The going-to-work side of the street.
Thatās where Starbucksā CEO Howard Schultz believed their cafes should be positioned.
Because he knew something simple but powerful: if you make people cross the street, you lose them.
Even tiny bits of friction kill action.
I was thinking about this when a new bookstore opened in my local shops.
Itās a lovely idea in a bad location.
Thereās almost no foot traffic.
No cafƩs nearby.
Nothing to naturally pull people past its window.
Which means visiting the store relies entirely on people knowing itās there and deciding to make a special trip.
In business, we often assume people will take the extra step to do business with us.
They wonāt.
Whether itās a product, a meeting, a form, a sign-up, or a cafĆ©, the smallest friction can be the difference between apathy and action.
Our job isnāt just to create something worth choosing.
Itās to make acting on that choice effortless.
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