We need to talk about the F word (‘friction’ in enterprise, that is)

Today, everything is frictionless. Whether you are there Park your car, Sell ​​your home, Hit the drive-through Or there are companies that promise to dry your hair, save time and eliminate the hassle you might encounter. Friction is the ultimate form of American useful cult. This is the culmination of ongoing efforts to satisfy consumers’ desire for faster, easier, and more complete satisfaction.

In the digital age, the possibility of friction is also a growth driver. The easier it becomes to use products or services, the faster companies can expand their user base and extract value. Friction-free product design, global consent tools, digital wallets, and unified logins powered by giants like Facebook and Google that allow users to complete forms, via privacy boilerplates, and enter payment details Let your business expand and sell without any need.

It’s easy to see why investors are free of friction. (Find a pitch deck in the Bay Area it’s not We promise to eliminate friction. ) But our frictionless fetishization is at a price.

Slippery slope

Make things easier It was a promise to establish a digital age. In the mid-1990s, I helped build a web product that made inventory estimates available when you click the mouse button. (Bears down the stock price of newsprint at the back of business pages.) Other dotcom pioneers make it easy to listen to music, shop, read the news, build relationships and more I did.

Since then, mobile devices, unified logins, location services and more have provided countless “automatic” solutions to the problem. Personalized feeds provide content without lifting your fingers. Smart devices – Speakers, cars, sunglasses, refrigerators – weaves digital convenience through all aspects of our lives. Today, AI is eliminating more friction. You don’t have to write emails, read messages, or try hard at anything in particular.

However, eliminating friction does not guarantee success. We work It failed spectacularly Build a frictionless real estate empire. Amazon spent a huge amount Friction-free brick and mortar retail. Before the Trump Backpack Friction flip flop When Facebook sought geese involvement while fighting online trolls.

Furthermore, eliminating friction has serious social consequences. Friction helps us pause, think, and make better choices. When Robin Hood makes deals easier, countless Americans I’m addicted Hurry. Easy online bet The bankruptcy rate has increased by 30%. More friction may have maintained the cloud strike Brick computers around the world;It helped me Raising extremists on social media; or The spread is slower Of opioids.

Even for individuals, ease is not always a pure victory. Eliminating friction can mean a yielding engine. The algorithm provides the selected pre-used content for We are not by We; online retailers choose what they “discover” to control what they buy. The lack of friction makes us infantile. Like, we float together A man tied up in a hover chair of Wall-epassively take whatever we offer.

Strategic Inconvenient

It may be easier to put rich shovels into the acceptance of innocent consumers, but in the long run, companies that treat their customers like intelligent, empowered, self-aware people. It will do better than people who simply depend on obedience.

Steve Jobs understood the temptation to be easy. Therefore, Apple products areI just work. “But at the same time he understood the power of friction. When asked about the correct way to collect customer data, he I said famously: “Listen! Ask them every time. Let them tell them to stop asking if you’re tired of asking them.” Jobs advocated the Goldilocks approach. . The right amount of friction to create a product that will please the user.

By putting the right balance, companies can use friction to their advantage. After all, friction is another word of feedback. Therefore, it is a product that stops completely frictionless to the needs of users. By pursuing frictionless, you could fire towards the sky, but over time you’ll struggle to correct your course. In the end, gravity will bring you back to Earth.

This is not hypothetical. Research shows that friction shows that many systems, including businesses, are smarter and more resilient. A little strategic inconvenience can improve market performance with investors Make smarter decisions When they were forced to slow down and think about trading. The IEX Stock Exchange supplies trading via “magic shoe boxes” that contain several miles of coiled fiber optic cables. Create a 350 Maris Second Delay It will make the market fair for everyone to blunt the impact of high-frequency trading.

Cybersecurity teams sometimes Human approval is required It slows people down before the software is automatically installed across the intranet, making it difficult for bad actors to hijack the network. Meanwhile, data privacy rules like GDPR add friction in the form of consent and privacy notices. And while too many are counterproductive, a balanced approach keeps consumer shape and gives you more control over your data.

Let’s start talking about friction

What does this mean for today’s founders? Obviously, we will not immediately abandon frictionless technology. But what we should do is ask how we can Friction size Our products turn friction into business opportunities.

For technicians, that means asking: What problems do you solve by eliminating friction? And what problems can we raise now or in the future? All design choices bring trade-offs, but they can be balanced to design risk and reward for the right level of friction.

Such an approach can also facilitate adult conversations about the need to regulate AI and other emerging technologies. Regulations are always added Friction – But once we accept that some degree of friction is valuable, we can work with policymakers to find the right level of friction that supports innovation while protecting and respecting consumers. Masu.

Conclusion? The lack of friction as a holy grail for digital products and services backfired. It’s time for a more subtle approach. It starts with accepting that “friction” is not a four-letter word for high-tech founders and investors. Only by bringing friction back into conversation can we responsibly build new technology with growth potential, but we can also build our real stay power.

Jenny Baird is the chairman Ethical Tech Project.