Huggy RaoEvery podcast appearance, updated as new ones drop

What it takes to lead as a communicator and communicate as a leader. Leadership isn’t just about making decisions — it’s about how you communicate them. As Matt Abrahams puts it, “Communication is operationalized leadership.” At a recent Me2We event, in connection with Stanford GSB's Executive Education LEAD program, Abrahams held a live discussion with four of the podcast’s most popular guests: Celine Teoh , facilitator of the GSB’s famous Interpersonal Dynamics course; Huggy Rao , organizational behavior professor and co-author of The Friction Project ; legendary Stanford basketball coach Tara VanDerveer ; and Dave Dodson , lecturer and author of The Manager's Handbook . In this special live episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart , the panel shares frameworks and lessons for leading and communicating more effectively. From Teoh’s five A’s for inviting dissent to Rao’s warning against “jargon monoxide,” from VanDerveer’s relationship-first approach to Dodson’s case for leading like a teacher, this conversation explores what it takes to communicate as a leader — and lead as a communicator. Episode Reference Links: Celine Teoh Tara VanDerveer Huggy Rao Huggy’s Book: The Friction Project David Dodson David’s Book: The Manager’s Handbook Ep.194 Live Lessons in Levity and Leadership: Me2We 2025 Part 1 Connect: Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart Premium Email Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.io Episode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart Website Newsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.io Think Fast Talk Smart >>><a href="

Welcome to Brain Snacks, bite sized learning moments from We Are Human Leaders. In today's Brain Snack, Huggy Rao shares the impact of bad friction on our relationships at work and beyond – and shares two examples of how this damage can be avoided. For more, check out the full conversation with Huggy at the link below. For now, enjoy. Find the full episode of We Are Human Leaders with Huggy Rao here https://www.wearehumanleaders.com/podcast/facing-friction-huggy-rao Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ten essential communication strategies designed to elevate your skills. 2024 has been an incredible year for learning and growth, and as we head into 2025, there’s no better time to reflect on the skills and strategies that can shape our communication and careers. In this special episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart , Matt Abrahams takes us through ten standout lessons from the past year. These aren’t just ideas to remember — they’re practices to evolve with. From Priya Parker’s insights on generous authority to Huggy Rao’s call to cut through jargon monoxide, each concept highlights how small shifts in mindset and behavior can lead to big transformations. With actionable advice and real-world examples, this episode is packed with inspiration to help you Think Fast, Talk Smart , and communicate better in the year ahead. Episode Reference Links: Ep.174 Fix Meetings: Transform Gatherings Into Meaningful Moments Ep.164 Using "Pre-suasion" to Influence Others Ep.158 Hope for Cynics: Building Trusting Relationships through Communication Ep.156 Creative Communication: How Our Design Choices Illustrate Our Values Ep.148 Conviction and Compassion: How to Have Hard Conversations Ep.142 Power and Persuasion: Live Insights from Stanford Experts Ep.137 When Words Aren’t Enough: How to Excel at Nonverbal Communication Ep.138 Speak Your Truth: Why Authenticity Leads to Better Communication Ep.134 How to Chat with Bots: The Secrets to Getting the Information You Need from AI Ep.131 Friction Fixing: How to Use Obstacles to Your Advantage Ep.120 A Few of Matt’s Fa

As a nonprofit leader, you navigate the complexities of managing time, resources, staff, and your board. Today's guest, Huggy Rao, wants you to create friction within your organization that makes the right things easier and the wrong things harder. Huggy and Dolph dive into practical strategies for reducing 'bad friction' that wastes time and energy, while advocating for 'good friction' that fosters deliberation and educated decisions. This episode is a must-listen for nonprofit executives seeking actionable advice on enhancing organizational efficiency and culture. Huggy Rao is co-author of the best-selling book "The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder," and other best-selling books. And as a distinguished professor at Stanford Business School, Huggy has also authored "Scaling Up for Excellence" and "Market Rebels." This episode answers the following questions: What is 'bad friction' and how can it be identified and removed? How does 'good friction' benefit an organization? What are the impacts of time poverty and addition bias on organizational efficiency? How can nonprofit leaders effectively manage both types of friction? What simple steps can be taken to make work easier? Links mentioned in this episode: Huggy's Website Friction Project's Co-Author Buy the book The Friction Project <span style= "font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding:

Friction — that’s Professor Huggy Rao ’s metaphor for the forces that hamper workplace efficiency. But as he says, some friction can be helpful — if you know how to use it. In his book, The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder , Rao and coauthor Robert I. Sutton explore how operational obstacles show up in the workplace and, more importantly, what we can do about them. Through what Rao calls “friction fixing,” leaders can “take out the bad friction to make the right things easy to do [and] put in good friction to make the wrong things harder [to do].” As Rao discusses with host Matt Abrahams on this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart , leaders can eliminate bad friction through good communication. “Communication matters a lot,” he says. “The simple rule is, make sure a 10-year-old can understand it on the first try.” Episode Reference Links: Huggy Rao Huggy’s Book: The Friction Project Ep.14 Be Better at Work: How to Communicate Better with Coworkers and Employees Connect: Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart Premium Email Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.io Episode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart Website Newsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.io Think Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn , Instagram , YouTube Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn ******** Thank you to our sponsors. These partnerships support the ongoing production of the podcast, allowing us to bring it to you at no cost. Unleash your Superhuman potential with AI that meets you where you work. Learn more at superhuman.com Join our Think Fast Talk Smart Learni

