MBS962-David Schonthal, Director of Entrepreneurship Programs at Kellogg, and Author

In this compelling episode of The Matt Brown Show, host Matt Brown engages in a deep conversation with David Schonthal, Director of Entrepreneurship Programs at Kellogg School of Management and author of the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller, *The Human Element: Overcoming Resistance That Awaits New Ideas*. Schonthal shares his journey from venture capital and design thinking at IDEO to academia, emphasizing the critical role of human psychology in innovation. He introduces his 'friction theory'—a framework identifying four key sources of resistance to new ideas: inertia, effort, emotion, and reactance. Using the iconic story of Betty Crocker’s instant cake mix, he illustrates how removing effort inadvertently created emotional friction, ultimately requiring the reintroduction of a small, deliberate effort (cracking fresh eggs) to restore users' sense of ownership and value. The discussion expands to modern challenges like remote work, where autonomy gained during the pandemic has become a powerful force of resistance to returning to the office. Schonthal advises leaders to involve employees in designing return-to-office strategies to reduce reactance and foster buy-in. He underscores the importance of insight-driven innovation over data alone, advocating for deep qualitative research methods like the 'jobs to be done' approach and ethnographic observation to uncover the true, often hidden, motivations behind behavior. The episode concludes with a powerful message: innovation isn't just about better products—it's about understanding the human element that determines whether those products succeed in the real world.