Value Subtraction

Value addition has always been the focus of several industries, especially

infotech. The desire to add more and more value, features and capabilities

appears to be an inborn human instinct, both among producers as well as

consumers.

Till today, value could be compared to engineering a car. More and more

features have been added, like an onboard computer or anti skid braking. Another

way we can consider value is comparing it to sculpting a fine statue. Here, the

sculptor does not "add" anything. Instead, he removes parts which he

feels step in the way of the statue appearing a true piece of art. While value

addition is no doubt important, it is salutary to recognize that at times,

perfection is attained not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is

nothing left to take away.

Let us consider an example involving the web. When the only device is a PC,

then it pays to cram a lot of information on the website. For example, if you

have a site concerning restaurants, you will try to initially cover hotels in

your city when you are a startup company, and move onwards, adding value by

providing details about hotels in your state, country, and ultimately, the whole

world (of course, since this is a hypothetical situation, we assume that your VC

is still keen on funding you).

Now, consider other access devices like a Palm Pilot or a WAP enabled

cell-phone. Now, if I had one of these devices and visited your site from

Bangalore, then I do not want glorified value additions concerning the best

places to dine in Tokyo. I want to find out where the nearest good hotel is, and

for this, you need to subtract all your value adds, and tell me just what I want

to know, nothing more.

Tomorrow’s greatest utility, at least concerning information, is expected

to be gained from subtracting information. My only surprise is that it has taken

so long–after all, the oldest definition of information has been that it is

data when wanted, where wanted, and in the form wanted. And when the "when

wanted" factor equals "now" the "where wanted" factor

equals "here" and the "form wanted" is a small electronic

device on the person of the user, it is imperative that value subtraction be

pursued seriously.

For several years, value addition has been a bread and butter business.

Thinking the other way around is going to be a tough issue for many, but

hopefully, they will get the hang of things when they practice this magic art.

One way to do this is to assume that all the details, except for the most

crucial piece required currently is "noise" and then making attempts

to filter out that noise. Engineers are good at doing such things. Also, while

value addition was simple before and value subtraction more an opinion than a

theory, technology was not as great as it was today. But now, using global

positioning, it is possible to locate a particular user, and give him what he

wants. For example, if I am a resident of Bangalore, the list of hotels can be

limited to those serving food. However, when I go to Mumbai, I should be

provided with a listing of hotels which offer accommodation.

Here, the value addition is through subtraction–if there are 500 good

hotels in Mumbai, I am shown only the top 200 hotels where the port is above

mediocrity and the linen is above reproach.

Parthian shot

In A Study in Scarlet, Sherlock Holmes says, "It is of the highest

importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful

ones." Now, since Holmes was a genius when it came to the proper docketing

of information, we would be well advised to take his word for it. Of course, we

can disregard his sage advice–and swim in the proverbial ocean of excess

information.

Balaji N The views expressed here are

those of the author