"How Great Leaders Use Friction" by Bob Sutton
I've been recently enjoying several episodes from IDEO's Creative Confidence Podcast, including an interview with Bob Sutton regarding this research and book "The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder". Some highlights from that episode:
- Bob Sutton explains that too much efficiency can stifle creativity and innovation. He suggests that the value of friction depends on the craft.
- Take ownership, as an employee or leader, to become a "Friction Fixer", by taking agency to remove obstacles where needed and slow down processes intentionally
- Recognize that everyone has the ability to make things harder or easier for others
- You should consider yourself a good keeper, or steward, of the people who are affected by your work
- Leaders should avoid 'addition sickness' by not always adding more to solve problems -- invest time in efficiency/simplicity, not always adding more
- Bob Sutton mentions Jay Richard Hackman's research, which emphasizes that the beginning is crucial for team effectiveness -- invest energy in team expectations/culture/governance, such as vision, roles, culture, resource allocation, etc.
- Endings are important because people need to believe that something is over, whether it's a relationship, project, or organization
- Daniel Kahneman's 'peak end rule' shows that people judge experiences based on their peak moments and how they end (e.g., recency bias)
