Applying the subtraction technique

- Take a look at these four items and tell me, what do they have in common? Here, you see an exercise bicycle, a package of powdered soup, a contact lens, and a child's highchair, the kind that slips over the edge of the table. Do you see it? Now, most people would answer that they're all consumer goods, or that they all provide convenience to the consumer. And while that's true, that's not what I'm looking for. Take a look at how they were constructed. Compare them to an earlier form of the product. Now do you see it? Each of the items has had something subtracted from an original form of a product. The exercise bike has had the rear wheel removed. The powdered soup has had the water removed. What about the contact lens? Well, it's had the frames removed. And the child's high chair has had the legs removed. All four of these products are examples of what can be created using the subtraction technique. First, we define subtraction as the elimination of an essential component, rather than an addition of new systems and functions. To use the technique, follow the steps of the function follows form principle. First, list the internal components. The internal components are those that are directly on or connected to the product. For example, with the bicycle, we would list the seat, the handlebars, the wheels, and so on. Then, apply subtraction by removing a component. Now don't be bashful here. Pick something that you think is essential to the product or service. In our example, let's imagine removing the rear wheel. At first glance, this may seem absurd, and that's perfectly normal. At this next stage, you ask yourself two questions, and you do it in this specific order. First question is, should we do it? And the second question is, can we do it? In the bike example, removing the back wheel creates a stationary bike that is perfect for exercising in your home, and it's feasible to remove the rear wheel to create this configuration. Now, once you complete this first round, the subtraction technique allows you to replace the function of the missing component. We first try to replace it within the immediate vicinity of where the consumer uses the product. If not, we think of how we could import some technology or other component from outside the closed world. Again, in the bike example, maybe you can add a stand to replace the rear wheel or a fan to cool the person who is exercising. Subtraction is a powerful technique because it breaks fixedness and forces you to mentally imagine all the remaining components delivering some new value.