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Bob Sutton

@bobsutton.net

2.1K followers 650 following 230 posts

Organizational psychologist, NYT bestelling author, and Professor Emeritus at Stanford. My 8 books include Good Boss Bad Boss, Scaling Up Excellence, The No Asshole Rule, The Knowing-Doing Gap, and now, The Friction Project. https://www.bobsutton.net

www.bobsutton.net

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Bob Sutton @bobsutton.net · Mar 6

"The Friction Project" has been my main mission for 8 years

The key lesson from my book with Huggy Rao:

The best leaders are TRUSTEES OF OTHERS TIME, friction fixers with the will and skill to make the right things easier and the wrong things harder for others

www.amazon.com/dp/125028441...

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Reposted by Bob Sutton

Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford @casbsstanford.bsky.social · 6d

🎙️ NEW CASBS PODCAST EPISODE

Colin Camerer: Econ's Neurovisionary

@sweiwang.bsky.social chats w/@cfcamerer.bsky.social on his work on the neuroeconomics of habit formation, building & scaling behavioral models, & neuroscience as a wide-open field for economists

🎧 casbs.stanford.edu/podcast#coli...

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Bob Sutton @bobsutton.net · Aug 29

Hah. Well put!

Bob Sutton @bobsutton.net · Aug 29

This part of their pitch made me smile--especially the "alpha status" part:

"Will it be expensive? Sure. But working with us means self-investment, downstream profits, and alpha status."

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Bob Sutton @bobsutton.net · Aug 29

Got a pitch from a company that provides Amazon reviews to authors that pay them. I don't know if this is legal or not (they say it is), but ain't kosher. I guess you can buy anything! This is the company: www.manuscripped.com

Home | Manuscripped LLC

www.manuscripped.com

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Bob Sutton @bobsutton.net · Aug 1

I was delighted to be interviewed by Dan McGinn, Harvard Business Review's editor, for this retrospective on my 2009 HBR piece "How to Be a Good Boss in a Bad Economy" (2009).

My evidence-based advice for making painful workplace changes humanely-- in good times and bad.

hbr.org/2025/07/qa-p...

Q&A: Professor Robert Sutton on Communicating Difficult Decisions as a Leader

In today’s uncertain economy, leaders must navigate the delicate task of delivering bad news, such as layoffs or project cancellations, with empathy and transparency. Robert Sutton’s framework, origin...

hbr.org

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Bob Sutton @bobsutton.net · Jul 31

Here my post on the AI assistant that nagged me incessantly and wasted my time yesterday.

www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Is anyone out there studying "bot assholes"? | Bob Sutton

Is anyone out there studying "bot assholes"? (Is "Botholes" already a common phrase?) Earlier this week I dealt with a very rude "AI assistant" named "Kiran" by Skej. Even though I had an out of the ...

www.linkedin.com

Bob Sutton @bobsutton.net · Jul 31

"Botholes" is my proposed to term for AI tools (such as AI assistants) that are massively efficient at wasting other peoples' time, nagging them incessantly, or otherwise acting like rude and selfish humans.

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Bob Sutton @bobsutton.net · Jul 17

Great to see this new research Fabrizio...that stars often aren't as "portable" as it seems. Your findings also remind me of related research that, for leaders, shows promoting from within results in better performance than hiring those (often dazzling) external candidates.

Fabrizio Ferraro @fferraro.bsky.social · Jul 17

Honored to see our research with Matteo Prato cited in @economist.com AI talent war article. We found hiring “stars” can actually hurt team performance—especially for non-stars—as stars often absorb more resources than they share.
www.economist.com/business/202...

doi.org/10.1287/orsc...

Are superstars as good when they move jobs?

The AI-talent scramble raises an old question

www.economist.com

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Bob Sutton @bobsutton.net · Jul 15

Some advice from the late great Warren Bennis: "Don't take a job at a place where the best you can be is a perfect imitation of those who came before you."

He said that to me 40+ years ago, seems as pertinent as ever.

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Bob Sutton @bobsutton.net · Jul 1

Congrats. A big loss for Stanford. Thanks for being such an excellent colleague and human.

Bob Sutton @bobsutton.net · Jun 29

Check out this nuanced argument on why our institutions are under siege and options for repairing them.

I was surprised to learn Marshall McLuhan believed that becoming a global village would unleash unprecedented tribalism and violence. He might have been right!

digitaltonto.com/2025/the-end...

The End of History All Over Again… | Digital Tonto

Before 1789 the world was ruled by the divine right of kings and the feudal system. Yet that year would prove to be an inflection point. The American Constitution the French Revolution and the first I...

digitaltonto.com

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Bob Sutton @bobsutton.net · Jun 28

I am always impressed with your ability to weigh the facts in support of and in opposition to clashing beliefs. Just when I am sure you have a strong opinion strongly held, you start talking about evidence that supports a different view. A rare talent.

