Why do so many good intentions fizzle?
We assume the solution to a stuck goal is to push harder. More effort, more structure, more tools.
But what if the problem isn’t what’s missing—it's what's in the way?
The Gossamer Condor and the Power of Subtraction
In 1977, the challenge was audacious: build a human-powered airplane that could fly a figure-eight and stay aloft long enough to win the $100,000 Kremer Prize.
Aeronautical engineer Paul MacCready knew brute force wouldn’t work. The key wasn’t to add power. It was to remove weight.
His team built the Gossamer Condor, a 70-pound plane made of plastic wrap, aluminum tubing, and bicycle parts. Everything non-essential was stripped away.
They rethought every assumption:
• Wheels? One.
• Landing gear? Foam blocks.
• Structure? As light as possible, but no lighter.
The Condor didn’t win because it did more.
It won because it weighed less.
The Lesson: Goals Don’t Need More. They Need Less.
You’re not trying to fly across a cow pasture, but you are trying to move something forward. And like MacCready, the answer may not be effort or complexity—it may be subtraction.
Working in a collaborative environment, listening to others, our processes tend to expand. “While we are doing this, it’s a good idea to add that, and that.” These added steps may or may not add value to the final result, but they always incur additional costs. Longer processes consume more time and resources, resulting in longer completion times, fewer completions.
I worked on a team whose principal product was a specific report. Each report required extensive research, validation and approval. At one point, leadership doubled the steps involved. Simultaneously, we planned to complete twice as many reports as we did the previous year, with the same personnel.
Someone sincerely believed adding steps to the process would speed it up. This did not happen.
I Didn’t Need Motivation. I Needed Dumbbells.
I wanted to build a regular weightlifting habit, but it never stuck. I’d block out time, build routines… and skip them.
Then I moved a rack of dumbbells two feet from my desk.
Every morning, I saw them. Every afternoon, I stepped around them. Eventually, I started picking them up. Not because of a new mindset—but because the habit got lighter.
I didn’t need a 12-step plan. 12 steps would add distance between me and my goal. I needed to remove steps by removing distance.
The Candy Trap—and What It Teaches Us
Retailers figured this out long ago: you sell more candy when it’s right by the register. You don’t have to think about it, reach far, or make a trip down the aisle.
The easier it is to act, the more likely we are to act.
So what if we used that same trick—on ourselves?
Success by Subtraction: A Practice
If you want to build momentum, ask:
- What can I remove from this process?
- How can I make this so easy I can’t not do it?
- What’s one step I could eliminate or automate?
Your job isn’t to power through complexity.
Your job is to design around it.
Try This: The Subtraction Method
- Choose a goal you’re stuck on
- List every step you think it requires
- Remove 30% of them
- Test the new, “lighter” version
- Only add back if absolutely necessary
