Here is a tool box for better thinking:

1) Add. Whenever you are presented with a situation or told about a product or a service, imagine you are going to add something to it. What will you add? It could even be your portfolio of products or your financial portfolio. If you are to add just one thing to it, what would you add? This will tell you how to strengthen your product.

2) Subtract. Imagine you are going to remove something from it. What will you remove? What would you get rid of? This will tell you what is the most worthless part of your product is.

3) Change. If you are to change one thing about your product / service / portfolio or even the way you work, what is the one thing you would change? This would tell you which is the most vulnerable part of your product is , which is also critical and hence instead of removing it, you need to ‘change’ it.

4) Not change. If you have the freedom to leave just one thing in your product or service or portfolio untouched, what would that one thing be? That would tell you what is the core of your product is.