Source: Seth's Blog
Seth Godin distinguishes between friction that blocks customer goals (which should be eliminated) and friction that protects brand integrity or forces meaningful commitment (which should remain). Companies obsessed with frictionless experiences often strip away the mechanisms that build loyalty—gatekeeping quality, requiring effort that signals value, or creating exclusivity that makes membership feel earned. Brands that get this wrong end up commoditized; those that keep the right friction intact, like Apple's ecosystem lock-in or luxury brands' deliberate scarcity, maintain pricing power and customer defensiveness.