you aren’t like

everybodyelse.Whenotherpeoplearesayingyes,youwillfindyourselfsayingno.Whenotherpeoplearedoing,youwillfindyourselfthinking.Whenotherpeoplearespeaking,youwillfindyourselflistening.Whenother people are in the spotlight, vying for attention, you will findyourselfwaiting on the sidelines until it is time to shine.While other

people are padding their résumés and building out their LinkedInprofiles, youwill be building a career ofmeaning.While other peoplearecomplaining(read:bragging)abouthowbusytheyare,youwilljustbe smiling sympathetically, unable to relate. While other people arelivinga lifeofstressandchaos,youwillbe livinga lifeof impactandfulfillment. In many ways, to live as an Essentialist in our too-many-things-all-the-timesocietyisanactofquietrevolution.Living fullyasanEssentialist isn’talwayseasy. Inmanyways, I stillstrugglewith itmyself. I still instinctivelywant topleasepeoplewhenthey askme to do something, even something I know isNonessential.When presented with opportunities—especially good opportunities—Istillfallintothinking,“Icandoboth”whenIreallycan’t.Istillfighttheurgetoimpulsivelycheckmyphone;onmyworstdaysIhavewonderedifmytombstonewillread,“Hecheckede-mail.”I’llbethefirsttoadmit,thetransitiondoesn’thappenovernight.Still,overtimeIhavefounditgetseasierandeasier.Sayingnofeelsless uncomfortable. Decisions get much clearer. Eliminating theNonessentials becomes more natural and instinctive. I feel greatercontrolofmychoices,tothepointthatmylifeisdifferent.Ifyouopenyour heart and mind to embrace Essentialism fully, these things willbecometrueforyouaswell.Today Essentialism is not just something I do. An Essentialist issomething I am steadily becoming. At first it was a few deliberatechoices,thenitgrewintoalifestyle,andthenitchangedme,atmyverycore.IcontinuetodiscoveralmostdailythatIcandolessandless—inordertocontributemore.WhatbeinganEssentialistmeanstomeisbestillustratedinthelittlemoments.Itmeans:

•Choosing towrestlewithmychildrenon the trampoline insteadofgoingtoanetworkingevent

•Choosing to sayno to internationalclientwork for the lastyear inordertowrite

•ChoosingtosetasideadayeachweekwhereIdon’tcheckanysocialmediasoIcanbefullypresentathome

• Choosing to spend eight months getting up at 5:00 A.M. every

morningandwritingtill1:00P.M.inordertofinishthisbook•Choosingtopushbackaworkdeadlineinordertogocampingwithmychildren• Choosing not to watch any television ormovies when I travel forbusinesssothereistimetothinkandrest•Choosingtoregularlyspendawholedayonthatday’spriority,evenifitmeansdoingnothingelseonmyto-dolist•ChoosingtoputthenovelIamreadingonholdbecauseitisnottheprioritytoday•Choosingtokeepajournalalmosteverydayforthelasttenyears•ChoosingtosaynotoaspeakingopportunityinordertohaveadatenightwithAnna•Choosing toexchange timeonFacebook fora regularcallwithmyninety-three-year-oldgrandfather• Choosing to turn down a recent offer to be a lecturer at Stanfordsince I knew it meant time away from spreading the message ofEssentialismthroughmylectures,andbeingwithfamily

Thelistgoeson,butthepointIwanttomakehereisthatfocusingonthe essentials is a choice. It is your choice. That in itself is incrediblyliberating.Yearsago,afterIhadquitlawschool,Iwasdecidingwhattodonext

in my career. With Anna as my sounding board, I explored dozens,perhaps hundreds, of different ideas. Then one day we were drivinghome and I said, “What if Iwent to Stanford formy graduatework?”Therehadbeenalotof“Whatif?”questionslikethat.Usuallytheideasjustdidn’tstick.ButthistimeIfeltasenseofimmediateclarity:inthatinstant,Ijustknew,evenasthewordsescapedmylips,thatthiswastheessentialpathforme.Whatmademe so sure Iwas on the right pathwashow the clarity

disappearedwhenIeventhoughtofapplyingelsewhere.SeveraltimesIstarted the application process for other programs but always stoppedafterafewminutes.Itjustdidn’tfeelright.SoIconcentratedmyeffortsonly on that single application. As I waited to hear back from theuniversity, many other opportunities, some quite tempting, presented

themselves. I saidno toallof them.Butdespite theuncertaintyofnotyet knowing whether I had been accepted, I didn’t feel anxious ornervous.Instead,Ifeltcalm,focused,andincontrol.I applied only to Stanford—both times.When I finally receivedmy

offerthesecondtimearounditcouldn’thavebeenmorecleartomethatthiswasthemostvitalthingformetobedoing.Itwastherightpathattherighttime.Itwasthequiet,personalconfirmationofthewayoftheEssentialist.Had I not chosen the path of the Essentialist, I might never have

pursuedthe“Stanfordorbust”strategy.ImightneverhavewrittenforHarvardBusinessReview.AndImostcertainlywouldneverhavewrittenthewordsthatyouarenowreading,absorbing,andhopefullythinkinghardabouthowtointegrateintoyourownlife.BecominganEssentialistisalongprocess,butthebenefitsareendless.

Here are some of the ways the disciplined pursuit of less can changeyourlifeforthebetter.

MORECLARITY

Remember themetaphorical closetwe discussed in chapter 1? As youcontinue to clear out the closet of your life, you will experience areorderingofwhatreallymatters.Lifewillbecomelessaboutefficientlycrossingoffwhatwasonyour to-do listor rushing througheverythingonyourscheduleandmoreaboutchangingwhatyouputonthereinthefirstplace.Everydayitbecomesmoreclearthanthedaybeforehowtheessential things are so much more important than the next mostimportant thing in line. As a result, the execution of those essentialsbecomesmoreandmoreeffortless.

MORECONTROL

Youwillgainconfidenceinyourabilitytopause,pushback,ornotrushin.Youwillfeellessandlessafunctionofotherpeople’sto-dolistsandagendas. Remember that if you don’t prioritize your life someone elsewill.Butifyouaredeterminedtoprioritizeyourownlifeyoucan.Thepowerisyours.Itiswithinyou.

