Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
Greg KcKeown
Today we will talk about the lessons I have learned from the book Essentialism. The book ethos is about focusing on the things that are truly important and eliminate everything else. Greg KcKeown argues that by doing so, we can make our highest contribution towards the things that really matter. This applies both to business and life which makes it something applicable to all of us.
The Essentialist
The chapter highlights the importance of eliminating non-essential tasks to focus on what is most important, based on Sam Elliot's personal experience as a Silicon Valley executive. By prioritizing essential tasks and ignoring everything else, Elliot found creative freedom and was able to concentrate his efforts on one project at a time, resulting in fulfilling work and increased performance ratings.
Greg McKeown shares his personal experience of failing to prioritize his family over work and realizing that if he does not prioritize his life, someone else will. He advocates for essentialism, which involves focusing on the vital few rather than the trivial many. By prioritizing what is essential and eliminating what is nonessential, individuals can achieve more and live a more meaningful life.
The book argues against the idea of "having it all" and doing everything, which creates stress and forces people to make unintended trade-offs. Being an essentialist means deliberately and strategically eliminating non-essentials and reducing complexity. The book aims to help people figure out what their essential activities are and how to focus on them by approaching their life like an organized closet and asking tough questions to evaluate activities and eliminate the non-essential ones.
Essentialism replaces the fallacies of Nonessentialism with three core truths:
"I choose to"
"Only a few things really matter"
"I can do anything but not everything."
By embracing these truths, individuals can pursue what really matters and live at their highest level of contributio
CHOOSE: The Invincible Power of Choice
The power of choice
We always have the power to choose, even when our options are limited.
Forgetting our ability to choose can lead to learned helplessness.
Surrendering our power to choose gives others permission to make choices for us.
Nonessentialist vs. Essentialist thinking
Nonessentialists believe they "have to" do things and forfeit their right to choose.
Essentialists believe they "choose to" do things and exercise the power of choice.
Essentialists recognize and celebrate the power of choice, while Nonessentialists surrender their power to others.
Sacrificing our power to choose is a bad choice
By sacrificing his power to choose, he had made a bad choice.
It's important to remember that a choice is not a thing, it's an action.
We may not always have control over our options, but we always have control over how we choose among them.
DISCERN: The Unimportance of Practically Everything
Most things in the universe have little value and yield little results. Instead, a few things work fantastically well and have tremendous impact. Whil working hard is important, more effort does not necessarily lead to more results. The principle of "less but better" is exemplified through the story of Ferran Adrià, a chef who reduced traditional dishes to their essence and pursued the essence of his craft in his laboratory
Pursuing the way of the Essentialist is more valuable than pursuing many good opportunities.
Essentialists distinguish between the vital few and the trivial many, and take the time to explore all options.
Non-Essentialists think almost everything is essential, while Essentialists think almost everything is nonessential.
The skill of discernment can be practiced and applied to personal and professional life, but it requires a massive shift in thinking.
The author argues that there is a point at which doing more does not produce more, and that certain types of effort yield higher rewards than others. The Essentialist way is about doing less, but doing it better. By discerning what is truly important, you can focus your time and energy on the things that will have the greatest impact.
The skill of discernment can be applied to both personal and professional life, but it requires a shift in thinking. To become an Essentialist, you must learn to distinguish between the vital few and the trivial many. This can be done by exploring all options and taking the time to evaluate what truly matters. By doing so, you can become more productive, efficient, and effective in your pursuits.
TRADE-OFF: Which Problem Do I Want?
Making deliberate trade-offs is paramount to achieve success, whether in personal or professional life. By intentionally deciding what not to do and focusing on the few things that matter most, Essentialists can increase their chances of achieving their goals
Some key lessons from the book include:
Essentialists recognize that most things in life are nonessential and that only a few things are truly vital. They prioritize what is most important to them and make trade-offs accordingly.
