Friction: The Untapped Force That Can Be Your Most Powerful Advantage - Hardcover

by Roger Dooley (Author)

NAMED A "BEST BUSINESS BOOK OF 2019" by strategy+business

Annually, $4.6 trillion of merchandise is left in abandoned e-commerce shopping carts.


Every year, the U.S. economy loses $3 trillion dollars in productivity due to excess bureaucracy.


Red tape and over-complicated licenses have contributed to China's GDP exceeding India's by $82 trillion over the span of just three decades.


If you're a business leader, these statistics should give you nightmares. According to science-based marketing and business expert Roger Dooley, they illustrate the real and growing threat of "friction," which he defines as the unnecessary expenditure of time, effort, or money in performing a task.


In today's high-speed, customer-empowered world, the levels of swiftness and efficiency of business transactions will determine ultimate success or failure. In this groundbreaking guide, Dooley helps you spot the inevitable points of friction in your organization, and he provides the tools and insight you need to eliminate them. By truly understanding the impact friction can have, you'll be able to establish positive habits and eliminate negative ones--all with the end result of building a company that's the envy of your industry. Friction takes you step-by-step through the process of:


- Empowering frank conversations
- Guiding individual and team behaviors
- Getting ahead of friction
- Optimizing the customer experience
- Building a frictionless corporate culture


Combining scientific research with real-life examples of leaders who have conquered business friction, Dooley teaches you how to identify roadblocks, alter them for the benefit of both business and customer, and create positive, lasting change.


If you're in a leadership position, now is the time to declare war on friction--before your competitors do. Stamp out ridiculous rules, pointless procedures, and meaningless meetings. Become a relentless advocate for the customer and for minimizing customer effort. Lubricate every point of friction and make your company run like a well-oiled machine.


Friction provides the know-how you need to lead your company to industry dominance.

Back Jacket

A novel, refreshing way of characterizing business challenges.
--Kirkus Reviews

With blinding insight, Friction offers takeaways that allow us, systematically, to recognize and reduce obstacles to success."
--Robert B. Cialdini, Author of Influence and Pre-Suasion

"What do Amazon, Apple, Google, and Netflix have in common? They made life easier for their consumers by removing what Dooley calls 'friction'. Reading this book will arm any manager with a mental can of WD-40."
--Richard Thaler, Nobel Laureate and co-author of Nudge

"Friction, like entropy, is a fact of the universe--but friction, unlike entropy, can be reduced. Roger Dooley's new book is an important look at how to decrease the friction in your business, your marketing, and your life."
--Ryan Holiday, author of The Obstacle Is the Way

"In a time when everyone has to do more with less, this book is an important read."
--Daniel H. Pink, author of When and To Sell Is Human

"Friction is the enemy of success. It's hard enough to create something great. Don't make it hard to adopt it. Roger will show you the way."
--Guy Kawasaki, author of The Art of The Start and former chief evangelist of Apple

"Friction is everywhere. From what we buy to the fate of nations. And once you read Roger Dooley's Friction, you'll understand both its power and how you can harness it."
--Jonah Berger, Wharton Professor and author of Contagious and Invisible Influence

"Making your business as frictionless as possible is what will make it both a lot less stressful, and a lot more profitable. After absorbing this magnificent teaching, you'll know how to do exactly that."
--Bob Burg, coauthor of The Go-Giver and The Go-Giver Influencer

"Once you read Friction, there's no going back. You'll see friction everywhere, and you'll want to do something about it. The many case studies and anecdotes Dooley includes provide a roadmap for friction reduction."
--Nir Eyal, author of Hooked

"Leonardo da Vinci was the first to reveal the power of friction in physics. Roger Dooley is the first to do it in business. An instant classic."
--Mike Michalowicz, author of Profit First and Clockwork

Author Biography

Roger Dooley is an international keynote speaker and the creator of Neuromarketing, the go-to blog of marketing professionals the world over. He co-founded College Confidential, a web-based business that serves millions of college-bound students and parents every month.