Friction. Just saying the word aloud can feel abrasive. When striving for efficiency and speed, friction is often seen as a negative. Departments may not be in sync, creating internal friction. But if you ask, “Do we really need this rule or metric?” the answer is generally “Yes, because consistent rules protect our brand and operations. Consistency makes us profitable.” End of discussion.
But friction can be both positive and negative. And creatively used, friction can be a game changer for individuals as well as businesses.
So first, how do you move past this negative friction?
For the first 10 of my 30-plus year career at Panasonic, I often just deferred to the those in departments with oversight that I was not an expert. These groups included accountants, lawyers, and QC Managers, HR staff, and Supply Chain experts. As a newcomer, they patiently outlined for me their roles, the metrics and rules by which they made decisions, and how those rules were to be consistently enforced.
I listened and learned, but looking at things from the sales, marketing, and profitability side, I often thought that the rules of individual groups were not aligning well enough with the goal of sales and diverse creativity in marketing products. Simply put, the greatest inhibitor to growth was not competition, although competitors were quite strong in most areas, we played in. Rather it was internal negative friction and obstacles tangling things up, preventing agility, growth, and innovation.
The Leader’s Balancing Act
Fast forward 10 years. I was a newly appointed Division VP handling microwaves, shavers, massage chairs, power tools, and vent fans. At the start of each month, we had a sit down with each product group and accounting. We reviewed profit, sales, and key metrics like inventory dollars and days at the current sales rate.
Inventory was a surprisingly tough issue. Our products cost a lot to make, to warehouse, to move. Too much inventory and you ruin a P/L. Too little and you aggravate customers and inhibit sales.
Within my departments, our sales and profit numbers were pretty good. However, at the micro level of inventory, we had fast movers and slow movers. If some inventory had been sitting in our warehouse more than 45 days, we had to stop buying. Unfortunately, to make our overall inventory target we often had to freeze purchases of fast-selling models until our total inventory was in line. So we simply could not fulfil purchases from certain customers.
Fortunately, I had also worked with leaders who wouldpush through these obstacles. Now it was my turn. The process was simple:
- Ally with internal groups;
- Push back against obvious obstacles;
- Take ownership of any risk involved in being more aggressive.
I walked into my first meeting at the helm and asked my accounting colleagues what we could do better. We brainstormed. We arrived at buying some inventory to support fast movers, promote product that was overbought, and still staying committed to making overall sales and profit targets. Someone had to take that responsibility. I was happy to do so.
The key was to overcoming this negative friction was to look for a way to grow out of the problem rather than try to fix it too quickly. Together we reached an answer that worked for all of us; but it required “we” rather than “you” conversations. We slowed things down with smaller cuts, an influx of promotional spending, and increased purchases for fast moving product. In this way, we turned negative friction into a positive action. We intentionally slowed down the need for drastic action that the “rules” seemed to support.
Good Friction—DIY Increases Satisfaction
In physics, friction is the relative motion between different surfaces that releases energy. It can be as obvious as a match striking a rough surface, creating fire, or braking, rubber tires gripping pavement, slowing the car. Two things rub up against each other and create a positive result. Let’s look at two examples of this.
The IKEA Effect: Friction as Value
One well-documented example of good friction is the IKEA effect. A 2011 Harvard study found that participants were actually willing to pay more to assemble a quality product, as long as it could be done successfully and in a reasonable amount of time. Why? Because not only was the quality of the finished product high, but the customer got a sense of pride in having put it together themselves.
IKEA provides tools illustrated instructions, and access to technical support specialists. By removing the potential negative friction while keeping positive friction—the satisfaction of assembling something yourself—Ikea has built strong customer satisfaction and loyalty.
It wasn’t the only company to run with this concept. Here’s another.
The Muffin Effect: “Cooking” from Scratch = Friction = Great Taste
As with many baked goods, boxed muffins could be made by just adding water. What could be easier?
But then manufacturers took a step back. They decided to give consumers more ownership of the cooking process to bring the finished product closer to being “homemade”. By requiring the cook to water plus eggs and oil, as in the Ikea case, these extra steps added a sense of creativity. The muffins also tasted better. Consumers didn’t mind doing more work and product satisfaction and sales increased.
Conclusion: Friction Can Work for You
Friction—that rubbing up of opposing forces, or ideas—may initially gum up the works. But friction can also be good. To get there, a leader should:
- Partner with those close to, or responsible for, negative friction;
- Welcome the opportunity to assume risk; and,
- Look for opportunities where slowing things down can create positive energy and results. Simply put, this “good friction” can be a unique path for innovation and adding value.
And if you need inspiration, light a match and make some muffins!
