The Friction Project

‘If every leader took the ideas in this book seriously, the world would be a less miserable, more productive place.’ Adam Grant, author of Think Again Every organisation is plagued by destructive friction. Lengthy and convoluted emails, inefficient processes, and antiquated procedures can all be obstacles to excellence at work. Yet some forms of friction are incredibly useful. Often teams need to slow down, struggle and develop some bad ideas to find that rare good one. And leaders who attempt to improve workplace efficiency often make things even worse. Drawing from seven years of hands-on research, The Friction Project by bestselling authors Robert I. Sutton and Huggy Rao teaches readers how to become “friction fixers.” Sutton and Rao will help you to: identify where to avert and repair bad organisational friction acknowledge where to maintain and inject good friction reframe friction troubles that can’t be immediately fixed, so they feel less threatening repair failing organisations The Friction Project is the ultimate guide to making the right things easier and the wrong things harder. ‘Hard to put down and easy to like, this is a business book to savour.’ Tim Harford, author of The Data Detective

‘If every leader took the ideas in this book seriously, the world would be a less miserable, more productive place.’ Adam Grant, author of Think Again Every organisation is plagued by destructive friction. Lengthy and convoluted emails, inefficient processes, and antiquated procedures can all be obstacles to excellence at work. Yet some forms of friction are incredibly useful. Often teams need to slow down, struggle and develop some bad ideas to find that rare good one. And leaders who attempt to improve workplace efficiency often make things even worse. Drawing from seven years of hands-on research, The Friction Project by bestselling authors Robert I. Sutton and Huggy Rao teaches readers how to become “friction fixers.” Sutton and Rao will help you to: identify where to avert and repair bad organisational friction acknowledge where to maintain and inject good friction reframe friction troubles that can’t be immediately fixed, so they feel less threatening repair failing organisations The Friction Project is the ultimate guide to making the right things easier and the wrong things harder. ‘Hard to put down and easy to like, this is a business book to savour.’ Tim Harford, author of The Data Detective

'Hard to put down and easy to like' - Tim Harford, author of The Data Detective and host of Cautionary Tales No organization is totally free from destructive friction; the forces that make it harder, more complicated and sometimes downright impossible to get things done. Drawing on years of research and featuring case studies on the likes of Uber, Netflix and Boeing, The Friction Project teaches readers how to become 'friction fixers'. Stanford professors Sutton and Rao unpack how we should think and act like trustees of others' time. They provide friction forensics to help readers identify where to avert and repair bad friction, and where to maintain and inject good friction. Their help pyramid shows how friction fixers do their work, which ranges from reframing issues they can't fix in the short term, to ultimately redesigning and repairing organizations. The Friction Project is the essential guide to understanding and resolving workplace difficulties, and establishing a thriving culture of positivity and productivity in their place.

'Hard to put down and easy to like' - Tim Harford, author of The Data Detective and host of Cautionary Tales No organization is totally free from destructive friction; the forces that make it harder, more complicated and sometimes downright impossible to get things done. Drawing on years of research and featuring case studies on the likes of Uber, Netflix and Boeing, The Friction Project teaches readers how to become 'friction fixers'. Stanford professors Sutton and Rao unpack how we should think and act like trustees of others' time. They provide friction forensics to help readers identify where to avert and repair bad friction, and where to maintain and inject good friction. Their help pyramid shows how friction fixers do their work, which ranges from reframing issues they can't fix in the short term, to ultimately redesigning and repairing organizations. The Friction Project is the essential guide to understanding and resolving workplace difficulties, and establishing a thriving culture of positivity and productivity in their place.