Non-essentialists try to do everything, while Essentialists make strategic trade-offs by asking which problem they want to solve.
Essentialists explore more options than Nonessentialists by evaluating a broad set of options before committing to any. They distinguish between the vital few and the trivial many by spending time exploring, listening, debating, questioning, and thinking.
Part Two of the book outlines five practices for exploring what is essential, including giving yourself space to think, taking time to look and listen, giving yourself permission to play, having the wisdom to sleep, and applying highly selective criteria to the choices you make.
Southwest Airlines is an example of a company that embraced Essentialism by deliberately making trade-offs to keep costs down and offering only point-to-point flights, which led to their success.
In short, Essentialism is about focusing on the few things that truly matter, making deliberate trade-offs, and exploring all options before making strategic decisions.
ESCAPE: The Perks of Being Unavailable
Having space to think and escape from non-essential tasks is needed in order to discern what truly matters. By creating a physical space that encourages new ways of thinking, we can explore our options and prioritize what is essential. The focus is not just a thing we have, but also something we do, and we need to escape to focus. By constantly adjusting and adapting our field of vision, we can ensure that we are focusing on what is truly important.
Leaders who are consumed with non-essential tasks often don't have the time to strategize about their own careers or organizations. Creating space to escape is essential for achieving clarity and making strategic decisions.
Making space to escape in our busy lives is important, even if it's just for a few minutes every day. The author provides a list of inspirational literature to consider and emphasizes the importance of finding what works for you.
Bill Gates' "Think Week" is a great example of creating space to escape. Taking a regular week off from daily duties to think and read has been a practice of his since the 1980s. Incorporating a little "Think Week" into every day by reading something from classic literature for the first twenty minutes of the day is a great way to start.
In summary, creating space to escape and think is crucial for discerning what is essential and prioritizing our efforts. By making time for strategic thinking, we can achieve greater clarity and make more impactful decisions
LOOK: See What Really Matters
Have you ever found yourself lost in the details of a story or task, struggling to see the big picture? This chapter emphasizes the importance of understanding the essence of a story and filtering for what truly matters.
Here are some key lessons:
Finding the point: Instead of just regurgitating facts, focus on understanding the meaning behind the story or task.
Seeing the bigger picture: Avoid getting lost in minor details and instead focus on the larger issues at play.
Getting out into the field: Explore problems and situations firsthand to gain a deeper understanding of what matters most.
Clarifying the question: Ask precise questions to avoid vague answers and hone in on essential details.
Keeping eyes open: Look for unusual or abnormal details that can shed new light on the situation.
In addition, this chapter highlights the importance of play, which is often neglected in our lives. Play and its importance can be characterized as such:
Play sparks exploration: While often seen as trivial or unproductive, play is essential for fostering creativity and innovation.
Play improves personal health and relationships: It leads to brain plasticity, adaptability, and creativity, and can improve our overall well-being.
Play is crucial for cognitive development: Examples from the animal kingdom show how play is necessary for the development of cognitive skills and may even play a role in a species’ survival.
Overall, this chapter encourages us to look beyond the surface level of a story or task, and to seek out what truly matters. Whether by getting out into the field, clarifying our questions, or embracing play, we can better understand the essence of the situation and unlock our creativity and innovation.
SLEEP: Protect the Asset
In the chapter, Geo's story highlights the dangers of overworking and neglecting self-care. His experience shows that, even for high achievers, taking time to rest and recover is crucial for maintaining physical and mental health. The chapter emphasizes that, to achieve long-term success, we need to learn to protect our greatest asset, ourselves.
The importance of sleep in enhancing productivity is discussed in the chapter, debunking the myth that less sleep equals greater productivity. Studies show that getting adequate sleep improves concentration, productivity, and problem-solving abilities. The chapter highlights that sleep is essential to brain function and power, and it's crucial to prioritize rest for long-term success.