MOREJOYINTHEJOURNEY

Withthefocusonwhatistrulyimportantrightnowcomestheabilitytolivelifemorefully,inthemoment.Forme,akeybenefitofbeingmorepresent in the moment has been making joyful memories that wouldotherwisenotexist.Ismilemore.Ivaluesimplicity.Iammorejoyful.AstheDalaiLama,anothertrueEssentialist,hassaid:“Ifone’slifeissimple,contentmenthastocome.Simplicityisextremelyimportantforhappiness.”

TheEssentialLife:LivingaLifeThatReallyMattersThe life of an Essentialist is a life of meaning. It is a life that reallymatters.When Ineeda reminderof this I thinkofa story. It isaboutaman

whosethree-year-olddaughterdied.Inhisgriefheputtogetheravideoofhershortlittlelife.Butashewentthroughallofhishomevideosherealizedsomethingwasmissing.Hehadtakenvideoofeveryoutingtheyhadgoneonandeverytriptheyhadtaken.Hehadlotsoffootage—thatwasn’t the problem. But then he realized that while he had plenty offootageoftheplacestheyhadgone—thesightstheyhadseen,theviewstheyhadenjoyed,themealstheyhadeaten,andthelandmarkstheyhadvisited—hehadalmostno close-up footageofhisdaughterherself.Hehad been so busy recording the surroundings he had failed to recordwhatwasessential.Thisstorycapturesthetwomostpersonallearningsthathavecometo

meonthelongjourneyofwritingthisbook.Thefirstistheexquisitelyimportantroleofmyfamilyinmylife.Atthevery,veryend,everythingelse will fade into insignificance by comparison. The second is thepatheticallytinyamountoftimewehaveleftofourlives.Formethisisnotadepressingthoughtbutathrillingone.Itremovesfearofchoosingthewrongthing.Itinfusescourageintomybones.Itchallengesmetobeevenmoreunreasonablyselectiveabouthowtouse thisprecious—andpreciousisperhapstooinsipidofaword—time.Iknowofsomeonewhovisits cemeteriesaround theworldwhenhe travels. I thought thiswasodd at first, but now I realize that this habit keeps his ownmortalityfrontandcenter.The life of an Essentialist is a life livedwithout regret. If you have

correctly identified what really matters, if you invest your time andenergy in it, then it is difficult to regret the choices you make. Youbecomeproudofthelifeyouhavechosentolive.Willyouchoosetolivealifeofpurposeandmeaning,orwillyoulook

backonyouronesinglelifewithtwingesofregret?Ifyoutakeonethingawayfromthisbook,Ihopeyouwillrememberthis:whateverdecisionor challenge or crossroads you face in your life, simply ask yourself,“Whatisessential?”Eliminateeverythingelse.

Ifyouarereadytolookinsideyourselffortheanswertothisquestion,thenyouarereadytocommittothewayoftheEssentialist.

APPENDIX

LeadershipEssentials

NEVERDOUBTTHATASMALLGROUPOFTHOUGHTFUL,COMMITTEDCITIZENSCANCHANGETHEWORLD;INDEED,IT’STHEONLYTHINGTHATEVERHAS.

—MargaretMead

LinkedIn CEO JeffWeiner sees “fewer things done better” as themostpowerful mechanism for leadership. When he took the reins of thecompanyhecouldeasilyhaveadoptedthestandardoperatingprocedureofmostSiliconValleystart-upsandtriedtopursueeverything.Instead,hesaidnotoreallygoodopportunitiesinordertopursueonlytheverybest ones. He uses the acronym FCS (a.k.a. FOCUS) to teach hisphilosophy to his employees. The letters stand for “Fewer things donebetter,”“Communicatingtherightinformationtotherightpeopleattherighttime,”and“Speedandqualityofdecisionmaking.”Indeed,thisiswhatitmeanstoleadessentially.

ESSENTIALISTTEAMS

Essentialismasawayofthinkingandactingisasrelevanttothewayweleadcompaniesandteamsasitistothewayweleadourlives.Infact,manyoftheideasIhavesharedinthisbookfirstbecamecleartomeinworkingwithexecutiveteams.I have since gathered data frommore than five hundred individuals

abouttheirexperienceonmorethanonethousandteams.Iaskedthemtoansweraseriesofquestionsaboutatimewhentheyhadworkedonaunified team, what the experience was like, what role their managerplayed,andwhattheendresultwas.ThenIhadthemcontrastthiswithatimewhentheyhadbeenonadisunifiedteamandwhatthatwaslike,whatroletheirmanagerplayed,andhowitaffectedtheendresult.

Theresultsofthisresearchwerestartling:whentherewasahighlevelof clarity of purpose, the teams and the people on it overwhelminglythrived.When therewasa serious lackof clarityaboutwhat the teamstood for and what their goals and roles were, people experiencedconfusion, stress, frustration,andultimately failure.Asone seniorvicepresident succinctly summarized it when she looked at the resultsgatheredfromherextendedteam:“Clarityequalssuccess.”This is just one of themany reasons that the principle of “less butbetter”isjustasusefulinbuildingteamsthatcanmakeadifferenceasitisinenablingindividualstolivealifethatreallymatters.Lifeonteamstoday is fast and full of opportunity. When teams are unified, theabundance of opportunity can be a good thing. But when teams lackclarityofpurpose,itbecomesdifficultifnotimpossibletodiscernwhichof these myriad opportunities are truly vital. The unintendedconsequence is that Nonessentialist managers try to have their teamspursue toomany things—and try todo toomany things themselves aswell—andtheteamplateausinitsprogress.AnEssentialistleadermakesadifferentchoice.Withclarityofpurpose,sheisabletoapply“lessbutbetter” to everything from talent selection, to direction, to roles, tocommunication,toaccountability.Asaresultherteambecomesunifiedandbreaksthroughtothenextlevel.

THEELEMENTSOFLEADINGASANESSENTIALIST

At thispoint in thebookyou’ve learnedabout flaws inNonessentialistthinking and replaced that false logic with the basic truths ofEssentialism. But Essentialism doesn’t end with the individual. If youlead in any capacity—whether it’s a team of two colleagues, adepartment of five hundred employees, or even some group in yourschoolorcommunity—thenextstepinyourjourney, ifyouarewillingtotakeit,istoapplythesesameskillsandmind-setstoyourleadership.

