131. Friction Fixing: How to Use Obstacles to Your Advantage

Friction — that’s Professor Huggy Rao ’s metaphor for the forces that hamper workplace efficiency. But as he says, some friction can be helpful — if you know how to use it. In his book, The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder , Rao and coauthor Robert I. Sutton explore how operational obstacles show up in the workplace and, more importantly, what we can do about them. Through what Rao calls “friction fixing,” leaders can “take out the bad friction to make the right things easy to do [and] put in good friction to make the wrong things harder [to do].” As Rao discusses with host Matt Abrahams on this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart , leaders can eliminate bad friction through good communication. “Communication matters a lot,” he says. “The simple rule is, make sure a 10-year-old can understand it on the first try.” Episode Reference Links: Huggy Rao Huggy’s Book: The Friction Project Ep.14 Be Better at Work: How to Communicate Better with Coworkers and Employees Connect: Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart Premium Email Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.io Episode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart Website Newsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.io Think Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn , Instagram , YouTube Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn ******** Thank you to our sponsors. These partnerships support the ongoing production of the podcast, allowing us to bring it to you at no cost. This episode is brought to you by Babbel . Think Fast Talk Smart listeners can get started on your language learning journey today- visit Babbel.com/Thinkfast and get up to 55% off your Babbel subscription. Join our Think Fast Talk Smart Learning Community and become the communicator you want to be.