There is a stigma surrounding sleep that see it as a sign of laziness is fading, however times are changing and many high performers now prioritize sleep as part of their success strategy. The author provides examples of successful people who prioritize sleep, such as Jeff Bezos, who gets eight hours of sleep every night or LeBron James, who gets up to 12 hours of sleep a day during the season.
Lessons:
Rest and recovery are crucial for physical and mental health, and we should prioritize self-care to protect our greatest asset – ourselves.
Adequate sleep is essential for improving concentration, productivity, and problem-solving abilities.
Sleep is necessary for brain function and power, and it should be prioritized for long-term success.
The stigma surrounding sleep as a sign of laziness is fading, and high performers prioritize rest and sleep as part of their success strategy.
SELECT: The Power of Extreme Criteria
The chapter emphasizes the importance of being highly selective and rigorous when making important decisions. Mark Adams, managing director of Vitsoe, provides an example of a company that values quality over quantity, with a highly selective and explicit approach to hiring. The Vitsoe team looks for clear "yes" criteria when considering a candidate, and if they do not meet these criteria, they are a clear "no."
Applying this kind of tough criteria or binary decision can help individuals make more informed and deliberate decisions.
The chapter encourages individuals to apply extreme criteria when making important decisions in life, such as career choices, relationships, and lifestyle choices. The author suggests that individuals ask three questions when making these decisions:
"What am I deeply passionate about?"
"What taps my talent?"
"What meets a significant need in the world?"
By answering these questions, individuals can identify what truly matters to them and make informed decisions.
The chapter also highlights the importance of saying no to opportunities that do not align with one's goals or values. The author suggests eliminating non-essentials to make a higher level of contribution to what is vital. By asking the essential question, "What will I say no to?" individuals can uncover their true priorities and achieve game-changing breakthroughs.
Lessons:
Apply tough and explicit criteria to important decisions to make informed and deliberate choices.
Say no to opportunities that do not align with goals or values.
Eliminate non-essentials to make a higher level of contribution to what is vital.
Ask the essential question, "What will I say no to?" to uncover true priorities and achieve game-changing breakthroughs
CLARIFY: One Decision That Makes a Thousand
This chapter stresses the importance of having a clear purpose to eliminate non-essential tasks, both in personal and professional contexts. Without clarity, individuals and teams may engage in trivial matters, leading to frustration and stress.
Having a clear purpose is essential to achieving meaningful goals, whether it's in your personal life or professional career.
It's important to focus on substance over style when developing statements of purpose.
Ask the essential question,
"If we could be truly excellent at only one thing, what would it be?"
to determine the most critical objective.
Create concrete objectives that inspire and can answer the question,
"How will we know when we have succeeded?"
The effort to create an essential intent requires courage, insight, and foresight to eliminate distractions and focus on the highest point of contribution.
Having real clarity of purpose enables individuals, teams, and organizations to achieve something truly excellent.
By applying purposeful decision making, individuals and teams can streamline their efforts, eliminate non-essential tasks, and achieve their most significant goals.
DARE: The Power of a Graceful “No”
In this section, the author highlights the power of saying "no" as a critical aspect of being an essentialist. He stresses that having the conviction to know what is essential and the courage to eliminate the non-essential are key to achieving what is truly important. Here are some of the main points covered:
The right "no" spoken at the right time can change the course of history, as exemplified by Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat.
It can be difficult to say "no," but failing to do so can cause us to miss out on what is truly important.
→ It is necessary to focus on what is truly important.
Essentialists accept that they cannot please everyone all of the time and choose "no" more often than they say yes.
Tips on how to say "no" gracefully without damaging relationships include:
Separating the decision from the relationship.
Focusing on the trade-off.
Remembering that everyone is selling something.
Being clear with a "no" instead of vague or noncommittal with a "yes."
In summary, the author emphasizes that the power of saying "no" is essential to prioritizing and achieving what is truly important
UNCOMMIT: Win Big by Cutting Your Losses
Are you guilty of continuing to invest in something that isn't working out?