MIND-SETNonessentialistEverythingtoeveryoneEssentialist

Lessbutbetter

TALENTNonessentialistHirespeoplefranticallyandcreatesa“Bozoexplosion.”EssentialistRidiculouslyselectiveontalentandremovespeoplewhoholdtheteamback.

STRATEGYNonessentialistPursuesastraddledstrategywhereeverythingisapriority.EssentialistDefinesanessentialintentbyansweringthequestion,“Ifwecouldonlydo one thing, what would it be?” Eliminates the nonessentialdistractions.

EMPOWERMENTNonessentialistAllowsambiguityoverwhoisdoingwhat.Decisionsarecapricious.EssentialistFocusesoneachteammember’shighestroleandgoalofcontribution.

COMMUNICATIONNonessentialistTalksincode.EssentialistListenstogettowhatisessential.

ACCOUNTABILITYNonessentialistChecks in too much or is so busy he or she checks out altogether.Sometimesdoesboth:disruptingthefocusofthegroupandthenbeing

absenttothegroup.EssentialistChecksinwithpeopleinagentlewaytoseehowheorshecanremoveobstaclesandenablesmallwins.

RESULTNonessentialistA fractured team that makes a millimeter of progress in a milliondirectionsEssentialistAunifiedteamthatbreaksthroughtothenextlevelofcontribution

Fromlookingatthischart,theadvantagesofapplyingtheEssentialistapproachtoeveryaspectofleadershipthatmattersshouldbeclear.Still,let’s take amoment to briefly expand on these to get even clearer onhow,exactly,toleadasanEssentialist.

BERIDICULOUSLYSELECTIVEINHIRINGPEOPLE

ANonessentialisttendstohirepeoplefranticallyandimpulsively—thengetstoobusyordistractedtoeitherdismissorreskillthepeoplekeepingtheteamback.Atfirstthehiringbonanzaseemsjustifiedbecauseofthepaceofgrowththatmustbesustained.Butinrealityonewronghireisfarcostlierthanbeingonepersonshort.Andthecostofhiringtoomanywrongpeople (andonewronghireoften leads tomultiplewronghiresbecause the wrong person will tend to attract more wrong people) iswhat Guy Kawasaki called a “Bozo explosion”—a term he uses todescribe what happens when a formerly great team or companydescendsintomediocrity.1AnEssentialist,ontheotherhand, is ridiculouslyselectiveontalent.

Shehas thediscipline toholdout for theperfecthire—nomatterhowmany résumés she has to read, or interviews she has to conduct, ortalentsearchesshehastomake—anddoesn’thesitatetoremovepeoplewhoholdtheteamback.Theresultisateamfullofall-starperformerswhosecollectiveeffortsadduptomorethanthesumoftheirparts(see

chapter9,“Select,”formoreonthissubject).

DEBATEUNTILYOUHAVEESTABLISHEDAREALLYCLEAR(NOTPRETTYCLEAR)ESSENTIALINTENT

Without clarity of purpose, Nonessentialist leaders straddle theirstrategy:theytrytopursuetoomanyobjectivesanddotoomanythings.Asaresulttheirteamsgetspreadinamilliondirectionsandmakelittleprogressonany.Theywaste timeon thenonessentialsandneglect thethings thatreallymatter (seechapter10on the importanceofpurposeand essential intent). Thesedays there is a lot of talk in organizationsabout“alignment,”and indeed themorea team isaligned, thegreatertheir contribution will be. Clear intent leads to alignment; vaguedirectionproducesmisalignmenteverytime.

GOFOREXTREMEEMPOWERMENT

The Nonessentialist disempowers people by allowing ambiguity overwhoisdoingwhat.Oftenthisisjustifiedinthenameofwantingtobeaflexible or agile team. But what is actually created is a counterfeitagility.Whenpeopledon’tknowwhattheyarereallyresponsibleforandhowtheywillbejudgedontheirperformance,whendecisionseitherareorappear tobecapricious,andwhen rolesare ill-defined, it isn’t longbeforepeopleeithergiveupor,worse,becomeobsessedwithtryingtolook busy and therefore important instead of actually getting any realworkdone.AnEssentialistunderstandsthatclarityisthekeytoempowerment.Hedoesn’tallowrolestobegeneralandvague.Heensuresthateveryoneontheteamisreallyclearaboutwhattheyareexpectedtocontributeandwhateveryoneelse iscontributing.OneCEOrecentlyadmittedthathehad allowed ambiguity on his executive team to keep the wholeorganization back. To repair the damage, he said he went through ahugestreamliningprocessuntilhewasdowntojustfourdirectreports,eachwithaclearfunctionalresponsibilityacrossthewholeorganization.The iconoclasticentrepreneurandventurecapitalistPeterThiel took“less but better” to an unorthodox level when he insisted that PayPal

employees select one single priority in their role—and focus on thatexclusively. As PayPal executive Keith Rabois recalls: “Peter requiredthat everyone be taskedwith exactly one priority.Hewould refuse todiscuss virtually anything else with you except what was currentlyassigned as your#1 initiative. Even our annual review forms in 2001required each employee to identify their single most valuablecontribution to the company.”2 The result was the employees wereempowered to do anythingwithin the confines of that clearly definedrolethattheyfeltwouldmakeahighlevelofcontributiontothesharedmissionofthecompany.

COMMUNICATETHERIGHTTHINGSTOTHERIGHTPEOPLEATTHERIGHTTIME

TheNonessentialistleadercommunicatesincode,andasaresultpeoplearen’t surewhatanything reallymeans.Nonessentialist communicationusuallyiseithertoogeneraltobeactionableorchangessoquicklythatpeople are always caught off guard. Essentialist leaders, on the otherhand,communicatetherightthingstotherightpeopleattherighttime.Essentialist leaders speak succinctly, opting for restraint in theircommunicationtokeeptheteamfocused.Whentheydospeak,theyarecrystal clear.Theyeschewmeaningless jargon,and theirmessage is soconsistent it seems almost boring to their ears. In thisway, teams areabletopickuptheessentialthroughallthetrivialnoise.

