The friction-removal method
Remove the friction that holds good people back, so the capability you already have shows up in results. It isn't more training. It changes how the work gets done.
Nearly 3,500 managers across 10+ countries, with the change confirmed by their own bosses.
Content reviewed June 2026
Running a business is harder than it needs to be, and most of the hard part isn't the market. It's the 43 frictions nobody designed. They never show up as a line in your accounts. They show up as you working Sunday.
Simplify to Amplify is the method I use to find and remove what's slowing a business down, so the people already doing good work can do more of it.
Most leadership programmes start by adding something, usually a new framework or a stretch target. It amounts to turning everything up to 11, and it lands on managers who are already drowning in workload. In most businesses it's the Olympics every day, all day.
I start with a different question. There are many things you could do, so which should you do? A handful of things slow a business down far more than the rest, and the work is to find them and take them out. I ask what you're wrangling with right now, what's getting in the way, and what's keeping you stuck. Then we solve for that.
We've mapped 43 friction points and have a playbook for each one. You won't need all 43. You need the one to three that cost you the most, and we start there. Your managers get time back, and decisions stop waiting on you.
Not ready for a call? Take the 5-minute check. Try the $19 Quick-Win Pack first, or Run the 40-question friction diagnostic.
Friction collects in the management layer, where the most decisions meet the least authority. Your managers aren't the problem; they're where the problem gets stuck. Three stages, in order, clear it.
Stage 1: SEE
Pinpoint where work gets stuck and which decisions escalate that shouldn't.
Start with two free diagnostics: find out where friction is costing you.
Stage 2: SOLVE
Fix the decision rights, systems and rhythms that create the friction.
See the fixes for yourself in the free Team Performance Playbook.
Stage 3: SCALE
Embed the change across the management layer so it holds without more oversight.
Read the case studies or meet Aiden, our 24/7 AI reinforcement.
Two client examples and two scenarios you'll probably recognise from this week.
Client example: Tatua, NZ dairy co-operative
Client example: as told to Workforce Alchemy Magazine
Everyday scenario
Everyday scenario
Scenario images are illustrative. Full client stories are in our case studies and the press coverage.
fewer escalations
reclaimed weekly
more decisions at the right level
would fund another cohort
Simple beats complex. The ideas take minutes to grasp; the value is in using them consistently. Like fitness, strength comes from regular practice, not one big workshop.
01
This isn't extra work on top of a full diary. Leaders apply each shift inside the meetings, decisions and conversations they're already having, so the way they work changes and the results show up in the work itself.
02
Performance comes from people, not job titles. Know the human first, and tough conversations and change get easier.
03
Big targets trigger overwhelm. Small, repeatable shifts compound into outsized results without burning people out.
04
Design tools, habits and workflows so the right thing is the easiest thing to do.
05
Leaders don't need more slides; they need more reps on real work problems.
06
People remember stories, not bullet points, so ideas stick and travel through the organisation.
Two days to start, three months to embed, then it becomes how the team works.
A small set of tools, each explained in 5 to 15 minutes, ready to use with the team the next working day.
Leaders test each tool in their own context, share what worked and what didn't, and learn from each other.
Redesign the moments where time and clarity leak, with simple routines for priorities, team rhythm and communication.
In AMPLIFY, the full engagement, leaders get a library of 41 Amplify Elements, a practical playbook with concrete actions, and the digital Amplify toolkit with visual frameworks, one-page book summaries and short podcast episodes. Between sessions, Aiden keeps the new habits going.
Two minutes with real leaders using the method on real work.
“The difference is that this actually changed how our managers work. Not just what they know, but what they do every day. Their bosses noticed without being told.”
What this actually is
This is hands-on work to get your managers out of the weeds and performing better. An experienced GM comes in, works out where the real barriers to performance sit, and fixes what's broken, whether that's operational, structural or how decisions flow. Once inside, the work is almost always in the management layer, because that's where friction collects.
Jimmy Burroughes built Simplify to Amplify® after seeing the same pattern again and again: performance stalls not because managers lack skill, but because friction has collected in the layer they run. Nearly 3,500 managers across 10+ countries later, the work has been recognised with the 2025 and 2026 Global Recognition Awards. More about Jimmy.
If your leadership team is firefighting instead of running the business, start by finding where the friction sits and what it's costing you.
See how Simplify to Amplify is delivered across our programmes, read the case studies, or hear it on the podcast.
Deep dive into the SEE-SOLVE-SCALE framework that drives measurable results in weeks.
How we compare to Big Four, mid-tier and training providers.
Personalised coaching to remove friction and reclaim your time.
Real results from Tatua, Fonterra, and organisations across 10+ countries.
