Fuel & Friction

The Forces That Drive or Destroy Momentum

An organization operates like a vehicle, and progress toward the desired destination is affected by two opposing forces: Fuel and Friction. The balance between these forces determines how far, fast, and efficiently the organization moves.

Fuel drives momentum. It consists of the actions, decisions, and investments that generate meaningful progress. It’s the work that delivers impact—projects that align with strategy, talent that drives innovation, and systems that improve efficiency. A vehicle with the right amount of fuel moves powerfully with purpose, covering ground without unnecessary strain.

Friction, however, slows everything down. It takes many forms, including bureaucratic delays, redundant meetings, misaligned priorities, outdated processes, and insufficient resources. Some of it is unavoidable. A vehicle needs a degree of friction to maintain control. Without it, tires lose grip, making navigation unpredictable. But too much friction—like driving with the parking brake engaged—causes unnecessary wear, wastes energy, and limits movement.

Organizations often err by focusing solely on fuel. They add more projects, expand teams, and launch new initiatives, expecting superior results. But no amount of fuel can overcome excessive friction. A car with a full tank and a powerful engine will not move if its wheels are stuck in mud. The best-intended plans or any amount of spending will fail to gain traction without removing the excess weight in the car first.

Consider a growing technology company. Leadership sees an opportunity to enter a new market and immediately increases hiring, invests in marketing, and accelerates product development. The fuel is there—resources, ambition, and a clear objective. However, the hiring process becomes slower beneath the surface due to multiple stages and lengthy onboarding. The marketing team spends weeks receiving input and approval from other departments, delaying campaigns. Manufacturing faces bottlenecks because existing systems weren’t designed for this scaling level. Despite using the proper octane fuel for success, progress is sluggish, frustration spreads, and morale plummets.

Contrast that with an organization that understands the need to manage friction. Before accelerating, it assesses the road conditions ahead. Decision-making is decentralized but not eliminated, and teams are empowered with autonomy. As a result, when fuel is applied, the organization adapts efficiently.

Not All Friction Is Bad

Fuel alone is not enough. More effort will not lead to better results if friction is not addressed. You want more friction if there’s ice, but you put the pedal down when the sun has dried out your path. If the tires can’t grip the road, acceleration means nothing. Rapid movement brings instability, misalignment, and wasted effort without structure, discipline, and control.

Too little friction results in spin-outs. A company that removes too many processes in the name of efficiency struggles to maintain consistency. Projects move quickly, but execution becomes sloppy.

Friction provides checkpoints to prevent reckless decisions. It ensures accountability so that scaling doesn’t become a disorganized expansion. It reinforces quality control so that shortcuts don’t cause long-term damage.

Look at an organization that eliminates all approval processes to speed up decision-making. Initially, everything moves faster. Expenses are approved quickly, marketing campaigns are launched without delay, and hiring decisions are made on the spot. But before long, spending spirals out of control, brand consistency erodes, and new hires don’t meet expectations. What started as a move toward efficiency turned into costly misalignment.

The goal isn’t to eliminate friction but to identify which is required and which is wasteful. Bureaucracy that forces teams to seek unnecessary approvals? Friction that slows progress without adding value. A structured decision-making framework that prevents reckless spending? Friction that protects long-term sustainability. Long meetings with no action items? Friction that drains energy. Strategy discussions that provide transparency to all stakeholders? Friction that keeps the organization stable.

The challenge is knowing where to draw the line. The right balance allows an organization to move quickly without losing control. Organizations that master this balance move fast and purposefully, maintaining speed without sacrificing stability.

The Science of Fuel and Friction

Patterns of efficiency and inefficiency appear everywhere—in business, physics, nature, and even human behaviour. When applied correctly, a small percentage of effort drives the majority of results. This isn’t a theory. It’s observable.

A well-tuned organization functions the same way. The right fuel—high-impact decisions, key individuals, and strategic initiatives—pushes performance forward. The wrong friction—unnecessary complexity and bureaucratic slowdowns—dilutes progress.

Consider any sales team. A small number of people consistently bring the majority of deals. These individuals are fuel, pushing revenue forward with precision. But what about the rest of the team? Some struggle because they prioritize administrative tasks and tweaking presentations. Others get caught up in internal meetings, debating minor details rather than engaging customers. These inefficiencies aren’t a lack of effort but an unnecessary drain that limits overall impact.

In manufacturing, a handful of high-functioning processes produce most of the output, while inefficient workflows slow production. A small set of product features delivers the most user engagement, while excess complexity increases support costs and churn rate. In leadership, a few decisive actions shape company success, while hesitation and overanalysis create bottlenecks.

Why Most Companies Get It Wrong

Many organizations confuse activity with progress. They believe more emails, meetings, and people will create momentum. But motion without direction doesn’t guarantee progress.

The common mistake is trying to accelerate without reducing drag. When leadership sees a problem, it responds by hiring additional staff, launching new initiatives, and increasing budgets. However, if the root problem is friction, these efforts will create more resistance.

A company struggling with slow innovation might respond by expanding its R&D team, hoping that more resources will generate breakthroughs. But if the issue is excessive approval processes, risk aversion, or internal politics, the extra fuel won’t help. It will simply burn up in the bureaucratic gridlock.

A retailer facing declining customer satisfaction invests heavily in marketing to attract new buyers. If its problems are slow service, poor product quality, or complicated return policies, no amount of advertising will fix them. Customers will still walk away frustrated.

The thriving organizations maximize fuel efficiency by identifying and amplifying what works, eliminating excess weight and drag, and maintaining enough traction to prevent instability. They understand that sustainable velocity comes from continually refining the system.

Shaping a High-Velocity Culture

Organizations don’t set their pace magically—leadership does. Every decision, priority, and process either increases momentum or slows it down. A well-led company moves with focus, while a poorly led one burns out or grinds to a halt.

Leadership that implements or tolerates too much friction builds a stagnant machine. Internal meetings pile up, and approvals become obstacles. Progress requires navigating a maze of policies and politics. Eventually, the weight becomes unbearable, and the organization slows to a crawl. In this environment, innovation dies, and talent disengages.

On the other hand, reckless fuelling use is just as destructive. Leaders who push for speed without regard for structure risk creating a chaotic, unsustainable pace. Employees are driven hard but given no guardrails. Resources are spread thin across too many initiatives. People burn out. The organization doesn’t slow down—it breaks down.

The most effective leaders deliberately manage both forces. They empower teams to identify and challenge unnecessary complexity and maintain enough structure to provide stability and control.

The result? Velocity. Efficiency. Resilience.

• Velocity comes from focused energy—directing resources toward high-impact work rather than scattering effort across too many initiatives.

• Efficiency comes from eliminating drag—reducing waste, complexity, and bottlenecks that slow progress.

• Resilience comes from maintaining control—having the right friction for stability without limiting momentum.

  
  

What You Can Do Right Now

✔ Identify one source to empower with more fuel. What is already driving results? What should get more attention, more investment, or more support? Where is progress being slowed? What approvals, processes, or routines need to be simplified or removed?

✔ Make "Fuel or Friction?" part of your leadership mindset. Before approving a new project, launching a new initiative, or introducing a new policy, ask if this adds fuel or creates friction.

The road ahead is open, and you are responsible for the speed, direction, and endurance.