CHECKINOFTENTOENSUREMEANINGFULPROGRESS

TheNonessentialistleaderisnotgreatonaccountability.Aprimaryandsomewhatobviousreasonisthatthemoreitemsonepursues,theharderit is to followupon all of them. In fact, aNonessentialist leadermayunintentionallytrainhispeopletoexpectnofollow-upatall.Inturn,themembers of the team soon learn that there are no repercussions forfailing, cutting corners, or prioritizing what is easy over what isimportant.Theylearnthateachobjectivepronouncedbytheleaderwillbeemphasizedonlyforamomentbeforegivingwaytosomethingelseofmomentaryinterest.

By taking the time to get clear about the one thing that is reallyrequired,theEssentialistleadermakesfollow-upsoeasyandfrictionlessthatitactuallyhappens.Bycheckinginwithpeoplefrequentlytorewardsmall wins and help people remove obstacles, he bolsters the team’smotivation and focus and enables them to make more meaningfulprogress(seechapter17onthepowerofprogress).Simply leading according to the principle of “less but better” will

enable your team to amplify their level of collective contribution andachievesomethingtrulyremarkable.As expressed by Ela Bhatt, a classic Essentialist and truly visionary

leaderwhoselegacyincludessuchmeaningfulachievementsaswinningthe prestigious Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, founding dozens ofinstitutions dedicated to improving the conditions for poor women inIndia,andbeingnamedoneofHillaryClinton’spersonalheroines:

Out of all virtues simplicity is my most favorite virtue. SomuchsothatItendtobelievethatsimplicitycansolvemostof the problems, personal aswell as theworld problems. Ifthelifeapproachissimpleoneneednotliesofrequently,norquarrelnorsteal,norenvy,anger,abuse,kill.Everyonewillhave enough and plenty so need not hoard, speculate,gamble,hate.Whencharacterisbeautiful,youarebeautiful.Thatisthebeautyofsimplicity.3

IndeedthatisthebeautyofleadingasanEssentialist.

Notes

1.THEESSENTIALIST

1. A version of this story was published in a blog post I wrote forHarvard Business Review called “If You Don’t Prioritize Your Life,Someone Else Will,” June 28, 2012,http://blogs.hbr.org/2012/06/how-to-say-no-to-a-controlling/.

2. Originally called “the Clarity Paradox” in a blog post I wrote forHarvard Business Review called “The Disciplined Pursuit of Less,”August 8, 2012, http://blogs.hbr.org/2012/08/the-disciplined-pursuit-of-less/.IhavedrawnfromotherHBRblogsIhavewritteninvariouspartsofthisbook.

3. Jim Collins,How theMighty Fall: AndWhy Some Companies NeverGiveIn(NewYork:HarperCollins,2009).

4. Peter Drucker, “Managing Knowledge Means Managing Oneself,”Leader to Leader Journal, no. 16 (Spring 2000),www.hesselbeininstitute.org/knowledgecenter/journal.aspx?ArticleID=26.

5. Shai Danziger, Jonathan Levav, and Liora Avnaim-Pessoa,“ExtraneousFactorsinJudicialDecisions,”ProceedingsoftheNationalAcademyofSciences108,no.17(2011):6889–92.

6.BronnieWare,“TheTopFiveRegretsoftheDying,”HuflingtonPost,January 21, 2012, www.huffingtonpost.com/bronnie-ware/top-5-regrets-of-the-dyin_b_1220965.html.Ifirstwroteaboutthisinablogpost I wrote for Harvard Business Review called “If You Don’tPrioritize Your Life, Someone Else Will,” June 28, 2012,http://blogs.hbr.org/2012/06/how-to-say-no-to-a-controlling/.

7.Ibid.,“TheDisciplinedPursuitofLess.”8.Ibid.,“TheDisciplinedPursuitofLess.”

9.PeterDrucker interviewwithBruceRosensteinonApril11,2005.Brucewrote up the interview in his book Living inMore Than OneWorld: How Peter Drucker’s Wisdom Can Inspire and Transform YourLife(SanFrancisco,CA.Berrett-Koehler,2009).

10.RacetoNowhere:TheDarkSideofAmerica’sAchievementCulture(dir.Vicki Abeles, 2011) is a documentary and a movement in schoolsworking to fight, using my own words, Nonessentialism in school.Theyareworkingtoreducetheimpositionofunnecessaryhomeworkandstressonchildren.Seetheirwebsite,www.racetonowhere.com/.

11. There are many citations for this or similar statements. EmileGauvreau is just one example: “I was part of that strange race ofpeople aptly described as spending their lives doing things theydetest, to make money they don’t want, to buy things they don’tneed,toimpresspeopletheydon’tlike”(quotedinJayFriedenberg,ArtificialPsychology:TheQuest forWhat ItMeans toBeHuman[NewYork:TaylorandFrancis,2010],217).

12.MaryOliver,“TheSummerDay,” inNewandSelectedPoems,vol.1(Boston:BeaconPress,1992),94.

2.CHOOSE

1.M.E.P.Seligman,“LearnedHelplessness,”AnnualReviewofMedicine23, no. 1 (1972): 407–12, doi:10.1146/annurev.me.23.020172.002203.

2.WilliamJames,LettersofWilliamJames, ed.Henry James (Boston:AtlanticMonthlyPress,1920),1:147;quotedinRalphBartonPerry,TheThoughtandCharacterofWilliamJames(1948;repr.,Cambridge,MA:HarvardUniversityPress,1996),1:323.

3.DISCERN

1.JohnCarlin,“IftheWorld’sGreatestChefCookedforaLiving,He’dStarve,” Guardian, December 11, 2006,http://observer.theguardian.com/foodmonthly/futureoffood/story/0,,1969713,00.html

2.JosephMosesJuran,Quality-ControlHandbook(NewYork:McGraw

Hill,1951).3.IoriginallywrotethisinablogpostfortheHarvardBusinessReview,called“TheUnimportanceofPracticallyEverything,”May29,2012

4.RichardKoch,The80/20Principle:TheSecretofAchievingMorewithLess (London: Nicholas Brealey, 1997); The Power Laws (London:Nicholas Brealey, 2000), published in the United States as TheNatural Laws of Business (New York: Doubleday, 2001); The 80/20Revolution(London:NicholasBrealey,2002),publishedintheUnitedStates as The 80/20 Individual (New York: Doubleday, 2003); andLivingthe80/20Way(London:NicholasBrealey,2004).

