Growth through subtraction
A small consultancy run on Via Negativa principles.
Our ethics dictate our business model, and we never let profit dictate our ethics. The name is from Taleb: four anchors, applied sequentially to every engagement. The first three filter the work in; the fourth keeps us in.
The philosophy
Via Negativa, the four-part philosophy
01
Fooled by Randomness
We do not let ourselves, our clients, or the people they serve be fooled by randomness. We review the evidence behind every claim to make sure the signal is strong and robust.
02
The Black Swan
Health is a Black Swan industry. We apply the precautionary principle where it matters, and we take the long-term view that the consequences demand.
03
Via Negativa
Build by subtraction. Remove what does not serve the argument until only the argument is left. We major in the major and leave the minor for the competitors.
04
Skin in the Game
We partner because we believe in the work. We do not sell and run. We keep our skin in your game.
With credit to Nassim Nicholas Taleb. The four anchors are drawn from his Incerto collection (Fooled by Randomness, The Black Swan, The Bed of Procrustes, Antifragile, Skin in the Game). John and Phillip are students of Taleb’s practical philosophy of acting under deep uncertainty, which AI is making more uncertain still.
In practice
What subtraction means in practice
Every engagement starts at the ethics gate, the agent of truth. It can refuse the work before anything begins, and it sometimes does. We name the substrates we will not support in plain English, and the refusal sits at the same weight as the accept routes.
We build the same way. Remove what does not serve the central argument until only the argument is left. If a callout needs three sentences to land, it is hiding a weak premise. The point of subtraction is not less; it is clarity.
Scope first, figure second. We agree what the work is before we agree what it costs, and pricing never sits on a public page.