Errata · Updated August 18, 2026
FRICTION
by Ross Blankenship and Maggie Sass
The following corrections were identified after the first printing and were made in the current ebook prior to release. These changes will be incorporated into the second print run. We are grateful to readers who help us keep this book accurate; if you spot an error not listed here, please contact us at [email protected].
Data Corrections
Root Cause: Generational Miscoding
A data-processing error was identified in how survey respondent’s birth year was converted to generation from the raw survey instrument. This has been corrected, and all generation-based figures and generational narrative claims throughout Chapter 4 were rerun. The four rows below are where this root-cause error surfaced directly in the manuscript’s own text.
| Location | Original Text | Corrected Text |
|---|---|---|
| p. 53 | Across every generation we surveyed, from Baby Boomers to Gen Z, roughly 60%* of respondents agreed that emotional intelligence will matter even more in the future of work. | Across generations, from Baby Boomers to Gen Z, a majority of respondents — roughly 60% among Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z, and about half among Boomers and the Silent Generation — agreed that emotional intelligence will matter even more in the future of work. |
| p. 59 | (β = −.11, p < .001) | (β = −.10, p < .001) |
| p. 62 | In workplaces where leaders are expected to keep their emotions hidden, lower EQ is associated with sharply higher drain. That is, if you work in a high-friction environment where the cultural rule is that leaders conceal their feelings, having low EQ means your emotional drain rises steeply with the friction. Higher EQ flattens that curve, and significantly. The increase in drain is still there, but it is shallower. EQ does not remove the friction, but it acts as a buffer to reduce how painful that friction feels. This is the shield metaphor made precise. A shield doesn’t stop the battle, but it can protect you against what the battle could do to you. The paradox embedded in this finding is worth considering: We also found that in strongly punitive emotional cultures, higher EQ is associated with slightly greater strain compared to lower EQ. This seems counterintuitive, but higher emotional awareness, in a culture that punishes emotion, means you notice the punishment more acutely. You see the norm operating. You recognize what’s happening to others and to yourself. That awareness is, simultaneously, what allows you to navigate more skillfully and what makes the navigation more conscious and more costly. | In workplaces where showing emotion is treated as a sign of weakness, higher EQ is associated with sharply higher drain. That is, if you work in a high-friction environment where the cultural rule is that emotions equal weakness, having high EQ means your emotional drain rises steeply with the friction. It's not that higher EQ flattens that curve, it's the opposite: higher EQ steepens it. The increase in drain is still there for everyone, but it's the emotionally aware who feel it most sharply. EQ does not remove the friction here; if anything, it sharpens your awareness of it, which is what drives the added strain. This seems counterintuitive, but higher emotional awareness, in a culture that punishes emotion, means you notice the punishment more acutely. You see the norm operating and recognize what's happening to others and to yourself. That awareness is, simultaneously, what allows you to navigate more skillfully and what makes the navigation more conscious and more costly. |
| p. 234 | Sixty percent of workers across every generation already | Sixty percent of workers already |
Other Chapter 4 Corrections
| Location | Original Text | Corrected Text |
|---|---|---|
| p. 54 | “...less than three minutes to act...” | “...less than four minutes to act...” |
| p. 58 | U.S. research from Eagle Hill Consulting found that 54% of Gen Z report burnout, compared to 29% of Boomers. | U.S. research from Eagle Hill Consulting found that 66% of Gen Z report burnout, compared to 37% of Boomers. |
| p. 58 | Gen Z workers are also reaching peak burnout at age 25, roughly 17 years earlier than the national average of 42. | Gen Z and millennial workers also report reaching peak burnout at age 25, roughly 17 years earlier than the national average of 42. |
| p. 59 | Across our four systemic-norm indicators | Across our three systemic-norm indicators |
| p. 60 | Nearly half of workers report… | Nearly thirty percent of workers report |
| p. 61 | 3.3 out of 5 | 3 out of 5 |
| p. 61 | Analysis of 4,312 participants suggested a robust positive effect of training on participants’ emotional intelligence score. | Analysis of 4,312 participants suggested a moderate positive effect of training on participants’ emotional intelligence score. |
All Other Factual / Data Corrections (Outside Chapter 4)
| Location | Original Text | Corrected Text |
|---|---|---|
| p. 11 | First class cadets (seniors) | Forth-class cadets |
| p. 37 | Defined culture as patterns of shared behavior | Defined culture as patterns of shared assumptions |
| p. 87 | Short, frequent activity breaks during sedentary work improve task-processing speed and prefrontal activation. | Short, frequent activity breaks during sedentary work have been shown to improve task-processing speed while reducing prefrontal cortex activation, a marker of the brain working more efficiently, not harder. |