Do you find yourself waiting for a train that will never come or holding onto toxic relationships?
If so, you may be falling prey to sunk-cost bias. This bias is the tendency to continue investing in a losing proposition because you've already put in so much time or money, even if it's clear that it's not going to work out
In the book "Essentialism," the Concorde jet is cited as an example of sunk-cost bias. Despite being an impressive feat of engineering, it was a financial failure that both the British and French governments continued to invest in, even though they knew it would never be profitable. Don't make the same mistake they did. Learn to cut your losses and move on.
To avoid falling into commitment traps, Greg KcKeown suggests being aware of the "endowment effect" and knowing when to cut losses. Here are some practical tips for doing just that:
Apply zero-based budgeting: This means starting with a clean slate and justifying every item in the proposed budget from scratch. Apply this technique to your own life by scrutinizing every commitment and eliminating non-essential ones.
Run a reverse pilot: Test whether removing an initiative or activity will have negative consequences by running a reverse pilot. This is a low-risk way to eliminate non-essentials from your life.
Overcome the status quo bias: Just because something has always been done doesn't mean it's the best way. Apply zero-based budgeting to eliminate non-essential commitments and test the removal of initiatives with a reverse pilot.
Don't fear missing out: The fear of missing out can cause us to hold onto non-essential commitments. Combat this fear by running a reverse pilot to eliminate non-essentials in a low-risk way. Remember that Essentialists choose "no" more often than they say "yes."
Remember, it's essential to have the courage to cut your losses and focus on what truly matters. By overcoming sunk-cost bias and applying these practical tips, you can uncommit and win big.
EDIT: The Invisible Art
Film editing characterizes what an Essentialist embodies, which is removing anything unnecessary.
A good editor eliminates everything but the elements that need to be there, adding life to ideas and activities.
Disciplined editing can increase focus and give more space for essential relationships and activities to blossom.
In life, editing means making trade-offs and subtracting rather than adding. Eliminating distracting details can help achieve essential goals.
CEOs act as chief editors for their companies by taking inputs and deciding what aligns with the company's goals.
Overall, editing is an essential skill that helps one focus on what really matters in life. Apply editing to your life, using an objective 3rd person perspective to act upon your life and path.
LIMIT: The Freedom of Setting Boundaries
Setting boundaries to eliminate nonessential tasks and prioritize essential ones is of the foremost importance.
The chapter tells the story of Jin-Yung, an employee at a technology company in Korea, who learned to say "no" to her manager when she was asked to complete an additional project prior to the board meeting. By setting boundaries and being clear with her manager about expectations and accountability, she inspired the rest of her team to do the same, resulting in a more productive work environment
The disappearance of boundaries between work and family is common in today's nonessentialist era, where technology has blurred the lines between the two. The author highlights the need for personal dealbreakers and social contracts with colleagues to ensure mutual understanding of priorities and boundaries.
To create a system that makes executing essential tasks easy and frictionless, Essentialists invest time saved from eliminating nonessential tasks into designing a regular routine, identifying drop-off locations, and scheduling times to complete tasks. This system helps to eliminate decision fatigue and allows individuals to focus on the most essential tasks.
Lessons from the chapter include:
Set boundaries to eliminate nonessential tasks and prioritize essential ones
Identify personal dealbreakers and create social contracts with colleagues to ensure mutual understanding of priorities and boundaries
Invest time saved from eliminating nonessential tasks into designing a system that makes executing essential tasks easy and frictionless.
BUFFER: The Unfair Advantage
Creating buffers in our lives to prepares us for unexpected events. Whether it's a personal or professional setting, buffers give us time to respond and adapt to sudden changes, preventing two things from coming into contact and harming each other. Here are some key takeaways from the chapter:
A buffer can be anything that helps create space or time between two things that could potentially harm each other.
