Ixonos : Friction Thinking – a must-have for digital business

Wikipedia describes friction as '…the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other'. At the core of friction is kinetic energy which transfers into thermal energy - case which is best illustrated as how to start a fire by rubbing two pieces of wood together. Controlling fire gave humans tremendous advantage to survive and increase their living comforts through warmth and food preparation.

While friction has been one of the major positive inventions by humans, it also has been considered as an unwanted element. Since it is based on kinetic energy which prevents movement, humans have needed to think ways to remove it when applications are benefiting from undisturbed movement. It was great Leonardo Da Vinci who first discovered friction and why it is happening.

Friction in a digital world - for the better services

These observations belong to real, or in other words analog world, and are quite easily understandable from utilization point of view. What we in our team have noticed though is that understanding friction in digital opens up extraordinary possibilities to enhance products or services alike. It is simply a matter of paying attention to tiny details and categorizing friction into two categories: Positive and Negative Friction.

Positive Friction signals business

Positive Friction means finding a detail, item, or observation which creates a 'spark' in product, service or business model. It is about finding something that will create demand from users, making them want the product or service. It is about finding the friction that has habitual element - it becomes a habit in user's life.

Finding positive friction means that innovation (service or product) is

- Convenient
- Consistent
- Congenial

In the modern world, innovations move horizontally, from industry to industry, thus making finding a big idea or innovation difficult. Here is where friction thinking helps - it makes you focus on tiniest details, understanding its role and meaning and through this giving space for digital innovation at its best.

Take AirBnB, successful lodging service based on sharing economy. It wasn't making a dent in the universe after launch, but one single friction caused it to have a spark. Instead giving home owners to do the photography of the properties themselves, AirBnB invested into high quality photography. In other words, they found a congenial factor to make the service more lucrative, engaging and at the end of the day, relevant.

In short, Positive Friction is about creating business.

Negative Friction leads to a land of hidden opportunity

Negative Friction on the other hand is about finding items, which are preventing the natural or more efficient, pleasant or habitual utilization from happening. We can see these everywhere, and Negative Friction has been one of the items that especially IT world has recognized - it is a way to save money. But that is not all what we mean with Negative Friction.

Like Positive Friction, Negative Friction can be used to create new ideas, products and services. We live in the busier world than ever before, making us numb on things that cause us stress or inefficiency. We humans are remarkably adaptive; when we find an obstacle, rather than finding way to remove it, we find a way to accommodate in our lives, and forget that it is not actually the best way to do things. For example Uber can be considered to be born out of Negative Friction thinking. You want to get from A to B, and the usual way is to take a taxi. However, before Uber

- You didn't know the driver who was coming to pick you up
- Didn't know the vehicle s/he is driving
- How the driver has managed to serve clients before you
- How long does it take the ride to arrive
- Estimated cost
- Simply hop in and hop out conveniently

When you think about these qualities, why wouldn't you want to have them? They are something that once found are so essential that it is hard to take a ride without. They set the new level of user expectation on ride sharing service. It is about turning Negative Frictions into a positive opportunity.

Friction Thinking proves it - the devil is still in the details

Tens, if not hundreds of Positive and Negative Frictions surround us every day in our personal and work life. Our company may ask us give ideas how to work better, more efficiently, have more ideas for business. Our personal life may have obstacles that we are so used to have that we think them as givens, norms. But this means that we are not seeing wonderful opportunities to create new, exciting things which digital can bring into life.

I´d say that friction thinking is the starting point in understanding the disruptive forces and how to turn them into digital business models and services. Friction thinking is in the core for those who deal with business design, craving to find that little extra special that will improve the user experience of their existing service. And also to those who want to conquer something totally unexpected, never seen before.

Future is not only about hunting for the big ideas; it is about finding the smart ideas, which can be found on the smallest details. Link smart ideas together and they create a greater spark than a single idea.

Yes, you can spark your business with Friction Thinking.