Bob Sutton @bobsutton.net · Jun 19

“Interdependence is the reason why nothing comes out quite the way one wants it to.”

I was thinking of this wonderful old line by Jeff Pfeffer and the late Jerry Salancik as I declined an invite to join an interesting group.

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Bob Sutton @bobsutton.net · Jun 18

I love talking with @ericries.bsky.social. Eric wrote the blockbuster "The Lean Startup", launched Long-Term Stock Exchange , and so much more. We both believe companies can thrive financially and innovate, and treat employees and customers well, at the same time.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_Zc...

The playbook for fixing toxic culture, pointless friction and broken systems | Bob Sutton (Stanford)

YouTube video by The Eric Ries Show

www.youtube.com

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Bob Sutton @bobsutton.net · Jun 12

Here is the link to Jamie and Christopher's Tedx talk on "Why Good People Become Bad Bosses."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN6S...

Why good people become bad bosses | Jamie Woolf and Dr. Chris Bell | TEDxSonomaCounty

YouTube video by TEDx Talks

www.youtube.com

Bob Sutton @bobsutton.net · Jun 12

Are you worried about turning into bad boss? Are you struggling with a boss who is nasty, incompetent, or both? Jamie Woolf and Dr. Christopher Bell have a wonderful new TEDx talk on such things. Join us for a watch party on June 18th at 930 AM PT. Here's the link:
us06web.zoom.us/j/8488163408...

Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise cloud communications.

us06web.zoom.us

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Bob Sutton @bobsutton.net · Jun 6

Most amusing take I've seen on the on the tit-for-tat spat between Elon and Trump.

Ezra Levin ❌👑 @ezralevin.bsky.social · Jun 6

This guy consistently posts songs with incredible lyrics mere hours after events unfurl. This was a good one.

Bob Sutton @bobsutton.net · Jun 6

I would add, however, that--as research on economic assumptions shows--when people BELIEVE that capitalism requires treating people like dirt, that is how they are prone to behave. See, for example, this old but compelling summary by
@adammgrant.bsky.social:

evonomics.com/more-evidenc...

More Evidence That Learning Economics Makes You Selfish - Evonomics

The perils of teaching homo-economicus

evonomics.com

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Bob Sutton @bobsutton.net · Jun 6

I love talking with @ericries.bsky.social. We both believe that capitalism and caring about people (rather than acting like a selfish asshole) are compatible and desirable goals.

Eric Ries @ericries.bsky.social · Jun 5

In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I’m joined by @bobsutton.net, organizational psychologist and New York Times bestselling author of several influential books on leadership, behavior, and workplace culture, including his latest: The Friction Project.

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Bob Sutton @bobsutton.net · May 28

“Leverage” for starters

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Reposted by Bob Sutton

Adam Grant @adamgrant.bsky.social · May 28

The most important part of an apology is not saying sorry. It's taking responsibility for what you did wrong and taking action to make it right.

Admitting mistakes doesn’t mean you're a bad person. It's an effort to be a better person—and a display of care for another person.

link.chtbl.com/RTAdam

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Bob Sutton @bobsutton.net · May 26

Thanks to the multi-talented VR Ferose for his kind summary of the gathering that my friends including @sarahsoule.bsky.social and @decelles.bsky.social organized for me at @casbsstanford.bsky.social a few weeks ago

ferosevr.medium.com/the-asshole-...

The “Asshole Guy” Who Isn’t — A Tribute to Stanford Prof. Bob Sutton

It takes an unusual human being to write a book titled The No Asshole Rule. It takes an exceptional one to live by it. Professor Robert…

ferosevr.medium.com

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Bob Sutton @bobsutton.net · May 24

Here's the post where I found this slide:

www.eatingpolicy.com/p/why-the-pa...

Why the Paperwork Reduction Act needs to go, Part 2

We're the only country that has tried to reduce burden this way, and it hasn't worked. Especially with capacity being gutted, we should learn from what the rest of the world is doing.

www.eatingpolicy.com

Bob Sutton @bobsutton.net · May 24

The wise @pahlkadot.bsky.social uses this slide with "Hill staffers who ask me what they should do to improve the performance of an underperforming agency." The key contrast is "something is wrong with these people" vs. "something is wrong with this system." Friction-fixers are system-fixers!

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Reposted by Bob Sutton

Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford @casbsstanford.bsky.social · May 23

Awesome hosting CASBS fellow @decelles.bsky.social for a CASBS podcast recording. Fmr fellow & Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist @johnmarkoff.bsky.social chatted w/Katy on topics engaging her research on organizational design, human interactions & behavior

We'll publish the episode in a few months!

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