The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and

A good reminder that people by default add rather than subtract and what a role of a friction fixer means in a narrow and wider perspective.A list of Friction Forensics (p.52 paperback).Help pyramid (p.70).Friction Traps (p.90-91) and step by step possible consequences and antidotes for each of 5 traps.Overall references to recent and older case studies, as well as some quotes from the "masters of the field" to make the reader think and reflect.What makes the book even more useful - many questions (on a silver plate) that can be asked to oneself or others.

Contains insights that can improve any organization; whether it is a broken one or one that already performs well.

I loved this book. Professors Bob Sutton and Hayagreeva Rao have done it again! After writing a very successful book on ‘Scaling Excellence’ seven years ago, their newest book ‘The Friction Project’, strikes at the heart of the dysfunction of all organizations, large and small : Friction. Too much of it is commonly understood to be bad. Yet, most do not realize that too little of it can also have terrible consequences (spoiler : includes a project I worked on). They are funny, insightful and share recommendations on how to shift out the bad friction and shift in the good friction. A quick and enjoyable read!

Why are we working so hard today? Why is even the smallest task often a lot harder than it needs to be despite all the technology and management advice? The Friction Project is a marvelously rich read on the sources of inefficiency – both large and small -- in today’s organizations that have so many implications to both organizational performance and employee engagement and well-being. The work is deeply supported with compelling research and highly pragmatic in providing case examples and actions leaders can take. It is a must read for anyone in these highly demanding times.

In this page-turner of a book, Bob Sutton and Huggy Rao do something important: They put a NAME to the wide variety of stuff that gets in our way and annoys us at work and in life. It’s called FRICTION. Then they give us loads of practical ways to address friction in all of its different forms.Whether you are a leader, coach, consultant, individual contributor, or human being trying to deal with life’s challenges, this eye-opening book will motivate you to look for ways to become what Bob and Huggy call “Friction Fixers.”