Friction: Adding Value By Making People Work for It

by Soon Yu, Dave Birss

Adding Value By Making People Work For It

Friction isn't something to be avoided. Successful businesses not only understand the difference between good and bad friction but also know how to EMBRACE A DOSE of good friction to create greater value. We'll show you how to leverage good friction to generate adrenaline, dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins to drive increased engagement, meaning, belonging, rapport, assurance, competence, and exclusivity.

Reviews

"This engrossing book shattered my assumption that the hallmark of a great product or service is making things as easy as possible. If you think eliminating effort is the key to good design, get ready to think again."
-Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of THINK AGAIN and host of the TED podcast WorkLife

"Eliminating bad friction is now table stakes. To win you need to engage customers with good friction that makes them stop, pause and even sweat a little."
- Vala Afshar, Chief Digital Evangelist at Salesforce.com

"With friction, we walk. With no friction, we fall on our face. If you are running a business, if you are launching a product or service, this essential book will help you add the right smidgen of friction so that you can walk (or even better, run) toward your goal. Avoid faceplants, read it now."
-Chip Heath, New York Times bestselling author of Switch and Made to Stick, Professor, Stanford Graduate School of Business

192 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 24, 2022

About the author

Soon Yu is an international speaker and best selling author on innovation and design who has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Entrepreneur Magazine and New York Times.

His upcoming book, Iconic Advantage®, challenges businesses, from Fortune 500 to venture-backed startups, to refocus their innovation priorities on building greater iconicity, and offers deeper insights on establishing timeless distinction and relevance. He regularly consults business leaders on developing meaningful Iconic Signature Elements, Signature Moments and Signature Communication.

He most recently served as the Global VP of Innovation and Officer at VF Corporation, parent organization to over 30 global apparel companies, including The North Face, Vans, Timberland, Nautica and Wrangler. While at VF, Soon created a $2 billion innovation pipeline, established 3 global innovation centers, and initiated industry-leading design best practices.

Prior to this he worked at The Clorox Company and Chiquita Brands, where he won company-wide awards for best advertising, best promotion and best new product, and gained industry recognition from the Webby Award, Favorite Website Award and Dope Award. He has also been a consultant at Bain and Company, and a founder and CEO for numerous venture-backed startups (including Gazoontite, Promeo Technologies and TWRL) and was recognized as a Northern California finalist for the prestigious Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” award.

He is a highly sought after speaker on innovation, design and entrepreneurship, and teaches at Parsons School of Design and often guest lectures at Stanford University (where he received his MBA and is active with the GSB Asian Alumni Association).