Driving Value with Sprint Goals: Humble Plans, Exceptional Results

Chapter 3

Countering Friction by Leading with Intent

“Diverse are the situations under which an officer has to act on the basis of his own view of the situation. It would be wrong if he had to wait for orders at times when no orders can be given. But most productive are his actions when he acts within the framework of his senior commander’s intent.”

—Helmuth von Moltke the Elder

In the previous chapters, we covered why friction matters and how we can recognize the kind of conditions where the typical response to uncertainty and complexity is ineffective. We now understand the role of friction in causing surprises and how it affects our decision making. Great! We now have tools at our disposal to make sense of our situation, but once we do, ...