THE FRICTION PROJECT How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder

The latest book by a professor of organizational behavior and a colleague is served well by the upbeat performance of veteran narrator Sean Patrick Hopkins. Much like the principal author's speaking style--a bonus interview with Sutton and his coauthor concludes the production--Hopkins's vocal enthusiasm is prominent but never detracts from the intellectual soundness of these ideas. The authors say friction is the part of any organizational process that makes work more difficult to complete. Good friction slows down processes so that people have time to be more thorough. Bad friction consists of complications that will be familiar to everyone--bloated verbiage, endless meetings, irrelevant paperwork, and self-indulgent managers. With help from the narrator's fitting performance, these are accessible ideas for addressing a rampant problem in organizational life. T.W. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2024]