Rules, processes, policies, and procedures communicate just as much from leaders to followers as town hall speeches, e-mails, and LinkedIn posts. Every rule, procedure, and policy communicates a message about trust, power, risk, or accountability.

In November 2023, OpenAI's threatened employee walkout after the board's firing of Sam Altman turned into a master class in followership.

Too many rules and too much sludge can lead to a host of negative employee and customer experiences. Sludge audits can help attach a dollar cost to the customer and employee pain. Some years ago, I worked with a superstar sales executive. She frequently traveled the United States meeting with clients. One day over lunch she mentioned she had never submitted a travel expense reimbursement form to the company we worked for. I was surprised. We all know how expensive travel can