Friction deserves a better reputation.

We have come to treat friction as the enemy. Faster, easier, frictionless; that is the modern creed. But pause a moment. When the letter was the principal form of communication, people planned before pen touched paper. They drafted. They considered. They re-read. The friction of ink, paper, and post, and the irretrievability of what was sent, forced discipline. Today, the badly written IM proliferates, the half-formed email lands-copied-in a hundred inboxes, and the meeting is scheduled before anyone asks whether it need be.

Friction’s gift, I would argue, is twofold:

Firstly, it imposes thought. A barrier between impulse and action makes us choose. Is this worth the effort? Often, the honest answer is no, and that saves everyone time.

Secondly, it encourages quality. What costs something to produce tends to be better than something which costs nothing. The slow letter beats the careless message every time.

Perhaps, deliberatley introduce specific points of friction in your processes. For example, require a short justification before scheduling a meeting, or set a mandatory review or pause before sending communications. By making quick actions a little more effortful, you can ensure greater thoughtfulness and quality.

Don’t just prioritise speed, prioritise considered, purposeful action.

Go Be a Real Human.

You never learned to delegate.

AI makes that obvious.

As always, smart thinking by Jeroen.