| p. 88 | …improved processing speed and prefrontal task activation… | …improved processing speed and reduced prefrontal task activation… |
| p. 92 | match your earlier forecast. | match your current view. |
| p. 116 | draws from the same finite pool of mental resources, and that pool depletes | draws down your capacity for good judgment, and that capacity is finite, |
| p. 142 | depletion of dopamine | overactivation of the body’s threat and distress response |
| p. 142 | burnout, characterized as emotional exhaustion, withdrawal, depersonalization, and a decreased sense of personal accomplishment. | burnout, characterized as emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a decreased sense of personal accomplishment. |
| p. 169 | If you grew up around restrained affection* *If you grew up around restrained affection (and our research found that 74% of people did) or built your career on being the unflappable one, offering warm, direct appreciation may feel strangely hard, even when it’s true. | If you grew up around restrained affection* *A related pattern shows up in our data. In our National Emotions Survey, 74% of respondents said emotions were not openly discussed or expressed in their home growing up. |
Citation / Attribution
| Location | Original Text | Corrected Text |
|---|---|---|
| p. 12 | As journalist Meghan O’Gieblyn describes it: | As Anna Wiener describes it in Uncanny Valley: |
| p. 67 | Anne articulated that spirit… | Anne-Laure articulated that spirit… |
| p. 78 | Ben Quinn | Brendan Quinn |
| p. 111 | In fact, one of the prominent frameworks in organizational psychology, the Competing Values Framework, is built on exactly this tension: Our values don’t exist in isolation; they exist in ongoing competition with each other. Achievement, relationships, intellectual pursuits, community engagement. We cannot devote maximum time and energy to all of them simultaneously, a reality that comes into particularly sharp relief in midlife. | In fact, one of the prominent frameworks in organizational psychology, the Competing Values Framework, is built on exactly this kind of tension: organizations, like people, can't maximize competing priorities (i.e., stability and flexibility, internal cohesion and external results) all at once. Psychologist Shalom Schwartz found the same pattern in individuals: our personal values don't exist in isolation; they exist in ongoing competition with each other. Achievement, relationships, intellectual pursuits, community engagement. We cannot devote maximum time and energy to all of them simultaneously, a reality that comes into particularly sharp relief in midlife. |
| p. 126 | Brodie Riordan’s Feedback Fundamentals and Evidence-Based Best Practices: Give It, Ask for It, Use It. New York: Routledge, 2023. | Brodie Gregory Riordan's Feedback Fundamentals: Give It, Ask for It, Use It, 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2026. |
| p. 127 | Sociologists call this | Social psychologists |
| p. 128 | One paper memorably calls suppression the “second-hand smoke” of emotion regulation. | As psychologist Daniel Goleman puts it, unmanaged emotion leaks onto the people around you like secondhand smoke, which is exactly what suppression fails to prevent. |
| p. 128 | “Episode Title.” | “How this Podcast Could Fail.” |
| p. 131 | Francesca Gino, a behavioral scientist at Harvard Business School, has | A 2018 Harvard Business Review survey of more than 3,000 employees found |
| p. 206 | Netflix show | IFC show |
Minor Content Adjustments
| Location | Original Text | Corrected Text |
|---|---|---|
| p. 53-54 | “IQ has a place, but it’s not the only thing needed in the world. If you just have IQ without EQ, it’s just a waste of IQ.” | “IQ has a place, but it’s not the only thing that’s needed in the world…I’ve always felt, at least leaders, if you just have IQ without EQ, it’s just a waste of IQ.” |
| p. 60 | 3.7/5 | 3.7/5* *The EQ Skill Index was measured on a 1-to-6 scale (mean = 4.41). For comparability with this chapter's other measures, that score has been rescaled to a 1-to-5 equivalent (4.41 × 5/6 = 3.67, rounded to 3.7). |
| p. 68 | As Le Cunff puts it, “not all experiments need to happen inside the problem space . . . experiments help when the problem is too painful to touch directly.” | As Le Cunff puts it, “not all experiments need to happen inside the problem space…if the problem is too painful to touch directly, experimenting with something completely different can be more effective than pushing through.” |
| p. 74 | “live deliberately” to face the essential facts | "live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life," |
| p. 136 | "I'm giving you this feedback because I have high expectations and I know you can reach them." | "I'm giving you these comments because I have very high expectations and I know that you can reach them." |
| p. 150 | “I am giving you these comments because I have very high expectations; I am confident you can reach them.” | “I’m giving you these comments because I have very high expectations and I am confident you can reach them.” |
| p. 156 | desired business outcomes. | desired business and human outcomes. |
| p. 171 | “when you catch people doing things right.” | when you "catch people doing something right." |
Continuity / Cross-Reference
| Location | Original Text | Corrected Text |
|---|---|---|
