Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
“Friction for us has to do with obstacles,” says Hayagreeva “Huggy” Rao, a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business. “Obstacles can disable you. Obstacles can enable you.”
Rao compares friction to cholesterol: Some is good, but some is bad. “Good friction actually slows you down, gets you to pause, and most of all, gets you to reflect,” he explains. “But there’s also friction that overwhelms you, exhausts you, confuses you.”
On this episode of If/Then, Rao explores how to cultivate the productive kind of friction, reduce the unhelpful kind, and manage your team’s most precious resource. “Great leaders are people who think of themselves as trustees of other people's time,” he says.
Do you have any favorite examples of good or bad friction? Share one with us at ifthenpod@stanford.edu.
Related Content:
Huggy Rao faculty profile: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/hayagreeva-rao
The Friction Project: us.macmillan.com/books/9781250284426/thefrictionproject
Career Advice: How to Become a “Friction Fixer”: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/career-advice-how-become-friction-fixer
Chapters:
00:00:00 Airport baggage claim, waiting, & good friction
00:03:20 Introduction
00:03:48 What friction means in organizations
00:05:42 Where friction comes from
00:07:52 Scaling through smart subtraction
00:08:24 DropBox’s approach to meetings
00:10:45 The problem with meetings
00:13:53 What good friction looks like
00:16:56 Friction, trust, & institutional legitimacy
00:19:31 Why Huggy Rao started studying friction
00:22:20 Conclusion
If/Then, from Stanford GSB, features conversations with faculty that explore how their research deepens our understanding of business and leadership.
Find out more about If/Then: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/business-podcasts/if-then
Listen on:
🔊 Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-then/id1725380194
🔊 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/1v7V6LGUxfplMByTpVwk7h?si=38f353685fec4dd5
#gsbifthen #gsbpodcasts
“Friction for us has to do with obstacles,” says Hayagreeva “Huggy” Rao, a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business. “Obstacles can disable you. Obstacles can enable you.”
Rao compares friction to cholesterol: Some is good, but some is bad. “Good friction actually slows you down, gets you to pause, and most of all, gets you to reflect,” he explains. “But there’s also friction that overwhelms you, exhausts you, confuses you.”
On this episode of If/Then, Rao explores how to cultivate the productive kind of friction, reduce the unhelpful kind, and manage your team’s most precious resource. “Great leaders are people who think of themselves as trustees of other people's time,” he says.
Do you have any favorite examples of good or bad friction? Share one with us at ifthenpod@stanford.edu.
Related Content:
Huggy Rao faculty profile: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/hayagreeva-rao
The Friction Project: us.macmillan.com/books/9781250284426/thefrictionproject
Career Advice: How to Become a “Friction Fixer”: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/career-advice-how-become-friction-fixer
Chapters:
00:00:00 Airport baggage claim, waiting, & good friction
00:03:20 Introduction
00:03:48 What friction means in organizations
00:05:42 Where friction comes from
00:07:52 Scaling through smart subtraction
00:08:24 DropBox’s approach to meetings
00:10:45 The problem with meetings
00:13:53 What good friction looks like
00:16:56 Friction, trust, & institutional legitimacy
00:19:31 Why Huggy Rao started studying friction
00:22:20 Conclusion
If/Then, from Stanford GSB, features conversations with faculty that explore how their research deepens our understanding of business and leadership.
Find out more about If/Then: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/business-podcasts/if-then
Listen on:
🔊 Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-then/id1725380194
🔊 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/1v7V6LGUxfplMByTpVwk7h?si=38f353685fec4dd5
#gsbifthen #gsbpodcasts
