The Human Element

1. Innovation is a Battle Against Friction, Not Just a Quest for Fuel

To create change we must first understand the forces operating against change.

Fuel vs. Friction. The conventional approach to innovation focuses on "Fuel"—heightening the appeal of an idea through features, benefits, and messaging. However, this neglects the "Friction" that opposes change: psychological forces that create drag on innovation. Like a bullet's aerodynamics, reducing Friction is essential for an idea to take flight.

The Law of Attraction. Most innovators operate under the Law of Attraction, believing that adding enough value will convince people to say yes. This leads to feature creep and marketing sizzle, but ignores the underlying resistance to change. Overcoming Friction is just as important as adding Fuel.

The Four Frictions. The book identifies four primary Frictions: Inertia (desire to stick with what we know), Effort (energy needed to make change happen), Emotion (negative feelings created by change), and Reactance (impulse to resist being changed). Understanding and addressing these Frictions is crucial for successful innovation.

2. The Fuel-Based Mindset Overlooks Powerful Forces Against Change

The moment I start “selling” is the moment I lose them.

The Car Salesman Analogy. The typical car salesperson focuses on "Fuel"—highlighting features and benefits to convince buyers. Ali Reda, the world's best car salesperson, succeeds by reducing Emotional Friction, building trust, and acting as an advisor rather than a pushy salesman. This illustrates the power of addressing Friction over simply adding Fuel.

Limitations of Fuel. While Fuel is necessary to motivate change, it has limitations: bad is stronger than good (negativity bias), Fuel is costly (requires continuous application), Fuel is self-evident (benefits are often obvious), and Fuel can amplify Friction (unintended consequences). A Fuel-based mindset often leads to neglecting the forces working against change.

Fundamental Attribution Error. The Fuel-based mindset is reinforced by the fundamental attribution error, our tendency to attribute behavior to internal forces (motivation, intent) while minimizing situational causes (Friction). This leads us to focus on increasing motivation rather than removing obstacles.

3. Inertia: The Mind's Preference for the Known

New ideas advance one funeral at a time.

Status Quo Bias. Inertia captures the human mind's hardwiring to favor the familiar. This status quo bias explains why people are reluctant to embrace new ideas, even when the benefits are obvious. Familiarity breeds liking, making the known feel safer than the unknown.

Mere Exposure Effect. The mere exposure effect demonstrates that repeated exposure to something increases our liking of it. This explains why brand recognition is so important in advertising and why even small changes to familiar products can cause outrage.

Inertia Kills Innovation. Inertia leads to inaction, limiting the options we consider and hindering progress. It explains why Americans are socialists and Europeans are capitalists when it comes to sports, and why we tend to favor the system we are in, not because it is better, but because it is familiar.

4. Effort: The Law of Least Resistance Governs Adoption

Animals are designed to weigh the costs (energy spent) against the benefits (energy gained) when gathering food to maximize energy intake.

Optimal Foraging Theory. Like shore crabs choosing mussels, humans are programmed to find the most efficient way to achieve their goals. The law of least effort states that people will follow the path that provides the greatest rewards for the least possible energy expenditure.

Effort as a Friction. Innovation often requires Effort, such as learning new procedures or navigating unfamiliar systems. This Effort acts as a psychological Friction, undermining the appeal of new ideas. The easier the path, the more likely people are to follow it.

Dimensions of Effort. Effort has two dimensions: exertion (amount of energy required) and ambiguity (lack of clarity on how to achieve the goal). Reducing both exertion and ambiguity is crucial for overcoming Effort-based Friction.

5. Emotion: Unintended Negative Feelings Inhibit Innovation

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Emotional Friction Defined. Emotional Friction refers to the unintended negative feelings (anxiety, fear, embarrassment) that inhibit a new idea or innovation. These feelings can be a significant barrier to adoption, even when the idea has clear functional benefits.

The Cake Mix Story. The initial failure of cake mix illustrates the power of Emotional Friction. While convenient, cake mix was initially seen as a soulless act, undermining the emotional value of baking as an expression of love and care. Adding eggs back into the recipe solved this problem.

Tinder vs. Match.com. Tinder's success stems from removing the Emotional Friction of rejection inherent in traditional dating sites like Match.com. By focusing on mutual interest, Tinder made online dating less daunting and more appealing.

