Have you heard of MOLO? It’s a concept I learned about from Tony Jeary through his book Leverage: A Leader’s Answer to Extraordinary Results.

MOLO stands for “More of/Less of” and is a thought process that helps us quickly identify what is helping us move toward our goals (organizationally or personally) and what is keeping us from them. Jeary writes, “…the idea is to determine what you need ‘more of’ to achieve the goals that build your vision … But often you discover that you need less of one thing because, to get more of another, you have to redirect finite resources.”

I use MOLO in a simple way. Whenever I’m stuck or overwhelmed, I sit down with a blank piece of paper. I write “More of” on one side of the page and “Less of” on the other. I set a timer for ten minutes and then I do a brain dump. What do I need/want more of? What do I need/want less of? Often, my answers are interrelated. More time for writing means less time in meetings or fewer overall commitments. More money for education means reducing expenses elsewhere. In short, MOLO recognizes that work and life are full of tradeoffs and it’s a quick way to identify them.

MOLO is a great staff exercise. I’ve also used it with association boards to get meaningful conversations started. It’s a quick way to find common ground—and to determine key differences of opinion.

What do you need more of? Less of? These questions are valuable conversation starters for teams, especially now that in-office work has been replaced with fully or partially remote work environments.

Your work may not have changed, but the circumstances in which you complete it may have. MOLO is a great exercise to round out the reset.

Sincerely,