Our Favorite F Word: Friction

Friction gets a bad reputation.

In most teams, it’s something to fix.
Make things easier. Faster. Smoother.

And honestly… yes. A lot of the time, that’s exactly right.

But not all friction is bad.

Here’s the simple rule we keep coming back to:

If friction is in front of your customer, remove it.
If friction is inside your team, take a second before you smooth it over.

Because they’re not the same thing.

The first kind is the annoying kind.
The extra step. The unclear message. The “why is this so hard?” feeling.

That will cost you.

But the second kind?

That’s the moment in a meeting where someone says: I don’t think this is strong enough.

It’s the pause. The slight tension. The part where not everyone immediately agrees.

It can feel uncomfortable.

But it’s usually where the better idea is hiding.

The Kind of Friction Worth Keeping

We’ve noticed the best work rarely comes from the room where everything just flows in one shot.
Some rush to get it done. But better work takes a bit of discipline, and the willingness to say: this can be better, and actually do something about it.

It comes from the room where someone pushes.
Where something doesn’t quite land right away.
Where the team doesn’t move on too quickly.

One type of friction gets in the way.
The other is doing the best work.

So don’t be too quick to smooth it over.

Sometimes, that tension is the difference between getting it done… and getting it right.