SPARK 2016: The Rules of Subtraction: How Working With Less Can Help You Accomplish More

Editor's Notes

• #2: The Law of Subtraction: How working with less can help you achieve more (Heidi Joy Tretheway, OpenStack Foundation) In the open source community, we often hear, "I wish I had more--people, money or time." But what if the success or failure of a project isn't determined by more? What if working with less works better? This provocative presentation introduces the Law of Subtraction tailored to the unique challenges of open source project managers. Global marketing strategist Heidi Joy Tretheway identifies five subtraction strategies that managers and executives can use when resources and timelines are tight. Find out how to juggle priorities despite the "tyranny of the urgent" and how to influence volunteers and indirect reports. Also, discover your managerial blind spots--unique to your work style--that might be undermining your team's performance.   BIO: At the OpenStack Foundation, Heidi Joy focuses on brand, content and community marketing, and spearheads the User Survey. Previously, Heidi Joy was director of marketing communications for mobile software company Urban Airship, head of global communications for a commercial real estate firm, and a business journalist. She is a frequent public speaker on topics including women in tech, content marketing, writing and publishing. She is also the author of seven books.
• #3: OPENING The success or failure of a project is not always determined by more. People say: I wish I had more (people, money or time).  I disagree. I say, the success of your project depends on what you SUBTRACT, not what you add.    I suggest that there are five things that can actually hinder success, particularly in an open source project. They are: Goal setting Time management Focus on perfection Performance management Final product   SHIFTING FOCUS While all of these can be good for a project at some level, I want to propose a new way of thinking about open source projects, so that the focus isn’t on getting more (people, money or time) to accomplish your goal, but on getting more of the right things (intention, objectives and priorities).
• #6: 1. Lower the bar until you can. (subtract goal-setting) This law of subtraction is about goal setting. It’s wonderful to set a lofty objective, something aspirational, but it can actually work against incremental progress.   In dieting, for example, studies have found tiny goals like “I will walk around the block today” more motivating an successful than “I will lose 50 pounds.” The recommendation is to lower the bar until you can be assured of getting your goal, every day. Even if that only means putting on running shoes.   There’s a crazy author event every November called NaNoWriMo, in which authors write an entire novel in a month. That seems impossible until you slice it up—it’s about 1600 words per day. And if that seems impossible, I’ll tell you my secret to writing a book in 26 days. I blocked an hour on my calendar every night, set my computer to distraction-free “composition mode,” and sat in my chair until the words came. Sometimes just showing up is enough to get the juices flowing.   So, in open source terms, rather than speaking to the full delivery of a project, or even a full development cycle, speak to the tiny incremental deliveries needed in a day or a week that feel completely attainable.  
• #7: 2. Manage your priorities, not your time. (subtract time management) It can take me hours to clean my house, unless my mother-in-law is on her way over. In that case, I can accomplish everything that absolutely must get done in a 15-minute frenzy just before the doorbell rings. That’s because I’m 100% focused on this priority for that short time.   In open source, it’s easy to feel a scope creep through user requests, new ideas surfacing, and the urge to include everyone’s requests and opinions. But if you dig down to the core of what must be done, you quickly cull through the clutter for what’s most important.   There’s a story in a Steve Jobs biography about him asking his team for a top 10 list of priorities, and then he slashes that list to just three, or even just one.   Work productivity studies show that there’s typically 80 hours worth of work on any person’s desk at any time. Deciding what not to do is key.   Similarly, when artists were contacted for a study on creativity, some of the most prolific and accomplished flat-out turned the author down. SLIDE   I fall into this trap with calendar appointments—if it gets scheduled, it gets done. Even if it’s not the most important thing.   Too often, the tyranny of the urgent can override what you’ve decided is important. That can spell disaster for a team. But imagine if your spouse called to say your kid just broke his arm and is in the hospital getting a cast. You wouldn’t respond, “Oh, I’ve got another couple of conference calls today, then I’ll head over to the hospital.” You drop what you’re doing and go because what’s urgent—what’s on your calendar next—is not as important as your kid.   By having an honest conversation with your team about what’s most important to the project—and what can be a “nice to have”—you give everyone permission to say no and to manage their priorities, not just time.
• #8: 3. Trust the process, not the output (subtract focus on “what’s right”) As an open source leader, you are most in control of the system that helps a team deliver, not what they actually deliver. That’s why it’s critical to build a system to achieve better work.   One art teacher conducted an experiment with two pottery classes. One class was told they’d be graded on perfection of their craft. The other class was told they’d be graded on the volume of their output. At the end of the quarter, the class that produced more actually produced a higher quality product.   In open source, you can foster a system that lets contributors build project OR build skills. Don’t assume that failures are wasted effort. Look at it like fishing: even while you’re busy failing and catching nothing, you’re learning what doesn’t work.   In his book Drive, Daniel Pink suggests that the three ingredients for motivation, or drive, are autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Assuming your open source team has already bought into the project’s purpose, there’s nothing better you can give them than a “fail fast, fail often” mandate. You’re giving them autonomy and an opportunity to learn, which creates mastery over time.  
• #9: Measure your goals by outcomes you can achieve, not outcomes driven by the marketplace.
 Also, discover your managerial blind spots--unique to your work style--that might be undermining your team's performance.   When projects break down, rather than devolving into blame/guilt, go back to the core intention and find a new path. Managerial blind spots – A players, impact on performance and culture. Influence on volunteers
• #15: 5. Forget the word “final” (subtract the final product)     Subtract the "final" product Everything is a version (NOT: everything is a draft) Define mastery on your own terms Speak to an Minimum Viable Product that can get out to the market and start testing and iterating.   specific takeaways for the audience to implement immediately.