Squiggly Careers

#599 Friction: Why making things harder can make you better

October 6, 2026·43 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

Is something at work feeling harder than it needs to be? It could be a meeting that takes too long, a decision that goes back and forth, or a process with more steps than it needs. This week, Helen and Sarah borrow brilliance from The Friction Project by Robert Sutton and Huggy Rao. They explore how to spot the friction that slows you down, what you could subtract to make work easier, and why some friction is worth keeping. 🎯 In this episode, you’ll learn how to: – Spot where friction is showing up in your work – Ask your team what’s making their work harder – Subtract steps, meetings or handoffs that aren’t helping – Add useful friction through better questions and saying the hard thing For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, email helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com. More Squiggly Career support: 1. Download our free career tools: https://www.squigglycareers.com/toolkit/ 2. Sign up for our Skills Sprints: https://www.squigglycareers.com/squigglysprints/ 3. Sign up for our weekly Squiggly Careers newsletter: www.squiggly.me 4. Order Learn Like a Lobster: https://www.squigglycareers.com/books/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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