I’ve changed.
Often said as an insult, but if anyone says this to me, I’d take it as a compliment!
I have changed.
Instead of simply accepting things as they are, I’ve started proactively looking to change the things that get in my way.
I instinctively look for friction everywhere.
Not just Business Friction. Friction in my own life too.
Things that get in the way of me doing something I actually want to do. Things that make something feel like too much effort. And, increasingly, instead of thinking, “Ah well, I’m obviously not going to keep doing that”, I look at what’s getting in the way and ask how I could make it easier.
Not necessarily easy. But doable.
It’s become something of an ethos for me. And I think that’s one of the reasons I feel so connected with what I’m building with Strive 4.
I’m not talking about Business Friction because I came up with a useful phrase for a business problem. I think this way on a day to day basis.
It’s the Little Things
Recently I’ve been working on some health goals.
I’m trying to build things up incrementally rather than attempting to change everything at once. A sort of minimum viable process, much as I would approach something in work.
Take vitamins, for example.
I have a basket on the windowsill containing various things I’ve bought because I thought I should take them. At one point my routine involved taking about five tablets.
I kept it up for a while.
Then it tailed off.
Twice.
So rather than deciding I just needed to be more disciplined, I looked at the friction.
I took photos of what I had and used ChatGPT* to help me work through them. There was overlap. I had multivitamins doing similar things. I was making the whole process more complicated than it needed to be.
The aim became: what’s the minimum I can start with to get the habit in place?
Introducing Protein Powder
Protein powder had come up while I was looking at my wider health goals. Not because I’m trying to bulk up, but because I wanted to make sure I was getting enough protein as part of my diet.
Then I looked at the choices.
There are SO MANY.
So I left it.
Which, of course, is friction in action.
Then, I kept seeing an advert for one on Facebook. I’m cynical about advertising, so rather than accepting all the claims about its amazing benefits, I gave the details to ChatGPT and picked up the conversation I’d already been having.
That’s one of the ways I find AI particularly useful.
If I Google protein powder, I get ads, shopping results and information largely presented by people who want me to buy protein powder. If I see it on social media, there’s a fair chance the person telling me how wonderful something is has an affiliate link somewhere nearby.
I don’t expect AI to give me a 100% accurate answer either. I still need to do my due diligence.
But I can question it.
What does this actually contain? What do these claims mean? How does it relate to what I’m trying to achieve? What alternatives are there?
It helps me reduce the amount of information coming at me and have a conversation about the bits that matter.
Eventually I got the choice down to two or three, did my own checking and ordered one.
I’d also already thought about how I could make it part of my routine. That was one of my buying factors.
Sorted.
Day One
The protein powder arrived with its own scoop.
Fine. I’m starting with half a scoop.
Except the scoop lives inside the powder.
So I got powder all over me and the kitchen trying to find it.
Then getting exactly half a scoop was faffy.
More powder.
Then I needed to whisk it into my coffee.
None of these things is particularly difficult.
But add them together?
Nah.
Friction.
Day Two
Back to ChatGPT.
How much powder is actually in one scoop?
I have a myriad of measuring spoons in the kitchen. Surely it would be easier to get one out of the drawer than go digging around in a tub of powder every morning.
ChatGPT couldn’t give me a direct conversion, but it did give me a simple way to work out which of my measuring spoons was roughly equivalent.
Day two, out came my trusty tablespoon.
Scoop.
No mess. No powder all over me. No immediate washing of everything I’d come into contact with.
In goes the powder. In goes the coffee. In goes the cold water. A quick swizzle with the little whisk, which itself replaced the slightly useless fork I started with. Add the hot water.
Off to the office to start work.
Tiny changes.
But that’s rather the point.
I Instinctively Look for the Friction
There’s a theory I’ve come across about a watermelon.
Take a look at viral video here.
The idea is that one person sees a watermelon on the counter, thinks it looks good, cuts a slice and eats it.
Another person sees the same watermelon and, almost instantly, sees all the invisible steps between wanting the watermelon and actually eating it.
Find a knife.
Find a chopping board.
Cut the watermelon.
Deal with the juice.
Find a container for the rest.
Open the cupboard where all the containers inevitably fall out.
Find the right-sized container.
Find the corresponding lid.
Clear up the sticky worktop.
Wash everything.
Suddenly, “I’d like some watermelon” comes with about 15 admin tasks attached to it.
And nah.
Too much.
That’s the bit I find fascinating.
Because the watermelon hasn’t changed. The goal hasn’t changed. You still want to eat it.
The friction between wanting it and doing it is what has changed how achievable it feels.
Back to Business
It would be a bit odd to explain that I’m good at what I do because I’ve figured out my protein powder habit.
I’m probably not about to stand up at a networking group and say that.
Although…
But there is a connection.
I understand that knowing what you want to do isn’t always enough.
I understand that something can sound ridiculously simple, while the accumulation of lots of ridiculously simple things can make the whole thing feel like too much.
And I understand that the answer isn’t always more discipline, more pressure or trying harder.
Sometimes you need to look at what is actually getting in the way.
That’s what has changed for me.
I instinctively look for the friction.
I do it in my own life, and it’s the way I look at business too.
By the time I speak to my first client of the day, I’ve probably already been through several little friction-reducing routines of my own.
Maybe that’s why Business Friction feels so natural to me now.
It isn’t just something I talk about in my business.
It’s how I think.
*Other AI available 😉