5.WarrenBuffett,quotedinKoch,The80/20Individual,20. 6.Mary Buffett and David Clark,The Tao ofWarren Buffett:WarrenBuffett’sWordsofWisdom(NewYork:Scribner,2006),no.68.

7.Ibid.,“TheUnimportanceofPracticallyEverything.” 8. At a meeting we both attended at the Bill and Melinda GatesFoundationinSeattle,Washington.Hewasspeaking,andafterwardswe chatted for a fewminutes.He confirmed that he had said it orwordstothesameeffectandthathecertainlybelieveditwastrue.

9. JohnMaxwell,Developing the LeaderWithinYou (Nashville,TN:T.Nelson,1993),22–23.

4.TRADE-OFF

1.“30-YearSuperStocks:MoneyMagazineFindstheBestStocksofthePast30Years,”Moneymagazine,October9,2002.

2.“HerbKelleher:ManaginginGoodTimesandBad,”interview,Viewfrom the Top, April 15, 2006, www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxyC3Ywb9yc.

3.M.E.Porter,“WhatIsStrategy?”HarvardBusinessReview74,no.6(1996).

4.ErinCallan,“IsThereLifeAfterWork?”NewYorkTimes,March9,2013.

5. JudithRehak, “TylenolMadeaHeroofJohnson&Johnson,”NewYork Times, March 23, 2002, www.nytimes.com/2002/03/23/your-

money/23iht-mjj_ed3_.html. 6.Michael Josephson, “Business Ethics Insight: Johnson& Johnson’sValues-Based Ethical Culture: Credo Goes Beyond Compliance,”Business Ethics and Leadership, February 11, 2012,http://josephsoninstitute.org/business/blog/2012/02/business-ethics-insight-johnson-johnsons-values-based-ethical-culture-its-credo-goes-beyond-compliancer-than-compliance-based-rules-culture/.

7.SowellinatalkhegaveatOhioStateUniversityin1992. 8. Stephanie Smith, “Jim Collins on Creating Enduring Greatness,”Success,n.d.,www.success.com/articles/1003-jim-collins-on-creating-enduring-greatness,accessedSeptember22,2013.

9. David Sedaris, “Laugh, Kookaburra,” The New Yorker, August 24,2009,www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/08/24/090824fa_fact_sedaris.

5.ESCAPE

1.FrankO’Brien,“Do-Not-CallMondays.”2.ScottDoorleyandScottWitthoft,MakeSpace:HowtoSettheStageforCreativeCollaboration(Hoboken,NJ:JohnWiley,2012),132.

3. Richard S. Westfall, Never at Rest: A Biography of Isaac Newton(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,1980),105.

4.JeffWeiner,“TheImportanceofSchedulingNothing,”LinkedIn,April3, 2013,https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130403215758-22330283-the-importance-of-scheduling-nothing.

5.Iamindebtedheretoanexcellentfirst-personaccountofBillGates’sThink Week by Robert A. Guth, “In Secret Hideaway, Bill GatesPonders Microsoft’s Future,”Wall Street Journal, March 28, 2005,http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111196625830690477,00.html.

6.LOOK

1.NoraEphron,“TheBestJournalismTeacherIEverHad,”NorthwestScholastic Press, June 18, 2013,www.nwscholasticpress.org/2013/06/18/the-best-journalism-teacher-i-ever-had/#sthash.ZFtUBv50.dpbs; also written about byEphron in her essay “Getting to the Point,” in Those WhoCan…Teach!CelebratingTeachersWhoMakeaDifference,byLorraineGlennon and Mary Mohler (Berkeley, CA: Wildcat Canyon Press,1999),95–96.

2. Accident description in the Aviation Safety Network’s AviationSafetyDatabase,http://aviation-safety.net/database/, accessed June9,2012.

3.ToHarryPotterinthefilm,DeathlyHallows—Part1.4.“Thegameistohavethemallrunningaboutwithfireextinguisherswhenthereisaflood,andallcrowdingtothatsideoftheboatwhichisalreadynearlygunwaleunder.”C.S.Lewis,TheScrewtapeLetters(SanFrancisco,CA:HarperCollins,2001),138.

5. “Young Firm Saves Babies’ Lives,” Stanford Graduate School ofBusiness, June 7, 2011,www.stanford.edu/group/knowledgebase/cgi-bin/2011/06/07/young-firm-saves-babies-lives/.

7.PLAY

1. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow, the Secret to Happiness, TED talk,February 2004, video,www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow.html.

2. Sir Ken Robinson, Bring on the Learning Revolution!, TED talk,February 2010, video,www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.html.

3.StuartBrown,PlayIsMoreThanJustFun,TEDtalk,May2008,video,www.ted.com/talks/stuart_brown_says_play_is_more_than_fun_it_s_vital.html

4. Quoted in Stuart Brown, Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens theImagination,andInvigoratestheSoul(NewYork:Avery,2009),29.

5.JaakPanksepp,AffectiveNeuroscience:TheFoundationsofHumanandAnimalEmotions(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1998),297.

6.QuotedasconversationbetweenEinsteinandJánosPleschinJánosPlesch’s János: The Story of a Doctor, trans. Edward FitzGerald(London:Gollancz,1947),207.

7.SupriyaGhosh,T.RaoLaxmi,andSumantraChattarji,“FunctionalConnectivityfromtheAmygdalatotheHippocampusGrowsStrongerafter Stress,” Journal of Neuroscience 33, no. 38 (2013), abstract,www.jneurosci.org/content/33/17/7234.abstract.

8.EdwardM.Hallowell,Shine:UsingBrainSciencetoGettheBestfromYourPeople(Boston:HarvardBusinessReviewPress,2011),125.

9.Ibid.,p.113.

