Preacher on the Run…

I backed down the driveway and put the car in drive and away I went. As I turned onto the main road it seemed as if the vehicle was a bit more sluggish than usual. Not thinking much about it, I turned up the music, pressed the gas harder, and away I went. The road opened up to be a 4-lane highway and other vehicles began whizzing past me. It seemed odd to me because not only did I like to be moving at the rate of traffic, the engine seemed to be running harder than usual but going slower than it should. It was as if my car was having to run harder than others on the road to move at a slower speed. Ever felt that way in life? Or work?

You get up early. You go to bed late. It feels like you are working non-stop or almost without a break and yet you can’t seem to get ahead. This may ring true for you individually, but it just gets exacerbated on a team or in a business. As the team leader or business owner, you feel like you have a great team. People get their work done. No one is wasting time or company resources, yet still the return on your effort seems to be underperforming compared to your work efforts. Why is that? What may be the problem?

Friction makes all the difference when you are trying to move forward. In the instance of my car, I realized about a mile down the road friction was my problem. I had left the parking brake partially on when I pulled out of the driveway. That added friction made the car run harder and my speed be lower. Once I removed the additional friction, I was off. The same can be true in our personal lives, but especially so on teams and in business. The Farnam Street Article addresses the idea of friction in its post “Friction: The Hidden Force Holding You Back“.

I found the article to be enlightening and provided me with a different perspective, not only for the team I lead, but even as I examined my own workflow and habits. Friction is something we all feel daily and often with work. The article is helpful to give us ideas to identify it, how to eliminate it, and what to do when we find it on our teams. What do you think? How has friction affected your work and life? What have you done to address it?

I always love hearing from my readers, so shoot me a comment, email, or note anytime. And as always don’t forget to be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day.

_{Photo by Sandeep Singh on Unsplash}