When Making Things Harder Is Better

Sometimes, adding friction to a process makes it run smoother. So how do you know when to do it? And how do you do it well?

- ROBERT I. SUTTON and HAYAGREEVA

Everyone knows the exasperation of unnecessary friction. We've all navigated systems that create maddening ordeals rather than give us simple answers, services, or refunds. We've sat through endless meetings with blabbermouths and ill-defined agendas. We've pulled our hair out over rules, procedures, traditions, and technologies that once made sense, but are now antiquated, pointless, and inefficient. These are all soul-crushing forms of organizational friction that make it difficult to do simple things. And as professors at Stanford's School of Engineering and Graduate School of Business, we spent the last seven years researching the causes and cures for these problems.

But one of our biggest discoveries surprised us. It turns out that friction isn't always a problem. In fact, sometimes it can be a solution.

For example: We may love how simple it is to order a ride on Lyft or Uber, or rent a place on Airbnb-but when a six year-old asks Alexa to get her a dollhouse, and a $162 KidKraft Sparkle Mansion arrives the next day, her parents aren't so enthused. That process could have used some friction.

Here's another example: Unfettered, overconfident leaders can rush their half-baked creations to market, burning a lot of cash along the way. That process, also, needs friction. Piles of studies show that to do creative work right, teams need to slow down, struggle, and develop a lot of bad ideas in order to find a rare good one.