Adding a buffer to the time estimate of tasks or projects can help us complete them more efficiently and with less stress. People tend to underestimate how long a task will take, and social pressure can cause the "planning fallacy." Adding a 50% buffer can help in completing tasks more realistically.
Scenario planning can help us identify risks and potential problems and invest in reducing risk and building resilience.
It's essential to respect and maintain buffers in presentations, meetings, and workshops, allowing for better outcomes.
Joseph's story in the Hebrew Bible provides an excellent example of the importance of creating a buffer. He advised the Pharaoh to store food during seven years of abundance to prepare for seven years of famine.
By investing in building buffers into our personal and professional lives, we can create an unfair advantage in handling unexpected events and better manage our time and resources. Warren Buffett is known for keeping enough of a buffer to subsequently invest when all panic, he created his advantage.
SUBTRACT: Bring Forth More by Removing Obstacles
This chapter highlights the significance of identifying and eliminating obstacles in both personal and professional settings.
Nonessentialists tend to approach execution in a reactive and haphazard manner, whereas Essentialists look for the obstacle that is slowing down progress and work to remove it.
Identifying the slowest hiker or the biggest obstacle in a system can help you to prioritize and focus on what's most important.
Removing obstacles is an ongoing process, and it requires discipline and constant evaluation to ensure that you are making progress toward your essential goals.
By eliminating the nonessential, you create space for what is truly important, which can lead to more creativity, productivity, and overall satisfaction.
PROGRESS: The Power of Small Wins
The "Progress" section of the book "Essentialism" spotlights the power of starting small, celebrating progress, and pursuing small wins. The author uses the innovative policing approach called ‘Positive Tickets’ to demonstrate the effectiveness of celebrating progress. The power of progress is emphasized as the most effective form of human motivation.
Starting small is important when pursuing an essential goal.
Celebrating small essential wins can be more effective than striving for grandiose initiatives that may ultimately fail.
Creating a "minimal viable product" or "minimal viable progress" that is useful and valuable to the intended customer or task is better than striving for perfection.
Minimal viable preparation can save stress and time later on.
Visually rewarding progress towards a goal can be a powerful motivator.
The section highlights that celebrating progress can result in significant outcomes. Pixar's process of starting with storyboards and testing ideas out in small cycles is a great example of how to create a minimal viable product or progress.
Finally, rewarding progress towards a goal can help to motivate and lead to more enjoyment and satisfaction in the process.
FLOW: The Genius of Routine
In today's fast-paced world, we often find ourselves juggling multiple tasks and struggling to keep up with the demands of daily life. However, the power of routine cannot be underestimated in helping us achieve our goals and improve our productivity.
Here are some valuable lessons we can learn from the chapter:
Routine can be a powerful tool for removing obstacles and making execution almost effortless. When we develop a routine that becomes deeply ingrained, we can follow it automatically, without thinking, and this frees up our mental space and energy for more important tasks.
Developing a routine that includes doing the most difficult task first thing in the morning can be beneficial. By tackling the hardest task early in the day, we can build momentum and set the tone for the rest of the day.
It's possible to mix up routines for different days of the week, to maintain focus and prevent routine fatigue. Changing up your routine can help keep you engaged and motivated, and also make your days more interesting and enjoyable.
Starting with one change in routine at a time can be more effective than trying to overhaul multiple routines simultaneously. By focusing on one change and mastering it, we can build the momentum and confidence needed to tackle bigger changes.
Mastering essential new skills and routines can have long-term benefits. When we develop a routine that supports our goals and allows us to work efficiently, we can achieve more and feel more fulfilled
FOCUS: What’s Important Now?
This part of the book discusses the importance of living in the present moment and being fully focused on what is essential now.
Larry Gelwix, a successful rugby coach who taught his players to focus only on what is important now. This helped them to remain present in the moment and concentrate on their own game, rather than getting distracted by the other team. The coach believed that losing meant losing focus and not concentrating on what was essential.