| p. 62 | Number 8. EQ is a Shield, Not a Cure | Number 8. EQ Sees More, Feels More |
| p. 75 | 10 minutes daily | 45-50 minutes daily |
| p. 101 | Duration: 7 days | Duration: One sitting |
| p. 117 | The Cosi order always arrived. | The lunch order always arrived. |
| p. 140 | Materials: Nothing required | A notebook or notes app |
| p. 140 | 5 minutes to debrief after a repair conversation | 10–15 minutes of preparation; a few minutes to close the loop within the following week |
| p. 156 | One meeting, 60-90 minutes | 2–3 days (send prompts 24 hours ahead, allow 24–48 hours for reflection, then hold a 60–90 minute session) |
| p. 166 | Time Required: 5 minutes daily | Time Required: 5–6 minutes daily, plus a 15-minute conversation at week's end |
| p. 167 | Where else could this matter?: | Elsewhere: |
| p. 169 | Be a Superpower Scout | See the Real Work |
| p. 171 | Step 4. | Step Four. |
| p. 200 | Balance: Hybrid… | Equity: Hybrid… |
| p. 200 | -- | Repair: Connection barriers are identified and addressed |
| p. 202 | 30 minutes upfront, 5 minutes per week during the experiment | 45 minutes upfront, 5 minutes per week during the experiment, 15 minutes to evaluate at the end |
| p. 211 | 45 minutes upfront, 10 minutes per week during the experiment | 45 minutes upfront, 10 minutes per week during the experiment, 15 minutes to evaluate at the end |
| p. 214 | 45 minutes upfront | 40 minutes upfront, 5 minutes per day during the experiment, 15 minutes to evaluate at the end |
| p. 217 | Two hours upfront, one hour per week during the experiment | 2 hours 15 minutes upfront, one hour per week during the experiment, one hour to evaluate at the end |
| p. 230 | Two hours upfront, one hour per week during the experiment | Three hours upfront, one hour per week during the experiment |
Copyediting Corrections
| Location | Original Text | Corrected Text |
|---|---|---|
| first page of Praise | The Simple Truths of Leadership | Simple Truths of Leadership |
| Second page of praise | Life Cycle of a CEO | The Life Cycle of a CEO |
| Third page of praise | Friction: How Tension, Emotion and Change Reveal Better Leaders | Friction: How Tension, Emotion, and Change Reveal Better Leaders |
| third page of Praise | PHD’s | PhDs |
| Copyright page | Ph.D. | PhD |
| p. xiv | These are not problems to push past before you’ve considered to them | These are not problems to push past before you’ve considered them |
| p. 6 | Part I. | Part 1. |
| p. 11 | spitfires | Spitfires |
| p. 16 | We want to you to consider | We want you to consider |
| p. 20 | What Sutton and Rao do well | Where Sutton and Rao do well |
| p. 21 | You can thank hybrid, remote, and geographically dispersed teams making it harder than ever to connect and build culture | You can thank hybrid, remote, and geographically dispersed teams for making it harder than ever to connect and build culture |
| p. 22 | In real life organizations | In real-life organizations |
| p. 23 | There is the visible work: the project plan, the numbers, the org chart, the project plan, the decision. | There is the visible work: the project plan, the numbers, the org chart, the decision. |
| p. 29 | hurling accusations of malfeasance at the Jessep | hurling accusations of malfeasance at Jessup |
| p. 29 | Jessep | Jessup |
| p. 38 | And consistent ways of responding to circumstances is how emotional patterns become cultural assumptions. | And consistent ways of responding to circumstances are how emotional patterns become cultural assumptions. |
| p. 39 | so we can work with them rather, than being driven by them unconsciously? | so we can work with them rather than being driven by them unconsciously? |
| p. 41 | “friction field,” | “Friction Field,” |
| p. 43 | annual reviews don’t work | annual reviews don’t always work |
| p. 44 | are more motivated, engaged, productive, and less likely to turnover. | are more motivated, engaged, productive, and less likely to leave. |
| p. 44 | in a way that allows us manage it more effectively. | in a way that allows us to manage it more effectively. |
| p. 54 | 1970s or 80s | 1970s or ‘80s |
| p. 56 | has cerebral palsy | had cerebral palsy |
| p. 59 | 1970s or 80s | 1970s or ‘80s |
| p. 60 | EQ may not be not a silver | EQ may not be a silver |
| p. 63 | In fact, we evolved to strategically use the environment as an extension of itself. | In fact, we evolved to strategically use the environment as an extension of ourselves. |
| p. 67, 68 | le Cunff | Le Cunff |
| p. 70 | Build The Pool | Build the Pool |
| p. 98 | prompt | prompts |
| p. 143 | feels to lead them well but | feels to lead them well, but |
| p. 156 | This is the ambition | The ambition |
| p. 157 | watch for is who | watch for who |
| p. 159 | of the certainty | release of the certainty |
| p. 178 | Developers were deeply attached Fugue to Mac OS 9. Bach’s Toccata and in D | Developers were deeply attached to Mac OS 9, Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D |
| p. 180 | What you build over time besides just better meetings, it is… | What you build over time besides just better meetings, is… |
| p. 185 | What remains is a completed form, A closed notification, | What remains is a completed form, a closed notification, |
| p. 207 | without much though | without much thought |
| p. 209 | don’t abandon the goal and adjust | don't abandon the goal, but adjust the design." |
This list will be updated as additional corrections are identified. Last updated August 18, 2026.