Michelangelo, when asked about his masterpiece, the statue of David, said he simply removed everything that wasn’t David from the marble.
This approach is the essence of the Michelangelo Principle: achieving greatness by removing what’s unnecessary.
For example, many of us can massively improve our health by simply stop smoking, reduce drinking alcohol, and limit our sugar intake.
In my experience, the biggest opportunity for the health of an organization is to systematically and ruthlessly apply strategic quitting by applying the Michelangelo Principle as well.
However, this mindset is often overlooked until a crisis hits, forcing organizations to focus and trim down. Hitting an iceberg is a wonderful way to create focus, yet it’s not a sustainable business model.
I therefore propose a new leadership role in every Board: the Chief Strategic Quitting Officer (CSQO), or ‘The Michelangelo.’ The job description is to take away everything which is not the organizations’ David.
Time to update your resume….