When Huggy and I sat down to discuss The Friction Project—his book with co-author Bob Sutton—the plan was to record the conversation to help me write about it later. You’ll notice I was taking notes, even though we were recording. But as I listened back, I realized the best way to share Huggy’s insights was simply to step aside—no need to add more friction. Fortunately, Huggy agreed.
So, here it is—my first video contribution in the form of my hour-long chat with Huggy Rao. We covered a range of topics: the book’s reception, writing as a leadership tool, his career journey, and what’s next for him. To make it even easier (and my contribution to friction-fixing), I’ve included topic-timestamped links below. Hope you enjoy it!
00:55 Reflection on the book’s success
03:00 The movement to make a work less of a grind
04:29 The Ridiculist and The Clock Sucker
09:12 Work/Life Balance as a of good friction
13:41 Writing as a leadership tool
20:41 Friction fixers need to be sensible, not charismatic
23:01 Why every company needs a prime directive
28:13 Peter Drucker & Dee Hock
31:15 Active listening as a tool for friction fixing.
34:17 How he teaches
37:30 His XLRI trial-by-fire public speaking experience.
39:13 Reflections on journey from XLRI to Stanford GSB
46:50 The role of curiosity in personal development
47:46 What’s next (think AI and conspiracy theories)