---
title: Blog | Ricky
description: "Ricky Muddimer is an independent business-improvement specialist who has spent thirty years inside and alongside growing companies — as a contact centre business unit leader, a commercial director and managing director, and at board and executive level across financial services and the public and private sectors. He co-founded and built a business-improvement consultancy, has written for Forbes, and now runs Clear the Friction, working directly with the owners of established SMEs.\nHis view is direct but practical: most businesses don’t have a strategy problem; they have a friction problem — the drag that builds when you haven’t got the right people, doing the right things, the right way, at the right time. He writes here about that friction and how to clear it, drawn from real engagements rather than theory. Direct, honest, and always building on what you’ve already made — never tearing it down."
---

[Skip to content](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/blog/author/ricky/page/1#main-content)

[![Clear the Friction](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/hubfs/White%20800%20x%20300%20(1).svg)Homepage](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/)

- [What We Do](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/what-we-do)
- [Our Work](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/ourwork)
- [Blog](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/blog)
- [Resources](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/tools-and-resources)
- [About Us](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/about-us)

[Contact Us](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/contact)

- [What We Do](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/what-we-do)
- [Our Work](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/ourwork)
- [Blog](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/blog)
- [Resources](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/tools-and-resources)
- [About Us](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/about-us)

[Contact Us](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/contact)

# Clear the Friction blog

Real-world business isn't about theory—it's about removing the drag.

At Clear the Friction, we share the messy, honest reality of what actually moves the needle in established SMEs. No jargon—just practical ways to clear the friction and focus on the work that matters.

[![Trans - navy - 800 x 300](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/hubfs/Trans%20-%20navy%20-%20800%20x%20300.svg "Trans - navy - 800 x 300")](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk)

- [Home](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk)
- [What We Do](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/what-we-do)
- [Our Work](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/ourwork)
- [Blog](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/blog)
- [About Us](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/about-us)
- [Resources](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/tools-and-resources)
- [Contact Us](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/contact)

<https://www.linkedin.com>

---

[Privacy Policy](https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/privacy-policy-clear-the-friction) · © 2026 Clear the Friction Ltd. All rights reserved.

Clear the Friction Ltd, registered in England and Wales. Company No. 17406129. Registered office: 23 Bilston Street, Sedgley, Dudley, West Midlands, DY3 1JA.

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@id" : "https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/#organization",
  "@type" : "Organization",
  "address" : {
    "@type" : "PostalAddress",
    "addressCountry" : "GB",
    "addressLocality" : "Sedgley",
    "addressRegion" : "West Midlands",
    "postalCode" : "DY3 1JA",
    "streetAddress" : "23 Bilston Street"
  },
  "email" : "hello@clearthefriction.co.uk",
  "identifier" : {
    "@type" : "PropertyValue",
    "propertyID" : "Companies House",
    "value" : "17406129"
  },
  "logo" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "url" : "https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/hubfs/White%20800%20x%20300%20(1).svg"
  },
  "name" : "Clear the Friction Ltd",
  "url" : "https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/"
}
```

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@id" : "https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/#website",
  "@type" : "WebSite",
  "inLanguage" : "en-GB",
  "name" : "Clear the Friction",
  "publisher" : {
    "@id" : "https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/#organization"
  },
  "url" : "https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/"
}
```

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@id" : "https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/blog#blog",
  "@type" : "Blog",
  "description" : "Practical insight on finding and clearing the friction that holds established businesses back.",
  "inLanguage" : "en-GB",
  "name" : "Clear the Friction Blog",
  "publisher" : {
    "@id" : "https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/#organization"
  },
  "url" : "https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/blog"
}
```

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@id" : "https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/blog#breadcrumb",
  "@type" : "BreadcrumbList",
  "itemListElement" : [ {
    "@type" : "ListItem",
    "item" : "https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/",
    "name" : "Home",
    "position" : 1
  }, {
    "@type" : "ListItem",
    "item" : "https://www.clearthefriction.co.uk/blog",
    "name" : "Blog",
    "position" : 2
  } ]
}
```