Gaining Speed for a Race Car isn’t all about Power

“Simplify, then add lightness”

The words of Lotus Founder Colin Chapman.

In a world devoted to finding speed, it makes sense to do everything you can to work as efficiently as possible. Then after doing that remove everything you can.

Speed Kills Costs

Formula 1 teams cost a lot of money to run. Where does that money go? Probably on some boats and parties in Monaco (any team that wants to invite me please let me know), but where it really goes it getting faster.

It is estimated that on average a Formula 1 team spends nearly $10 Million to go one-tenth a second faster.

To go faster, they are trying to get rid of everything that they don’t need. Everything that isn’t pushing them forward is holding them back. Also, everything that is holding them back, is slowing them down.

So what are you removing from your team to have them be more efficient?

Simplify

The idea of an MVP in software development means a minimal viable product. What is something that will work with the least amount of features?

Yes, all the fancy things are cool, but what is at the core of what you are doing? What is the essence of what you are providing?

I have written about thinking more simply here, here, here, here, and here. You could say that I really like doing less. I always thought I was lazy but it wasn’t until I read James Clear’s idea of Time Asset vs Time Debt

A Time Asset is something you put time into and then it gives you time in the future. This could be setting up an automatic payment. You take 5 minutes setting it up and then you never have to worry about paying that bill again so every week you get 2 minutes back.

A Time Debt is when you do something in a way that constantly takes more time away from you. Doing a task badly so you have to fix it in the future for example.

Add Lightness

You have spent time really narrowing down what is important so now be brutal and get rid of everything you don’t need.

Everything that doesn’t move you forward is holding you back. That weekly meeting, that daily report, that metric you track because you have always tracked it.

Get rid of them all.

Test it out. Have the weekly meeting every two weeks. Does that cause a problem? No, great, have it every month?

How can you get rid of everything and still maintain your core offering?