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Farther, Faster, and Far Less Drama: How to Reduce Stress and Make Extraordinary Progress Wherever You Lead
Farther, Faster, and Far Less Drama outlines a deceptively simple set of behaviors that everyday leaders can follow to align teams and make meaningful progress quickly.
Everyone—from team leaders, to consultants, to stay-at-home parents—wishes life could be simpler in this fast-paced world, but that often feels impossible.
It doesn’t have to.
Janice and Jason Fraser have been using their method for decades to help all kinds of people—including Navy SEALs, startup CEOs, and Fortune 100 executives—make progress in both their professional and personal lives by solving hard problems with grace.
The approach is simple but powerful, calling on readers to:
• orient honestly
• value outcomes
• leverage brains
• make durable decisions
You will set and achieve goals faster, make complex problems more manageable, and conduct yourself with integrity, even during overwhelming circumstances. It’s a practical, ambitious, and humane guide for everyday leaders striving to persist and thrive in today’s enormously stressful landscape.
Farther, Faster, and Far Less Drama offers theory alongside hands-on exercises, formulas, and frameworks that can all be adapted to real-life situations.
The world around you might constantly be in flux, but you don’t have to be. With Farther, Faster, and Far Less Drama, you’ll be empowered to make efficient progress with less stress—every single day.
Everyone—from team leaders, to consultants, to stay-at-home parents—wishes life could be simpler in this fast-paced world, but that often feels impossible.
It doesn’t have to.
Janice and Jason Fraser have been using their method for decades to help all kinds of people—including Navy SEALs, startup CEOs, and Fortune 100 executives—make progress in both their professional and personal lives by solving hard problems with grace.
The approach is simple but powerful, calling on readers to:
• orient honestly
• value outcomes
• leverage brains
• make durable decisions
You will set and achieve goals faster, make complex problems more manageable, and conduct yourself with integrity, even during overwhelming circumstances. It’s a practical, ambitious, and humane guide for everyday leaders striving to persist and thrive in today’s enormously stressful landscape.
Farther, Faster, and Far Less Drama offers theory alongside hands-on exercises, formulas, and frameworks that can all be adapted to real-life situations.
The world around you might constantly be in flux, but you don’t have to be. With Farther, Faster, and Far Less Drama, you’ll be empowered to make efficient progress with less stress—every single day.
304 pages, Hardcover
Published April 11, 2023
34 people are currently reading
201 people want to read
About the author
Janice Fraser
6 books1 followerFor updates, follow Janice on social media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janicefra...
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/janiceleefr...
Janice is an ambitious and empathetic leader, enthusiastic public speaker, and advisor to innovation executives and startup founders.
Janice built a storied career in Silicon Valley as a startup founder, product manager, and confidante for entrepreneurs and enterprise executives alike. She currently supports “VLOs” (very large organizations) including P&G in becoming more innovative and agile. She also guides several venture-funded startup companies, federal government entities, and non-profit organizations, helping them do more with less, make bold moves and achieve extraordinary results.
She sits on the board of the Ohio University Entrepreneur Center and served on The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine workshop committee focused on the innovation ecosystem for NASA. Janice has been a guest lecturer at Harvard Business School, Berkeley HAAS School of Business, Kellogg School of Management, and Stanford, among others.
Janice is a sought-after speaker offering audiences the opportunity to learn from her experiences and sharpen their leadership skills, make meaningful progress quickly, and drive business transformation.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janicefra...
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/janiceleefr...
Janice is an ambitious and empathetic leader, enthusiastic public speaker, and advisor to innovation executives and startup founders.
Janice built a storied career in Silicon Valley as a startup founder, product manager, and confidante for entrepreneurs and enterprise executives alike. She currently supports “VLOs” (very large organizations) including P&G in becoming more innovative and agile. She also guides several venture-funded startup companies, federal government entities, and non-profit organizations, helping them do more with less, make bold moves and achieve extraordinary results.
She sits on the board of the Ohio University Entrepreneur Center and served on The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine workshop committee focused on the innovation ecosystem for NASA. Janice has been a guest lecturer at Harvard Business School, Berkeley HAAS School of Business, Kellogg School of Management, and Stanford, among others.
Janice is a sought-after speaker offering audiences the opportunity to learn from her experiences and sharpen their leadership skills, make meaningful progress quickly, and drive business transformation.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 5, 2023
The techniques and way of life described in this book form a set of super powers anyone can master. Don't be fooled by their apparent simplicity. Teams and individuals embracing the method will transform their execution and inspire others for the best. I'm often astonished by the difference between how little these tools are known compared to how impactful they can be. After reading this book and practicing for a few years, you'll be able to facilitate most of the trickiest interpersonal situations in your life whether it's at home or at work.
May 12, 2023
AMAZING! Best book I’ve read this year by far (#1/~50), really easy to read, digest, apply, and very accessible. I listened on audio to get the overview and had to keep pausing to write stuff down, so glad I also have the Kindle to highlight. Going to buy this for mentees and start applying in my work projects and personal life. Had no idea it was going to be this good. Seriously. Read it!