8.SLEEP

1. K. Anders Ericsson, Ralf Th. Krampe, and Clemens Tesch-Romer,“The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of ExpertPerformance,” Psychological Review 100, no. 3 (1993): 363–406,http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/blogs/freakonomics/pdf/DeliberatePractice(PsychologicalReview).pdf

2. Charles A. Czeisler, “Sleep Deficit: The Performance Killer,”interviewbyBronwynFryer,HarvardBusinessReview,October2006,http://hbr.org/2006/10/sleep-deficit-the-performance-killer.

3.UllrichWagneretal.,“SleepInspiresInsight,”Nature427(January22, 2004): 352–55. An additional study further supports the idea:Michael Hopkin, “Sleep Boosts Lateral Thinking,” Nature online,January 22, 2004,www.nature.com/news/2004/040122/full/news040119-10.html.

4.NancyAnnJeffrey,“SleepIstheNewStatusSymbolForSuccessfulEntrepreneurs,” Wall Street Journal, April 2, 1999,http://online.wsj.com/article/SB923008887262090895.html.

5.ErinCallan,“IsThereLifeAfterWork?,”NewYorkTimes,March9,2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/opinion/sunday/is-there-life-after-work.html?_r=0.

9.SELECT

1.DerekSivers,“NoMoreYes.It’sEitherHELLYEAH!orNo,”August

26,2009,http://sivers.org/hellyeah. 2. “Box CEO Levie at Startup Day,”GeekWire, September 24, 2012,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W99AjxpUff8.

3. I originally cited this in a blog post I wrote forHarvard BusinessReview called “The Disciplined Pursuit of Less,” August 8, 2012,http://blogs.hbr.org/2012/08/the-disciplined-pursuit-of-less/.

10.CLARIFY

1. This exercise and other parts of this chapter were originallypublished in Harvard Business Review called “If I Read One MorePlatitude-FilledMissionStatement,I’llScream,”October4,2012.

2. I am indebted here to Gary Hamel and C. K. Prahalad and theirbrilliant piece in Harvard Business Review, “Strategic Intent,” May1989, http://hbr.org/1989/05/strategic-intent/ar/1. They use ascontext the Japanese companies at the time who had a long-termintent to stretch companies to go beyond their current level ofresources. Over time as I haveworkedwith people and teams thisidea has proven useful but has changed sufficiently enough to bedescribeddifferently.Thusanessentialintent.

11.DARE

1.JuanWilliams,EyesonthePrize:America’sCivilRightsYears,1954–1965(NewYork:PenguinBooks,2002),66.

2.Mark Feeney, “Rosa Parks, Civil Rights Icon, Dead at 92,”BostonGlobe,October25,2005.

3.DonnieWilliamsandWayneGreenhaw,TheThunderofAngels:TheMontgomeryBusBoycottandthePeoplewhoBroketheBackofJimCrow(Chicago:ChicagoReviewPress,2005),48.

4.“CivilRightsIconRosaParksDiesat92,”CNN,October25,2005. 5. This story is shared in a few different places, but this account istakenfrommyinterviewwithCynthiaCoveyin2012.

6.StephenR.CoveyandRogerandRebeccaMerrill,FirstThingsFirst

(NewYork:SimonandSchuster,1995),75. 7.http://wps.prenhall.com/hssaronsonsocpsych6/64/16428/4205685.cw/-/4205769/index.html.

8.QuotedinHowardGardner,“Creators:MultipleIntelligences,”inTheOrigins of Creativity, ed. Karl H. Pfenninger and Valerie R. Shubik(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2001),132.

9.First referenced inablogpost Iwrote forHarvardBusinessReviewcalled “If YouDon’t Prioritize Your Life, Someone ElseWill,” June28, 2012, http://blogs.hbr.org/2012/06/how-to-say-no-to-a-controlling/

10. In 1993 Interview re: Paul Rand and Steve Jobs, dir. Doug Evans,uploaded January 7, 2007, www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb8idEf-Iak, Steve Jobs shares how Paul Rand came up with the logo forNeXT.

11. Carol Hymowitz, “Kay Krill on Giving Ann Taylor a Makeover,”Business Week, August 9, 2012,www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-08-09/kay-krill-on-giving-ann-taylor-a-makeover#p2.

12.UNCOMMIT

1. “Concorde the Record Breaker,” n.d., www.concorde-art-world.com/html/record_breaker.html,accessedSeptember22,2013;Peter Gillman, “Supersonic Bust,” Atlantic, January 1977,www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/77jan/gillman.htm.

2. “Ministers Knew Aircraft Would Not Make Money,” Independent,http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ministers-knew-aircraft-would-not-make-money-concorde-thirty-years-ago-harold-macmillan-sacked-a-third-of-his-cabinet-concorde-was-approved-the-cuba-crisis-shook-the-world-and-ministers-considered-pit-closures-anthony-bevins-and-nicholas-timmins-review-highlights-from-1962-government-files-made-public-yesterday-1476025.html

3.Gillman,“SupersonicBust.”4.MichaelRosenfield,“NHManLosesLifeSavingsonCarnivalGame,”

CBS Boston, April 29, 2013,http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/04/29/nh-man-loses-life-savings-on-carnival-game/.

5. Daniel Kahneman, Jack L. Knetsch, and Richard H. Thaler,“Anomalies: The Endowment Effect, Loss Aversion, and StatusQuoBias,” Journal of Economic Perspective 5, no. 1 (1991): 193–206,http://users.tricity.wsu.edu/~achaudh/kahnemanetal.pdf.

6. Tom Stafford, “Why We Love to Hoard … and How You CanOvercome It,” BBC News, July 17, 2012,www.bbc.com/future/story/20120717-why-we-love-to-hoard.

7. I originally wrote this in a blog post forHarvard Business Reviewcalled “The Disciplined Pursuit of Less,” August 8, 2012,http://blogs.hbr.org/2012/08/the-disciplined-pursuit-of-less/.

8.HalR.ArkesandPeterAykon,“TheSunkCostandConcordeEffects:Are Humans Less Rational Than Lower Animals?” PsychologicalBulletin125,no.5(1999):591–600,http://americandreamcoalition-org.adcblog.org/transit/sunkcosteffect.pdf.

