logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2024
53m 58s

How To Use Friction To Draw People In or...

THE ART OF CHARM
About this episode

In today’s episode, we tackle friction with Bob Sutton. Bob is an organizational psychologist and professor at Stanford, a New York Times bestselling author, and is here with us to discuss his upcoming book, The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder


Bob Sutton sheds light on the double-edged sword of 'friction' in both professional and personal interactions, so why is friction a double-edged sword that you need to master to be successful, what strategies can you use to identify (and minimize) friction in your daily interactions, and how can you use positive friction as a tool to maximize your problem-solving capacity, boost productivity, and profitability?


What to Listen For

  • Introduction – 0:00
  • How do you identify the friction you bring to relationships that makes people not want to work with you or hang out with you?
  • What can you learn from the California DMV about the importance of reducing friction to maximize productivity and boost customer satisfaction?


  • 3 Ways to Make Friction a Force for Good at Work – 19:57
  • If friction slows things down, how do individuals and businesses use friction to amplify results?
  • What strategies can individuals use to become friction fixers and accelerate their careers?
  • How can understanding a company's culture of handling friction help you in job interviews?


  • Power Poisoning and its impact on Organizational Friction – 34:00
  • How can leaders avoid falling into the trap of power poisoning so they don’t hurt their own bottom line by introducing unnecessary friction into the organization?


  • The Impact of AI and Technology on Organizational Friction – 44:12
  • What are the best practices for integrating AI into the workplace without increasing friction?


How can listeners apply the insights from The Friction Project to their professional and personal lives?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Up next
Jul 10
From Likable to Influential: The 3C Method [Social Intelligence Brief]
Do people like you… but never seem to respect you? In this episode of Social Intelligence, AJ Harbinger and Johnny Dzubak reveal the hidden social trap of being “too agreeable.” While it might seem like the best way to build rapport, research shows that excessive agreeableness ac ... Show More
17m 46s
Jul 7
Your Brain Needs More Space, Not More Hacks | Dr. Anne-Laure Le Cunff
Can being "too smart" actually hold you back socially? In this episode of Social Intelligence, AJ Harbinger and Johnny Dzubak sit down with Anne-Laure Le Cunff—founder of Ness Labs and a former Googler turned neuroscience researcher—to explore the psychology of overthinking, soci ... Show More
1h 4m
Jul 4
Supercharge Your Charisma [Social Intelligence Brief]
If you’ve ever felt invisible in a room full of people, it’s not your personality—it’s your presence. In this episode of Social Intelligence, AJ and John unpack the three research-backed traits that make people charismatic, memorable, and magnetic—whether you're an introvert or n ... Show More
20m 12s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2024
How to Reduce the Friction that Hurts You — and Harness the Friction that Helps
Organizations too often subject their employees and customers to unnecessary friction that creates inefficiency and causes frustration. But, in some situations, friction can be a positive force, spurring more innovation and better decision-making. So how do you reduce the bad kin ... Show More
29m 28s
Feb 2024
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 ... Show More
24m 16s
Apr 2024
Ep440 - Bob Sutton & Huggy Rao | The Friction Project
Professors Bob Sutton and Huggy Rao visit Google to discuss their book “The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder.” This book is a useful guide to eliminating the forces that make it harder, more complicated, or downright imp ... Show More
32m 38s
Apr 2024
385. Defeating Workplace Friction w/ Huggy Rao
In this episode of The Brainy Business podcast, Huggy Rao, a distinguished professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, shares profound insights on the concept of workplace friction and its impact on organizational dynamics. Huggy's extensive research and expertise in o ... Show More
51m 47s
Nov 2021
212 - Friction
Anxieties can only come from your internal judgement.— Marcus AureliusWe all have things in our lives that seems to stop us from completing things that we really want to do. Often, these things aren’t even all that big but end up being show stoppers nonetheless. Today I want to t ... Show More
14m 35s
Mar 2024
Friction 101: How to make the right things easier and wrong things harder (w/ Bob Sutton and Huggy Rao)
Do you feel like you’re hitting a wall at work? This week, Anne and Frances are joined by Master Fixers Bob Sutton and Huggy Rao. Bob and Huggy are professors at Stanford University and authors of “The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong ... Show More
36m 11s
Jul 2020
14. Be Better At Work: How to Communicate Better With Coworkers and Employees
Most of the work we do requires coordinating and collaborating with others. But how can we ensure the benefits of working with others, while avoiding conflict that’s inherent to communicating within groups?In this episode, Matt Abrahams speaks with Bob Sutton, Professor of Manage ... Show More
23m 54s
Jul 2023
8 Strategies To Deal With Toxic Or Negative People In Your Life, Work, & Relationships
Have you ever found yourself surrounded by negative and toxic people, draining your energy and hindering your growth? Are you getting tired of having to deal with them all the time? Find out how to break free from the shackles of toxicity and cultivate a life filled with positivi ... Show More
37m 49s
Oct 2021
How to Remove Friction and Win Over People’s Business
Today's episode is a classic GaryVeeTV segment! One of the most important things your business can do for the end consumer is to create as little friction as possible for them to consume your content or buy your products. In this  fireside chat, we discuss how the internet enable ... Show More
26m 20s