August 4, 2023
I received a copy of this book for free after hearing Janice Fraser speak recently at a product management conference. Her talk was very personal and compelling: we should stop lionizing autocratic leaders like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk, not only because autocracy is not actually the most effective way to get things done, but because autocracy creates unnecessary drama (which we already have too much of in our lives) and the drama can potentially trigger emotional trauma that some of us have. It was on this basis that I was interested to read Fraser's book.
Unfortunately, it is not what I expected. True, Fraser's book presents a framework for decision-making (who should be included, who has decision-making rights, diverge-converge approaches) that is effectively her take on many of the tools out there that already exist. What Fraser doesn't address is how to implement any of this if leaders in organizations aren't willing to invest in defining the decision-making system. (In other words, give up on autocracy.) It's not that Fraser's book lacks utility, exactly; it's just that it misses the opportunity to provide a differentiated perspective on top of the system that she defines.
I also couldn't help but notice that there's this sort of myopic Bay Area hypergrowth-VC set of assumptions baked into the book; to wit, the notion that we should want to reduce the level of drama not chiefly because we want to lower our emotional temperature and blood pressure, but because doing so allows us to grow and do things faster. I truly object to statements like "the slowest things are going to be in our lives is right now", as though the double derivative of growth acceleration is either sustainable or mirrored in any systems in nature. Not to mention that stating these phrases like some kind of law of nature ignores the fact that we, as humans, have agency to change this! The subtle promotion of a Milton Friedman-esque neocapitalist value system -- that, by the way, has not exactly resulted in great outcomes for our planet and its climate, or economic equality in our society -- as justification for why her framework should be adopted just rings hollow to me.
Otherwise, as I said, as a set of tools for governing group decision-making: totally fine. Hence really somewhere between 3 and 4 stars.
Unfortunately, it is not what I expected. True, Fraser's book presents a framework for decision-making (who should be included, who has decision-making rights, diverge-converge approaches) that is effectively her take on many of the tools out there that already exist. What Fraser doesn't address is how to implement any of this if leaders in organizations aren't willing to invest in defining the decision-making system. (In other words, give up on autocracy.) It's not that Fraser's book lacks utility, exactly; it's just that it misses the opportunity to provide a differentiated perspective on top of the system that she defines.
I also couldn't help but notice that there's this sort of myopic Bay Area hypergrowth-VC set of assumptions baked into the book; to wit, the notion that we should want to reduce the level of drama not chiefly because we want to lower our emotional temperature and blood pressure, but because doing so allows us to grow and do things faster. I truly object to statements like "the slowest things are going to be in our lives is right now", as though the double derivative of growth acceleration is either sustainable or mirrored in any systems in nature. Not to mention that stating these phrases like some kind of law of nature ignores the fact that we, as humans, have agency to change this! The subtle promotion of a Milton Friedman-esque neocapitalist value system -- that, by the way, has not exactly resulted in great outcomes for our planet and its climate, or economic equality in our society -- as justification for why her framework should be adopted just rings hollow to me.
Otherwise, as I said, as a set of tools for governing group decision-making: totally fine. Hence really somewhere between 3 and 4 stars.
February 18, 2024
Many of the concepts that the Frasers discuss are ones I had heard of before, like:
1. Meetings are often ineffective because they're status updates or too freeform
2. 100% agreement is unnecessary for progress, i.e. get used to "disagree and commit"
3. OKRs, kanban boards, and 2x2 matrices are all good tools for defining strategies, priorities, and action items
What I found more valuable and relatively novel was the emphasis on decentering yourself, checking your ego, and exercising empathy. Most of the conversation around leadership is weirdly Machiavellian and deeply individualistic. It's nice to hear people advocating for
deep love and respect for others when communicating. We can all get better at listening, framing questions that invite others into the conversation, and facilitating a "no shame" environment where failure is accepted as an opportunity to learn and grow.
1. Meetings are often ineffective because they're status updates or too freeform
2. 100% agreement is unnecessary for progress, i.e. get used to "disagree and commit"
3. OKRs, kanban boards, and 2x2 matrices are all good tools for defining strategies, priorities, and action items
What I found more valuable and relatively novel was the emphasis on decentering yourself, checking your ego, and exercising empathy. Most of the conversation around leadership is weirdly Machiavellian and deeply individualistic. It's nice to hear people advocating for
deep love and respect for others when communicating. We can all get better at listening, framing questions that invite others into the conversation, and facilitating a "no shame" environment where failure is accepted as an opportunity to learn and grow.
March 17, 2023
Great book for companies, offices, businesses, and schools. Not something I would usually read but I like the tools they give for social cues, communication, and especially for meetings! i learned some new things today through this read. Thank you to the publisher for letting me read this on NetGalley.
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June 22, 2023Janice Fraser & Jason Fraser's book "Further, Faster, and Far Less Drama" didn't disappoint. Already pointed a few coaching clients at it. Recommended.
I found their framing of "durable decisions" especially valuable.
I found their framing of "durable decisions" especially valuable.
October 5, 2023
Finishing this book took me forever... on purpose. I found it so helpful and encouraging that I wanted to just keep reading. It felt like Janice and Jason were walking alongside me, sharing gentle and wise counsel. Highly recommend!
April 20, 2023
If you lead or operate in teams, you should read this book. Fantastic and concise.
August 10, 2023
All time classic methods. Thanks!
December 6, 2025
really enjoyed it, will read through the workshop sections again
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews