How to Subtract: The Most Underrated Skill of the AI Era - with Leidy Klotz
About this episode
Leidy Klotz discusses the importance of subtraction in problem-solving and its implications in the AI era.
Leidy Klotz, professor at the University of Virginia and author of Subtract, joins Jeremy & Henrik on Beyond the Prompt to explore why we instinctively add rather than subtract when solving problems. From a simple Lego experiment to organizational design, he explains how additive bias leads teams to accumulate tools, meetings, and complexity over time. In the age of generative AI, where creating content and workflows is effortless, this tendency becomes amplified. The conversation explores how leaders can design systems and environments that protect focus, sleep, and what truly matters.
People in this episode
Hosts: Jeremy Utley, Henrik Werdelin
Guest: Leidy Klotz
Topics covered
- AI
- problem solving
- organizational design
- additive bias
- leadership
- focus
Keywords
- subtraction
- AI
- problem solving
- organizational design
- additive bias
- leadership
- complexity
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: University of Virginia
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