9. James Surowiecki, “That Sunk-Cost Feeling,” The New Yorker,January 21, 2013,www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2013/01/21/130121ta_talk_surowiecki

10.DanielShapero,“GreatManagersPruneasWellasPlant,”LinkedIn,December 13, 2012,www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20121213073143-314058-great-managers-prune-as-well-as-plant.

13.EDIT

1. Mark Harris, “Which Editing Is a Cut Above?” New York Times,January6,2008.In1980,OrdinaryPeoplewonasBestPicture,butitseditorJeffKanewwasnotnominatedforBestEditing.

2.Harris,“WhichEditing.” 3. “JackDorsey:TheCEOasChiefEditor,”February9,2011,video,uploaded February 15, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs0R-UvZ-hQ.

4.StephenKing,OnWriting:AMemoirof theCraft, 10thAnniversaryed.(NewYork:PocketBooks,2000),224.

5.IwroteaboutthissubjectfurtherinablogpostforHarvardBusinessReviewcalled“TheOneThingCEOsNeedtoLearnfromApple,”April30,2012

6.King,thirdforewordtoIbid.,xix. 7.AlanD.Williams, “What Is anEditor?” inEditors onEditing:WhatWritersNeedtoKnowAboutWhatEditorsDo,3rdrev.ed.,ed.GeraldGross(NewYork:GrovePress,1993),6.

14.LIMIT

1.Someminordetailschanged.2.BasedonatalkClaytonChristensengavetostudentsattheStanfordLawSchoolin2013

3.HenryCloudandJohnTownsend,Boundaries:WhentoSayYes,HowtoSayNo(GrandRapids,MI:Zondervan,1992),29–30.

4. I have found this story cited in several places: for example, JillRigby’s Raising Respectful Children in an Unrespectful World (NewYork: Simon & Schuster, 2006), ch. 6. But I have yet to find anoriginal source for the story and therefore share this only as ananecdote.

15.BUFFER

1. Guy Lodge, “Thatcher and North Sea Oil: A Failure to Invest inBritain’s Future,” New Statesman, April 15, 2013,www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/04/thatcher-and-north-sea-oil-%E2%80%93-failure-invest-britain%E2%80%99s-future.

2.DaleHurd,“SaveorSpend?Norway’sCommonsenseExample,”CBNNews, July 11, 2011,www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2011/July/Save-or-Spend-Norways-Common-Sense-Example-/.

3. Richard Milne, “Debate Heralds Change for Norway’s Oil Fund,”

FT.com,June30,2013,www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8466bd90-e007-11e2-9de6-00144feab7de.html#axzz2ZtQp4H13.

4.SeeRolandHuntford,TheLastPlaceonEarth:ScottandAmundsen’sRacetotheSouthPole(NewYork:ModernLibrary,1999).

5. Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen, Great by Choice: Uncertainty,Chaos, and Luck—Why Some Thrive Despite Them All (New York:HarperBusiness,2011).

6. Daniel Kahneman andAmos Tversky, “Intuitive Prediction: BiasesandCorrective Procedures,”TIMS Studies inManagement Science 12(1979):313–27.

7. Roger Buehler, Dale Griffin, and Michael Ross, “Exploring the‘PlanningFallacy’:WhyPeopleUnderestimateTheirTaskCompletionTimes,”JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology67,no.3(1994):366–81,doi:10.1037/0022-3514.67.3.366.

8.RogerBuehler,DaleGriffin,andMichaelRoss,“InsidethePlanningFallacy: The Causes and Consequences of Optimistic TimePredictions,” in Heuristics and Biases: The Psychology of IntuitiveJudgment, ed. ThomasGilovich,DaleGriffin, andDaniel Kahneman(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,2002),250–70.

9.StephanieP.Pezzo,MarkV.Pezzo,andEricR.Stone, “TheSocialImplicationsofPlanning:HowPublicPredictionsBiasFuturePlans,”JournalofExperimentalSocialPsychology42(2006):221–27.

10. Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, “ProtectingMoroccothroughIntegratedandComprehensiveRiskManagement,”n.d.,www.gfdrr.org/sites/gfdrr.org/files/Pillar_1_Protecting_Morocco_through_Integrated_and_Comprehensive_Risk_Management.pdfaccessedSeptember22,2013.

11.Alsointhispieceheidentifiestwelvereasonspeopledon’tpracticeriskmitigation:WhartonCenter forRiskManagement andDecisionProcesses,“InformedDecisionsonCatastropheRisk,”Wharton IssueBrief, Winter 2010,http://opim.wharton.upenn.edu/risk/library/WRCib20101_PsychNatHaz.pdf

16.SUBTRACT

1. Eliyahu M. Goldratt, The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement(GreatBarrington,MA:NorthRiverPress,2004),ch.13,p.94.

2. SigmundKrancberg,ASoviet Postmortem:PhilosophicalRoots of the“GrandFailure”(Lanham,MD:RowmanandLittlefield,1994),56.

3.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/poiesi

17.PROGRESS

1.PartsofthischapterwerefirstpublishedinablogpostIwroteforHarvardBusinessReviewcalled“CanWeReverseTheStanfordPrisonExperiment?”June12,2012.

2. Based on my interviews with Ward Clapham between 2011 and2013.

3.SpeechattheannualLabourPartyConference,September30,1993,when Blair was shadow home secretary; see “Not a Time forSoundbites: Tony Blair in Quotations,”Oxford University Press Blog,June 29, 2007,http://blog.oup.com/2007/06/tony_blair/#sthash.P1rI6OHy.dpuf.

4. Frederick Herzberg, “One More Time: How Do You MotivateEmployees?” Harvard Business Review, September–October 1987,www.facilitif.eu/user_files/file/herzburg_article.pdf.

5. Teresa M. Amabile and Steven J. Kramer, “The Power of SmallWins,” Harvard Business Review, May 2011,http://hbr.org/2011/05/the-power-of-small-wins/.

6. “The LordWillMultiply theHarvest,” An EveningwithHenry B.Eyring, February 6, 1998. http://www.lds.org/manual/teaching-seminary-preservice-readings-religion-370-471-and-475/the-lord-will-multiply-the-harvest?lang=eng.

7.Ibid.,“CanwereversetheStanfordPrisonExperiment?”8.Seehiswebsite,http://heroicimagination.org/. 9. We got this idea from Glenn I. Latham’s The Power of PositiveParenting(NorthLogan,UT:P&TInk,1994).

