The Four Change Friction Traps
The Change Signal with Loran Nordgren
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Loran Nordgren, a behavioural theory professor at Northwestern's Kellogg School, flips change management on its head. Instead of focusing on making ideas more appealing, he argues we should be removing psychological friction.
His "fuel versus friction" framework reveals why breakthrough changes often fail. The issue isn't that people don't see the value — it's that invisible barriers are holding good ideas back.
You'll discover why framing change as "evolution" works better than "revolution." Loran shares practical tactics like the South by Southwest email templates that doubled attendance without flashy marketing.
Most provocatively, he suggests that many of our change intuitions don't just fail — they actually amplify resistance. This conversation challenges how you think about urgency, buy-in, and the role of anxiety in organizational change.
If you're tired of change initiatives stalling despite obvious benefits, this episode offers a different lens for diagnosing what's really going wrong.
Here’s what Loran Nordgren asks in the question for modern change mastery:
Are you accidentally creating resistance by making your ideas sound too revolutionary?
What if the anxieties you're avoiding are exactly what you need to address?
Why does pushing harder on change often make things worse?
ABOUT LORAN:
Loran Nordgren is a behavioural scientist and professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He’s the co-author of The Human Element and a leading voice in applying friction theory to innovation and change. His research has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Scientific American, and The Economist.
More from Loran: https://www.lorannordgren.com
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorannordgren/