The author suggests that being present in the current moment is essential for effective execution of tasks that matter.
The Greeks have two words for time: Chronos and Kairos, with Kairos referring to the qualitative, opportune time that is experienced only when one exists in the now. Non-essentialists miss the present moment, are unfocused and get distracted. On the other hand, Essentialists are focused on the present, tune into what is important right now, and enjoy the moment.
This part of the book Essentialism highlights the difference between multitasking and multifocusing.
Multitasking is doing two things at the same time, while "multifocusing" is attempting to concentrate on two things at the same time. Essentialism is about being focused on one thing at a time.
Figuring out what is most important right now and getting the future out of their head helps you figure this out.
BE: The Essentialist Life
Living in the present moment and focusing on what is important now is crucial for effective execution of tasks.
Be fully present in the moment: Focus on the present moment to concentrate on what is essential now.
Differentiate between Chronos and Kairos: Chronos is quantitative time, while Kairos is qualitative, opportunistic time. Kairos can be experienced only when one exists in the now.
Multitasking versus Multifocusing: Multitasking is doing two things at the same time, while "multifocusing" is attempting to concentrate on two things at the same time. Essentialism is about being focused on one thing at a time.
Techniques to stay present and focused: Identify what is most important right now and get the future out of your head.
Avoid distraction: It's essential to be fully present in the moment and avoid distractions that can prevent us from focusing on what's essential.
He names Larry Gelwix, a successful rugby coach, who believed that losing meant losing focus and not concentrating on what was essential. He taught his players to focus on what is important now and remain present in the moment to concentrate on their own game rather than getting distracted by the other team.
The author also shares Ray Zinn's routine, which includes doing the most difficult task first thing in the morning to maintain focus and increase productivity. To prevent routine fatigue, it's possible to mix up routines for different days of the week, as Jack Dorsey does.
Lastly, the author highlights the importance of being fully present in the moment, citing an experience of being interrupted by a friend who was texting and not present. By staying present and focusing on what's essential, we can improve our productivity, increase our satisfaction and enjoyment, and achieve our goals.
Over time as you live by essentialist rules, your core becomes →
Leadership Essentials
Essentialism is a way of thinking and acting, and is relevant not only to lead individuals' lives but also in leading teams and companies. Clarity of purpose is critical in teams, and lack of it can cause confusion, stress, frustration, and ultimately failure.
Therefore, an Essentialist leader focuses on less but better, and with clarity of purpose, they can apply this approach to everything from talent selection to direction, communication, and accountability. The chapter also provides a chart that highlights the difference between essentialist and nonessentialist thinking in various areas of leadership, such as talent, strategy, empowerment, communication, and accountability
Final Thoughts
The book Essentialism teaches that living an essential life requires intentionally focusing on what is truly important and removing the nonessential. The book provides numerous examples of individuals who have successfully embraced the way of the Essentialist and achieved greater clarity, purpose, and success in their lives. Here are some overall lessons from the book:
Focus on the vital few: To live an essential life, you must focus on what is truly important and eliminate the rest. This means learning to say "no" to distractions and nonessential commitments.
Choose what matters: Make deliberate choices based on your highest priorities and values, rather than simply reacting to the demands of others.
Design a routine that works: Develop routines that make execution almost effortless, with the essential becoming the default position. Mix up your routines for different days of the week to prevent fatigue.
Be present in the moment: Focus on the present moment and what is essential right now. Don't get distracted by the past or the future.
Embrace the way of the Essentialist: Essentialism is not just something you do occasionally, but rather it is a way of being. Embrace the way of the Essentialist and choose to live a life that truly matters.
Make choices that lead to a meaningful career: Building a career of meaning requires saying "no" to opportunities that don't align with your highest priorities and values.
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After reading this!! my belief of narrowing your focus to be great rather than wanting to be okayish or decent has become even stronger. Thanks for this great read.
Do you have an essential intent that you follow?