10.SeenonthewallatFacebook.11.PopularizedbyEricRiesinaninterviewatVentureHacks,March23,

2009, “What Is the Minimum Viable Product?”http://venturehacks.com/articles/minimum-viable-product.

12. Peter Sims, “Pixar’s Motto: Going from Suck to Nonsuck,” FastCompany,March25, 2011,www.fastcompany.com/1742431/pixars-motto-going-suck-nonsuck.

18.FLOW

1.MichaelPhelpsandAlanAbrahamson,NoLimits:TheWilltoSucceed(NewYork:FreePress,2008).

2.CharlesDuhigg,ThePowerofHabit:WhyWeDoWhatWeDoinLifeandBusiness(NewYork:RandomHouse,2012).

3.PhelpsandAbrahamson,NoLimits.4.“PlasticityinNeuralNetworks,”in“TheBrainfromToptoBottom,”n.d.,http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/d/d_07/d_07_cl/d_07_cl_tra/d_07_cl_tra.htmlaccessedSeptember22,2013.

5.“Habits:HowTheyFormandHowtoBreakThem,”NPR,March5,2012, www.npr.org/2012/03/05/147192599/habits-how-they-form-and-how-to-break-them.

6. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Creativity: Flow and the Psychology ofDiscoveryandInvention(NewYork:HarperPerennial,1997),145.

7.DavidT.Neal,WendyWood,andJeffreyM.Quinn,“Habit:ARepeatPerformance,” Current Directions in Psychological Science 15, no. 4(2006): 198–202,http://web.archive.org/web/20120417115147/http://dornsife.usc.edu/wendywood/research/documents/Neal.Wood.Quinn.2006.pdf

8. In an interview with Dan Pink,http://www.danpink.com/2012/03/the-power-of-habits-and-the-power-to-change-them/.

9. Stacy Cowley, “A Guide to Jack Dorsey’s 80-Hour Workweek,”CNNMoneyTech, November 14, 2011,http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/13/technology/dorsey_techonomy/index.htm

19.FOCUS

1.JiroDreamsofSushi,dir.DavidGeld(2011). 2. “Oprah Talks to Thich Nhat Hanh,” O magazine, March 2010,www.oprah.com/spirit/Oprah-Talks-to-Thich-Nhat-Hanh/3.

20.BE

1.EknathEaswaran,preface toTheEssentialGandhi:AnAnthology ofHis Writings on His Life, Work, and Ideas, ed. Louis Fischer (1962;repr.,NewYork:Vintage,1990),xx.

2. “Gandhiji’s Philosophy:Diet andDietProgramme,”n.d.,MahatmaGandhi Information Website, www.gandhi-manibhavan.org/gandhiphilosophy/philosophy_health_dietprogramme.htm

3.library.thinkquest.org/26523/mainfiles/quotes.htm.4.AlbertEinstein,“MahatmaGandhi,”inOutofMyLaterYears:Essays(NewYork:PhilosophicalLibrary,1950).

5. Henry David Thoreau to H. G. O. Blake,March 27, 1848, inThePortableThoreau,ed.JeffreyS.Cramer(London:Penguin,2012).

6.Proverbs23:7.

APPENDIX:LEADERSHIPESSENTIALS

1.GuyKawasaki,“FromtheDeskofManagementChangesatApple,”MacUser, December 1991, and then a follow-up piece, “How toPrevent a Bozo Explosion,”How to Change theWorld, February 26,2006,http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/02/how_to_prevent_.html.

2. Keith Rabois, answer to “What Strong Beliefs on Culture forEntrepreneurialism Did Peter/Max/David Have at PayPal?” Quora,n.d., www.quora.com/PayPal/What-strong-beliefs-on-culture-for-entrepreneurialism-did-Peter-Max-David-have-at-PayPal/answer/Keith-Rabois,accessedSeptember22,2013.

3.Fromane-mailandfollow-upphoneinterviewinAugust2013.

Acknowledgments

Thankyoutothefollowingpeople:Anna:forbelievinginthisprojectformanyyears.Andbelievinginme

even longer.With this, as with everything, you have beenmy closestfriendandmywisestcounselor.TaliaKrohn:formasterfullyeditingoutthenonessentialuntilonlythe

essentialremained.TinaConstable,TaraGilbride,AyeletGruenspecht,andGianniSandri:

forstartingaconversationandamovement.WadeLucasandRobinWolfson:fortakingEssentialism“ontour.”RafeSagalyn:forabsolutelydeliveringonyourA++reputationasan

agent.MumandDad:for,youknow,everything.Nanny andGrandad: for showing us allwhat an essential life looks

like.MomandDad:forAnna.Mrs.Sweet:forteachingme.Mr.Frost:formakingusreallythink.Sam,James,Joseph,Lewis,andCraig:forliberatingmetobemyself.

Considerthismy“notetoexplaineverything.”AmyHayes:formakingthewholejourneyonelongwin/win.Justin: for readingvariousparts of this, in various forms, at various

timesofnightandday.Daniel,Deborah,Ellie,Louise,Max,Spencer,andRuth:formakingmy

choiceseasierbyfirstseeingyours.Britton, Jessica, John, Joseph, Lindsey, Megan, Whitney: for your

unfailingsupport.RobandNatalieMaynes:forthegiftofunfilteredconversation.PeterConti-Brown:forour“deal.”Allison Bebo, Jennifer Bailey, Tim Brown, Bob Carroll (Jr. and Sr.),

DougCrandall,AlyssaFriedrich,TomFriel,RockyGarff,LarryGelwix,Jonathan Hoyt, Lila Ibrahim, PK, Jade Koyle, Lindsey LaTesta, JaredLucas,JimMeeks,BrianMiller,GregPal,JoelPodolny,BillRielly,Ash

Solar, Andrew Sypkes, Shawn Vanderhoven, Jeff Weiner, Jake White,EricWong, Dave Yick, Ray Zinn, the entire YGL family, and the GSBclassof08:forbringingjoytothejourney.StephenCoveyandSteveJobs:forinspiringme.God:forplantinginmethisendlesswish—andforgrantingit.

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