Jan 31, 2026
Erik's Newsletter: The Friction You Should Keep
Issue #87
Today at a Glance:
Quote: The obstacle is the way
Thinking: Jevons Paradox, context graphs, AI assistants
Podcast: Coca-Cola
Tactics: Claude Code tips for the non-technical
Try: The Life Calendar
Ideas: Shame market niches
#QUOTE
Quote I’m pondering...
“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” — Marcus Aurelius
Everyone’s racing to remove friction from work. AI handles the tedious parts. Agents do the grunt work. But the friction was often the point. The struggle to articulate a problem clearly is how you understand it. The tedium of research is how you develop taste. When AI removes the obstacle, it also removes the forcing function that made you better. The winners will know which friction to keep.
#THOUGHTS
What I’m thinking about...
Jevons Paradox is Coming for Knowledge Work
Aaron Levie made a point that’s been rattling around my head: Jevons paradox is going to make knowledge work even more important (link).
When something becomes dramatically cheaper, we don’t use less of it. We use vastly more. Coal got efficient, we burned more coal. Compute got cheap, we found infinite uses for it.
AI is doing this to thinking. When analysis, planning, and execution become nearly free, we won’t do less of it. We’ll do things we never bothered to consider before. Resources no longer matter. Return does. Experimentation, strategy, speed.
Context Graphs Will Be the Moat
Without context, agents aren’t useful. Jay Aggarwal argues (link) that systems of record and data warehouses aren’t well positioned here. Agents are, because they’re in the execution path to build context graphs for a specific vertical. The winners will be the ones whose agents learn your business, not just execute commands.
AI Assistants Will Own You by 8 Weeks
Everyone will have AI assistants just like they have smartphones (link). The adoption curve will be staggering. You’ll use AI daily. The only question is how you’ll train it, otherwise it’ll train you.
#PODCASTS
My favorite listens...
Coca-Cola: The Acquired Episode The “secret” formula is a misdirection. The moat was always distribution and brand, two things that compound over a century and can’t be copied. Reframed how I think about defensibility.
We Replaced Our Sales Team with 20 AI Agents Jason Lemkin runs 20 AI agents with 1.2 humans. The bottleneck is management, not technology. Someone has to onboard, coach, and quality-check agents like junior employees. Most companies will fail at AI because they don’t know how to manage non-human workers.
The Non-Technical PM’s Guide to Building with Cursor A Meta PM with zero technical background is now teaching engineers how to ship faster. The power dynamic has flipped. Taste, judgment, and knowing what to build are becoming more valuable than knowing how to build it. If you’re a PM who still thinks “I’m not technical” is an excuse, this episode will make you uncomfortable.
10 Contrarian Leadership Truths | Matt MacInnis (Rippling) “High alpha, low beta” is now my default filter for evaluating people and ideas. MacInnis argues you learn far more from success than failure—the opposite of what most people believe. Also: founders should quit much earlier than VCs want them to. Entropy wins unless you fight it with intensity every single day.
Silicon Valley’s Missing Etiquette Playbook | Sam Lessin Walk into any room with a low heart rate. Introductions, small talk, dining, follow-ups all flow from confidence in knowing the rules. Founders underestimate how much trust gets built or destroyed by basic social competence.
The Counterweight to Speed Culture | 10% Happier You can’t optimize your way to meaning. Community and rituals make speed worth having.
#TACTICS & TOOLS
Cowork: Claude Code for Non-Technical Users Claude’s bet: the terminal isn’t the final form factor. Cowork (link) brings agent-powered work to everyone, not just developers.
Ramp’s Background Agent: Inspect Chat UIs are table stakes. The durable advantage is infrastructure: sandboxed VMs, pre-built environments, automatic verification. (link) Most agent companies are building the wrong layer.
#THINGS TO TRY
The Life Calendar Mortality made visual. (link) Each box is a week you’ve lived or have left. You can see the trade-offs. That Netflix binge? Three boxes. That side project you’ve been “meaning to start”? Visible cost.
72-Hour Fast Once a Quarter The mental clarity comes from realizing you’re stronger than your habits. Nick Huber does this quarterly. (link) I’m considering building a challenge app around it.
10-Week AI Challenge Structured learning beats random experimentation. AI New Years is a 10-week challenge. The best skill investment in 2026 is learning how to work with AI.
Use Claude Code on Your Genetic Data Your genome is just data. Claude can read it. (link) Personal health AI is ready now.
Showers in the Dark No screen, no stimulation, just you and your thoughts. Your brain doesn’t know what to do when there’s nothing to consume.
#IDEAS
“Shame Market” Niches The most profitable businesses solve problems people are too embarrassed to talk about publicly. (link) Shame creates urgency, privacy demands premium pricing, customers never leave reviews. Untapped niches:
Loneliness — “I have no friends” is a $10B problem hiding in plain sight. Outreach scripts + weekly social rebuild plans.
Affair recovery — Trust rebuild steps + “what to say tonight” templates. The marriage counseling industry is ripe for disruption.
Gambling / financial spiral — Relapse-proof routines + damage control checklists. Secret problems need silent solutions.
High-income hidden debt — Stealth payoff plans + spouse conversation scripts. Making $400K and broke is more common than anyone admits.
Career crisis — On a PIP, just fired, or quietly drowning. Survival playbooks + manager scripts + stealth job search. The shame keeps people paying.