6. Reactance: The Impulse to Resist Being Changed

Don't follow the conventional path of intensifying your persuasion; instead focus on reducing the friction that fuels resistance.

The Seat Belt Wars. The initial resistance to seat belt laws demonstrates the human tendency to resist being told what to do. Reactance is the impulse to protect our autonomy and push back against perceived threats to our freedom.

The Rat Experiment. Jay Weiss's rat experiment showed that even when experiencing the same level of pain, those with control over their environment (the lever) experienced less stress than those without. This highlights the importance of autonomy and freedom.

Strong Evidence Backfires. Presenting strong evidence can sometimes strengthen opposition, as people dig in to defend their beliefs. This is why deep canvassing, which focuses on self-persuasion, is more effective than traditional canvassing.

7. Overcoming Inertia: Transforming the Unfamiliar into the Familiar

Our preference for the familiar is so ingrained, it occurs even when we aren't consciously aware of it.

Acclimate the Idea. To overcome Inertia, innovators must transform the unfamiliar into the familiar. This can be achieved through strategies like repetition (mere exposure effect), starting small (incremental exposure), finding a familiar face (messenger matters), making it prototypical (fit the category), and using analogies (relate to what's known).

Make It Relative. People understand the world in relative terms. By managing the points of comparison, innovators can transform Inertia from a Friction into a Fuel. This can be achieved by adding an extreme option (making others seem reasonable) or highlighting undesirable options (making the preferred option more appealing).

The Wine List Strategy. The presence of a very expensive bottle of wine on a restaurant menu makes the other, less expensive bottles seem more reasonable by comparison. This illustrates the power of relativity in shaping our perceptions and choices.

8. Overcoming Effort: Streamlining the Path of Least Resistance

The key to dramatically increasing enrollments wasn't a Fuel‐based solution...The key was to make the application easier.

Reduce Exertion and Ambiguity. To overcome Effort-based Friction, innovators must reduce both exertion (physical and mental energy required) and ambiguity (lack of clarity on how to achieve the goal). This involves creating a roadmap (reducing ambiguity) and streamlining the behavior (reducing exertion).

The Chlorine Dispenser Example. The public chlorine dispenser program in Kenya succeeded by streamlining the water purification process, making it easier and more convenient for people to access clean drinking water. This involved removing the need to measure chlorine and wait for purification.

The University of Chicago Story. The University of Chicago increased applications by adopting the Common Application, reducing the Effort required for students to apply. This highlights the power of streamlining and the danger of underestimating its influence.

9. Overcoming Emotion: Quieting the Fears That Impede Progress

The insights Loran Nordgren and David Schonthal surface are important reminders of the care and attention designers need to bring a new idea to life and to build our shared future.

Focus on Why. To uncover Emotional Friction, innovators must focus on why people feel the way they do, rather than simply addressing their stated positions. This involves asking open, probing, and illuminating questions to understand the underlying motivations and anxieties.

Become an Ethnographer. Observing users in their natural habitat can reveal unspoken needs and concerns. Ethnography helps innovators see the world as users do, providing insight into how they actually behave without the filter of traditional market research.

Bring the Outside In. Involving the target audience in the innovation process can provide valuable insights into potential Emotional Frictions. This can be achieved by hiring customers, forming advisory boards, or conducting co-design workshops.

10. Overcoming Reactance: Helping Your Audience Persuade Themselves

The ability to elegantly overcome Friction is one of the most crucial skills an innovator can possess.

Self-Persuasion Defined. To overcome Reactance, innovators must shift from persuasion to self-persuasion, helping their audience to internalize the message and come to their own conclusions. This involves asking rather than telling, and creating opportunities for self-discovery.

Deep Canvassing. Deep canvassing, used by the Leadership Lab to promote transgender rights, demonstrates the power of self-persuasion. By asking open-ended questions and listening empathetically, canvassers help voters to challenge their own biases and come to new understandings.

Ask Yes Questions. Starting with questions that reveal acceptance and common ground can reduce Reactance and create a more receptive environment for new ideas. This involves building a "yes ladder" and framing decisions as experiments rather than commands.

Last updated: April 5, 2025