If AI is so effective at removing friction for internal teams and companies—making everything faster and easier—could it be that, paradoxically, this very ease makes it harder to build lasting value and defend against competitors? Should we be thinking not just about eliminating friction, but also about where to intentionally keep or create it to sustain a real competitive edge? Where do you think companies should draw the line between good and bad friction?
Yes and yes! About good vs bad friction and how to separate between the two: A good place to start is to think about wheter you have or can build up complementary assets (to AI) that others would struggle to imitate. For those assets that involves socially complex, causally ambiguous resources like humans, relations, knowledge, reputation etc, accepting frictions in building and maintains them can turn out to be a good thing if the frictions work as a barrier for others. So it's back to the classic question of what you can do that others can't
In a world where AI removes all resistance, maybe the companies that choose a little drag—slower onboarding, real conversations, human decisions—end up building the strongest brands.
Because if everything’s easy, nothing really matters. Might be worth exploring where a bit of meaningful friction becomes the new moat.
If AI is so effective at removing friction for internal teams and companies—making everything faster and easier—could it be that, paradoxically, this very ease makes it harder to build lasting value and defend against competitors? Should we be thinking not just about eliminating friction, but also about where to intentionally keep or create it to sustain a real competitive edge? Where do you think companies should draw the line between good and bad friction?
Yes and yes! About good vs bad friction and how to separate between the two: A good place to start is to think about wheter you have or can build up complementary assets (to AI) that others would struggle to imitate. For those assets that involves socially complex, causally ambiguous resources like humans, relations, knowledge, reputation etc, accepting frictions in building and maintains them can turn out to be a good thing if the frictions work as a barrier for others. So it's back to the classic question of what you can do that others can't
Absolutely.
In a world where AI removes all resistance, maybe the companies that choose a little drag—slower onboarding, real conversations, human decisions—end up building the strongest brands.
Because if everything’s easy, nothing really matters. Might be worth exploring where a bit of meaningful friction becomes the new moat.