Friction Reduction

The north star: reduce internal friction so teams can serve customers better.

All AI work should trace back to this. Not "AI for AI's sake" - operational excellence through reduced friction.

What Friction Looks Like

• Teams spending 40% of time on manual data wrangling
• Knowledge locked in individuals' heads
• Communication overhead between systems and departments
• Repetitive tasks that drain energy from creative work

The Test

For any AI initiative, ask: "Does this reduce friction for serving customers?"

If the answer is unclear, the initiative is probably technology for technology's sake.

Why This Matters

The companies that win aren't the ones with the most AI features. They're the ones where humans can focus on what humans do best - creativity, relationships, judgment - because AI handles the operational friction.

Contrarian To

"We need AI because competitors have AI"