Every day, we show up to work weighed down by invisible baggage. The outdated processes, unnecessary meetings and the endless checklists we mistake for progress. It’s no wonder that despite all our tools and tech, we still feel behind, burnt out and bored.

For decades, we’ve been told the answer is to do more, so we chase the next productivity hack, install another app, and overload our calendars with yet more priorities. We believe that being constantly busy proves our worth so we glorify hustle, even when it costs us.

What is red brick thinking?

Red brick thinking is a workplace manifesto for the modern era … a call to leaders and business owners to stop doing what doesn’t matter. It challenges the deeply ingrained belief that more effort equals more value and it starts with one deceptively simple question: “What can I remove today that my future self will thank me for?”

When solving problems, we default to addition

In one study published in Nature, researchers found that people consistently default to additive problem-solving by reaching for new elements rather than removing what’s broken. We do it instinctively. Given the option to improve something, most of us add to it rather than asking, “What could I take away?”

This tendency shows up everywhere in modern workplaces: in our teams, our systems, and especially in our strategies. We pile on rather than pull apart and then we wonder why we’re stretched too thin to think straight.

Adding feels productive, even when it’s not. We build new dashboards instead of retiring the old ones. We launch new initiatives without sunsetting the outdated ones. We schedule a debrief instead of trusting people to reflect on their own. It’s addition masquerading as progress and it’s cluttering our workdays with friction we don’t need.

Red bricks are hiding in plain sight

In the workplace, these habits show up as legacy systems no one questions anymore, bloated workflows that slow innovation, and cultural norms that reward busyness over results. These are the “red bricks”, the hidden blockers baked into how we work.

Often, they’re easy to justify. That weekly meeting? It started out useful. That reporting template? It once had a purpose. That “must cc everyone” email habit? It made sense in a different era, but now, they’re just adding weight.

Red brick thinking invites you to step back and identify what’s getting in the way. Maybe it’s a weekly meeting that no longer serves a purpose or a reporting process that exists only because “it always has.” Or even a personal belief that being constantly available makes you a better leader. When we name these red bricks, we can start to remove them, piece by piece.

The shift starts with agency

Most of us are waiting for permission or for a crisis to make the decision for us. But you don’t need a leadership offsite, formal strategy session or five-point plan to start removing red bricks. You need a moment of clarity and the courage to act.

The payoff isn’t just about less stress, it’s energy, sharper focus, and better business outcomes, because when we remove the friction, we make space for meaningful work, strategic thinking, and high-impact leadership.

For small-business leaders, this thinking is especially potent. You don’t have layers of bureaucracy, you have agility, and change can happen fast but only if you’re intentional.

So where do you begin?

• Audit one part of your business, for example meetings, systems, or communications, and ask: what’s no longer fit for purpose?
• Give your team permission to stop doing things that don’t serve your strategy.
• Watch for “legacy thinking” ie, the “we’ve always done it this way” reflex. Interrogate it.
• Celebrate subtraction. Shout it out when someone cuts complexity or kills a zombie process.

The real revolution isn’t in the next big strategy document. It’s in the small choices we make every day to let go of what’s no longer serving us. Red brick thinking provides a chance for a cultural shift and new way of leading. Subtraction is your strategic advantage.

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