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Work can look “fine” on the org chart and still feel painfully slow in real life. If you’re dealing with messy requirements, unclear cross-functional timelines, disconnected tools, or the same emergencies showing up every quarter, there’s a simple word for the pattern: friction. We close out season three by sharing a section from the introduction of my new book, Predictably Broken, and naming the daily drag that keeps smart teams from delivering value smoothly.

We talk about how operational dysfunction hides in plain sight through micronuisances that don’t always hurt you personally, but absolutely hurt the next step in the workflow. Project notes nobody reopens, decisions that vanish after meetings, and problems that “aren’t anyone’s role” create a perfect storm where recurring fires feel inevitable. Lean thinking and operational transformation start by seeing the system clearly, then choosing to fix causes instead of endlessly treating symptoms.

The most important takeaway is also the simplest: you are enough to start change. Whether you’re a senior leader trying to scale without breaking capacity, a manager caught in the middle, or an individual contributor new to the industry, you can be the spark. Start small, get the right stakeholders in the room, learn what’s really happening at the root, solve one problem, and move to the next.

If you want season four to go deeper on workflow improvement, cross-functional alignment, and practical process improvement, send us a message and tell us what you want to hear. Subscribe, share this with a teammate who’s tired of firefighting, and leave a review so more people can find Lean by Design.

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