Frictionless Blog
Posts that help companies and executives refine their brand positioning and provide tips for sales teams and content creators to build “frictionless” messaging (case studies, RFP responses, negotiation tools, and long-form content) that demonstrates how their organization uniquely resolves customer pain points.
The Preface, the Pause, and the Throwaway Reply
Aaron Strout gave the preface of his leadership book to his wife. Then he recorded the audiobook and heard what he'd missed across two decades of his own interviews. Both choices point to the same lesson about executive voice: the version of you that survives scrutiny is the one observed from the other side of the table.
Your interviews are better than you think (and worse than they could be)
Most teams record client interviews and never watch them again. That's where the best material and the opportunities to get better disappear. The Tape Room is a structured fix.
The Wet Paint Sentence: Why "This Is Not About Money" Always Is
Syracuse just sunset 93 academic programs and opened the announcement with "this was not a cost-cutting exercise." That sentence will do more damage than any of the 93 cuts it was trying to defend. Here is why, and how to find the same sentence in your own board letter before someone else does.
What I’ve Learned
As I work to better refine Friction Free and what I bring to clients or employers, this list summarizes my philosophy of life and business and forms the foundation of many of the posts on my blog.
The Mirror Test: Does your LinkedIn have spinach in its teeth
Most professionals have 5-7 messaging problems they've never noticed—dead links, outdated bios, or generic language that could describe anyone. This 5-minute diagnostic reveals what's costing you opportunities before they start
Is Your Content Answering the Wrong Questions?
Most content answers the questions you wish prospects would ask instead of what they actually type into Google at 2 a.m. That gap is killing your conversions. Here's how to find and fix it with a three-minute reality check.
They’re not ghosting you. They just can’t see you.
Stop sending hundreds of resumes into the void. Learn why experienced executives struggle in today's job market and discover 10 proven strategies to position your leadership experience for the opportunities you deserve.
The Comms Post-Mortem: A blueprint for future success
We all have a Captain Ahab memory of the “white whale” that sank a great communications plan. Astronomer, American Eagle, and CS Energy show how silence, sidestepping, and delay can wreck your message — and how a post-mortem can keep it from happening again.
The digital paper trail: Your exit strategy lives forever
If you’ve been laid off, decided to strike out on your own, are fed up with a bad manager, or a frustrated by a difficult client, that’s the time to think twice about burning a bridge.
It’s time to get rid of your brand garbage
It’s important to regularly review your website and digital profiles and dump the brand garbage — the accumulation of outdated, inconsistent, and irrelevant content across your digital presence.