Via Positiva: The Wisdom of Strategic Addition

Via Positiva: The Wisdom of Strategic Addition

The Philosophy of Addition

While much contemporary wisdom emphasizes subtraction—eliminating distractions, simplifying, saying no—there exists a complementary path: Via Positiva, the way of addition. This ancient concept, rooted in theology and philosophy, suggests that growth and improvement sometimes come not from removing what’s wrong, but from adding what’s right.

The tension between addition and subtraction defines a fundamental question for technical leaders: When do we add complexity, and when do we simplify? When do we adopt new practices, and when do we eliminate existing ones? Via Positiva provides a framework for thoughtful addition in work and life.

Historical Context

Via Positiva originates in medieval theology as one of two paths to understanding the divine:

• Via Negativa (negative way): Define what something is not—remove false attributes
• Via Positiva (positive way): Define what something is—affirm true attributes

Philosopher Thomas Aquinas argued that both paths are necessary. Pure subtraction leaves emptiness; pure addition creates chaos. Wisdom lies in knowing when each approach serves.

In Eastern philosophy, a parallel exists in the concept of Wu Wei (effortless action) balanced with You Wei (intentional action). Sometimes progress requires deliberate doing, not just non-doing.

The Modern Misunderstanding

Contemporary productivity and minimalism movements heavily favor Via Negativa:

• “Say no to everything”
• “Delete half your code”
• “Subtract to achieve focus”
• “Less is more”

These principles offer genuine value—removal often creates space for what matters. But exclusive focus on subtraction creates problems:

Analysis Paralysis: Spending more time deciding what to remove than acting Capability Atrophy: Declining to build new skills to maintain “focus” Risk Aversion: Avoiding beneficial additions because “complexity is bad” Opportunity Cost: Missing growth opportunities through excessive conservation

Via Positiva reminds us that sometimes the right answer is strategic addition: new capabilities, practices, relationships, or responsibilities that compound over time.

Strategic Addition in Engineering Leadership

1. Adding Constraints to Enable Creativity

Paradoxically, adding constraints often increases innovation. When Netflix limited engineers to Java initially, they developed deep expertise in JVM performance optimization. When Go deliberately omitted generics (until recently), engineers created elegant solutions using interfaces.

Application: Instead of offering unlimited technology choices, define a curated set of approved tools. This “addition” of constraints reduces cognitive load and enables compound learning.

2. Adding Redundancy for Resilience

Distributed systems become more reliable by adding redundancy: multiple availability zones, circuit breakers, fallback mechanisms, health checks. Each addition increases complexity but dramatically improves resilience.

Application: Intentionally add observability, testing, and operational practices even when “working software” exists. These additions compound into production excellence.

3. Adding Routines for Consistency

Elite performers across domains share a trait: deliberate routines. Athletes follow pre-game rituals. Writers maintain daily schedules. Surgeons use checklists.

Application: Add structured routines for code review, architecture discussion, incident response, and knowledge sharing. Consistency compounds into team excellence.

4. Adding Relationships for Leverage

Technical excellence alone has limited impact. Adding strategic relationships—with product, customers, executives, peer engineers—multiplies your influence.

Application: Deliberately add networking, mentoring, and cross-functional collaboration to your responsibilities. Relationships compound into career opportunities and organizational impact.

The Compounding Nature of Strategic Addition

Via Positiva’s power lies in compounding. Small, deliberate additions accumulate into transformative capabilities:

Example: Technical Writing Practice

• Month 1: Add 30 minutes weekly writing technical notes (negligible impact)
• Month 6: Accumulated notes become knowledge base for team
• Year 2: Writing skills enable successful conference talks
• Year 5: Technical blog attracts job opportunities and industry recognition

The initial addition seems insignificant. Compounding over time creates exponential value.

Example: Learning Compounding

Principal engineer adds one new practice annually:

• Year 1: Learn distributed tracing (1 new skill)
• Year 2: Add observability-driven development (2 skills that multiply: tracing × observability)
• Year 3: Add chaos engineering (3 skills multiply: tracing × observability × resilience)
• Year 5: Combined expertise positions you as infrastructure architect

Each addition multiplies previous additions, creating non-linear growth.

When Via Positiva Fails

Strategic addition requires discernment. Adding indiscriminately creates problems:

Unbounded Addition

Adding without removing leads to overload. Every new commitment has opportunity cost. Protect capacity for strategic additions by periodically removing outdated practices.

Premature Addition

Adding solutions before understanding problems wastes effort. Ensure genuine need exists before adding complexity.

Vanity Addition

Adding for appearance (“looks good on resume”) rather than impact dissipates energy. Focus additions on compounding skills and relationships.

Mismatched Addition

Adding practices that conflict with existing culture or systems creates friction. Ensure additions integrate with current capabilities.

Balancing Via Positiva and Via Negativa

The wisdom lies not in choosing one path exclusively, but in knowing when each applies:

Use Via Negativa (Subtraction) when:

• Existing complexity obscures essential simplicity
• Commitments exceed capacity
• Legacy practices no longer serve their purpose
• Signal drowns in noise

Use Via Positiva (Addition) when:

• Capabilities gap prevents desired outcomes
• Strategic opportunity requires new investment
• Compounding effects justify initial cost
• Current state is insufficient despite simplification

Example: Microservices Architecture

• Via Negativa perspective: “Microservices add complexity; keep monolith simple”
• Via Positiva perspective: “Strategic decomposition adds valuable properties: team autonomy, deployment independence, technology diversity”

Neither answer is universally correct. Context determines which philosophy applies.

Practical Framework for Strategic Addition

1. Clarify Desired Outcome

What capability or result do you seek? Be specific about the compounding value you envision.

2. Evaluate Alternatives

Can subtraction or rearrangement achieve the same outcome? Addition should be intentional, not default.

3. Assess Compounding Potential

Will this addition accumulate value over time, or provide one-time benefit?

4. Consider Integration Cost

How does this addition interact with existing practices, skills, relationships? Synergy or conflict?

5. Plan Removal

What will you subtract to create capacity for this addition? Unbounded addition fails.

6. Commit Fully

Half-hearted additions waste effort. Once decided, invest sufficiently to unlock compounding.

Reflection Questions

• What strategic addition would compound most in your career over the next 5 years?
• What current practices should you remove to create capacity for valuable additions?
• Where are you avoiding beneficial additions due to excessive minimalism?
• What relationships, skills, or routines would multiply your existing capabilities?
• Are your recent additions creating synergy or fragmentation?

The Middle Path

Ancient wisdom across cultures identifies a middle path: neither pure addition nor pure subtraction, but discerning integration of both. Buddhist philosophy calls it the Middle Way. Aristotle termed it the Golden Mean.

For technical leaders navigating complexity, this means:

• Add strategically for compounding growth
• Subtract periodically to prevent overload
• Integrate additions with existing capabilities
• Remain flexible as context shifts

Via Positiva reminds us that progress sometimes requires building, not just pruning. When chosen wisely, strategic additions compound into capabilities, relationships, and impact that define extraordinary careers and fulfilled lives.

The question isn’t “What can I remove?” or “What should I add?"—it’s “What combination of addition and subtraction serves my desired future?”