Matthew McConaughey's process of elimination

When Matthew McConaughey asks us about the process of elimination, he teaches us that it’s often easier to know what you don’t want to be or do than what you do want. Faced with many, even too many options, a good way forward is to start by defining what you don’t want…

“How many things you have to ignore to act”.
Paul Valéry

Did you know that the word
decide
comes from the Latin “decidere”, meaning to decide, renounce, diminish, part with?

What can you eliminate from your business?

  • Which customers, partners or suppliers are actually people or companies you’d rather deal with WITHOUT than WITH?
  • How far are you willing to go in terms of margins, payment deadlines, administrative or financial constraints? In negotiation, a goal is only desirable when it’s above our breaking point, but we still need to be able to define it precisely.
  • What products or services deviate you from your true DNA? your core business and what you really love to do?
  • What activities and tasks should you stop doing, or at least reduce, to free up more time for developing your true YOU?