Leverage as Less

Leverage: is it about doing more - or doing better?

Doing everything with nothing

I love the idea of ephemeralization, the brainchild of clever inventor R. Buckminster Fuller.

Ephemeralization is all about becoming super-efficient, so that we get the same amount of stuff, information and output, while reducing the time, effort and resources we put in.

Fuller was an optimistic dude when it came to technology and society, arguing that we would progressively increase living standards even as the population grew and our resources became more finite. In essence, it’s leverage on steroids.

“To do more and more with less and less until eventually you can do everything with nothing"
– R. Buckminster Fuller

Most of my leadership teams are looking for ways to do more with less. We isolate the most important, impactful and profitable activities and look at ways to streamline everything else, leveraging technology, people and time.

Leverage is one of the key operating principles in my practice too, especially since COVID. We’re always looking for ways to use our expertise to create change, to reach more people, reduce our input and make things happen more easily.

Less stew, more jus

I mentioned last week I’ve been gifted a shoulder injury to help me think differently about my life and work. Luckily, I’m still in a sling as I write this, just in case I didn’t learn enough the first week.

Here's what I've learned: leverage isn’t always about more. For me this week, it’s been about achieving the same or more value, by doing less stuff. I’ve been looking at what’s on my plate so that I can think about my time and energy as less of a stew, and more of a jus.

Stews are full, hearty and complex, with lots of different ingredients. We like a stew. But a jus is a masterpiece. A considered, potent addition that levels up a finished product to something special.

When you're the jus, you pour deep energy into distilling your impact, so you can add the finishing touch to the good stuff that’s already there.

What would you rather be?