Send us Fan Mail Do you feel that you are stuck in mire and can’t get things done? Is your organization wasting a lot of time with inefficiency? Are seemingly simple actions overly complicated? Tune in to understand the causes of friction and what to do about them. ⬇️ Connect with me! ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wanda-wallace-publicspeaker-author-podcasthost/ ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wandatwallace/ ► Main YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wandawallace/ ► X: https://x.com/AskWanda ► Website: https://www.wandawallace.com/ 💡 About the show: There is no growth in comfort and no comfort in growth. Business today typically values and promotes leaders for their subject expertise. Leaders who have command of the details and execute based on knowledge and experience are highly respected. However, to grow as a leader you have to get out of your comfort zone – that means learning to lead without just being the expert. Learn to gain the trust and respect of a team that might know more than you do. Get comfortable with ambiguity and with not having all the information. Develop the skills and confidence to lead in a different way. For female leaders, subject expertise is usually the source of their confidence. Learning to lead outside your comfort zone is one step for breaking through the glass ceiling. The show’s purpose is to give you tips on how can you develop the capability to lead – to get out of your comfort zone. #WandaWallace #OutoftheComfortZone #Podcast

“We don’t want our time to be spread thin like peanut butter on a slice of toast. You will have greater impact when you concentrate your efforts on work that is closely tied to winning—however you define it.” Are you working in a frustration factory? If so, it’s important to recognize that not all friction is created equal. Some is good, to slow down decision-making in crucial moments, and some is bad, getting in the way of progress. You’ll need to tap into your inner “grease” and “gunk” sides to address both. In the introduction to their book, The Friction Project , coauthors Huggy Rao and Bob Sutton share a quote from Ed Catmull, former president of Pixar. He believes that if Pixar followed overreaching executives’ advice to wring maximum efficiency and scale out of the organization, it would “kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.” "The goal isn't efficiency, it is to make something good or even great,” Catmull says. “We iterate seven to nine times, with friction in the process.” More About Huggy : Huggy Rao is the Atholl McBean professor of Organizational Behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Science, the Sociological Research Association, and the Academy of Management. He has written for Harvard Business Review, Business Week, and the Wall Street Journal. He is the author of Market Rebels and coauthor of the bestselling book Scaling Up Excellence . Today we’re talking about his new book, also coauthored with Bob Sutton, The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder . 🌟 3 Key Takeaways Think of yourself as a trustee of others’ time: Don’t forget that your company is a product too. Be intentional about how customers (and team members) interact with your business at every step. Grease people vs. gunk people: Grease people are connectors—like WD40—they like to make things easier. Gunk people are more rule and procedure-bound. These are two different aspects of ourselves. Think of your role as Editor-in-Chief of a newspaper: Take away stuff that bores and distracts readers. You also need to do your due dilligence: fact check, interview sources. What’s the cost of serving a large, friction-filled client? Is it really worth it? Are they the right people for you to serve? Don’t be customer compelled, thinking you have to chase every customer. A great company says yes to some customers, and no to others. 📝 Permission Start simple: get rid of stupid stuff. How will you do this every day? Can you have one decision-making rule that a ten year-old would understand? ✅ Do (or Delegate) This Next Do a simple test of friction forensics. Ask: is this a one-way door decision I’m making, one that’s very costly to reverse? There are other decisions where the cost of failure is very low. When you’re making a one-way door decision, put in good friction to slow you down. For the latter, make things very easy for people to do. 🔗 <s

Today’s interview is with Huggy Rao, Atholl McBean Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resources at Stanford Graduate School of Business and co-author of a new book, with Robert Sutton, called: Scaling Up Excellence: Getting to More Without Settling for Less . Huggy joins me today to talk about the book, the key scaling challenges that confront every organization and how you spread pockets of excellence across an organisation. This interview follows on from my recent interview: Transforming the internal customer service experience of your IT dept – Interview with Jason Andrew of BMC Software – and is number ninety-eight in the series of interviews with authors and business leaders that are doing great things, helping businesses innovate, become more social and deliver better service.

In this episode, we’ll define and explore scaling up excellence, the most common mistakes organizations make in scaling and get an insider take on the Strategic Innovation Institute. Rao is Atholl McBean professor of organizational behavior and human resources, director of the managing talent for Strategic Advantage Executive Program and the co-director of the Customer-Focused Innovation Executive Program.