Along the way, they learned that there is both bad and good organizational “friction.”the unnecessary rules, procedures, communications, tools, and roles that seem to inexorably grow, stifling productivity and creativity. They show why companies are prone to this affliction and describe how leaders can treat it.—they list several—to eliminate those obstacles or make it difficult for people to add them in the first place.
The authors show how people and organizations have used these steps to great effect: AstraZeneca, for instance, saved 2 million hours in less than two years by implementing an array of simplification efforts.People default to asking, “What can I add here?” not “What can I get rid of?” Organizations reward leaders for additions—implementing new technologies, launching initiatives, building bigger fiefdoms.