Hidden energy drains in systems. The invisible tax on every action.
Soreth (sore-eth) is the aggregate of invisible energy drains that tax every action in a system. It's not friction you can see—it's the thousand micro-resistances that make simple things exhausting and complex things impossible.
Mental energy drains from context switching, unclear priorities, decision fatigue. Every unmade decision, every ambiguous goal, every interruption compounds.
Examples: Slack notifications, unclear ownership, "quick questions"
Cost: 40-60% productivity loss
Hidden taxes in workflows. The three approvals that could be one. The form that asks for information you already provided. The meeting before the meeting.
Examples: Duplicate data entry, permission loops, status updates
Cost: 2-5x time multiplication
Energy lost to organizational drama, unresolved conflicts, political navigation. The exhaustion of pretending, managing egos, walking on eggshells.
Examples: Office politics, passive aggression, trust deficits
Cost: Talent exodus, innovation death
System inefficiencies that tax every interaction. Slow tools, broken integrations, manual workarounds for automated failures. Digital quicksand.
Examples: Legacy systems, tool sprawl, "temporary" fixes
Cost: Exponential as systems interconnect
Actual effort = Base effort × (1 + Soreth coefficient)
Most organizations operate with a Soreth coefficient between 2x and 5x. This means every hour of "real work" requires 3-6 hours of total effort.
Critical insight: Reducing Soreth by 50% doubles effective capacity without hiring, without overtime, without burnout.
Track where energy actually goes vs. where value is created.
Find the processes, people, and systems that drain without giving.
Delete before optimizing. Question before accepting.
Soreth grows back. Build systems to keep it out.
Soreth is attracted to success. The more you achieve, the more energy vampires appear. Organizations that don't actively fight Soreth will eventually be consumed by it, no matter how successful they appear.
Stop bleeding energy into the void. Start moving without invisible resistance.