The Point of Friction

A few years ago, I was leading a platoon attack exercise in the Czech Republic. It was the kind of textbook operation for which every young Army Officer trains.

I positioned myself right where I was supposed to be: in the middle of the formation with my 40 paratroopers to my left and right.

We had practiced the sequence a hundred times: base of fire → lift and shift → adjacent unit advances through, etc.

Everything was by the book (or so I thought).

When Doctrine Meets Reality

On the flank was a NATO partner unit Czech Officer. Midway through the maneuver, things started to unravel. 

Why?

The Czech Officer was the only member of the adjacent unit that spoke English. There was confusion, mistakes, and frustration where my formation ended and the Czech unit began.

I wasn’t there.

My Battalion Commander (a HIGHLY respected former Tier 1 operator), was observing from behind me throughout the exercise.

He pulled me aside and helped me understand something that reshaped how I thought about leadership:

“You were where you should be — not where you needed to be.”

Doctrine had given me a position. His experience taught me where I needed to be: the point of friction.

Where the Book Ends

In both the military and business, we love “book answers.” Checklists, SOPs, best practices.

But real leadership doesn’t live in the book. It lives in the moments where the book stops being enough.

The point of friction is where communication breaks down, where teams stall, where uncertainty creeps in.

That’s where leaders are needed most.

The Lesson

The book tells you where you should be. Experience shows you where you must be.

Leadership isn’t about control — it’s about courage. It’s earned when you move toward the problem, not away from it.

Find the point of friction. Go there. That’s where leaders earn their title.

Don’t settle. Be relentless. 

— Hunter