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What if resistance to change isn't stubbornness or rebellion, but biology? Travis Hahler has spent nearly two decades sitting between great strategies and the people who have to adopt them, and he has a startling answer for why so many transformations stall: change signals threat to the human brain, and most leaders have no idea they are triggering it.
In this episode of the SME Strategy and Leadership Podcast, host Anthony Taylor sits down with Travis Hahler, Senior Director of Global Strategy and Transformation at Salesforce, former Global Change and Transformation Lead at Google, and founder of The Neurological Nomad. Drawing on a background that spans neuroscience research, an MBA, and change leadership at Google, Salesforce, and Deloitte, Travis brings a rare fusion of brain science and boardroom experience to the question every leader eventually faces: how do you actually get people to move?
Together they unpack why 70 percent of change initiatives fail to achieve their expected ROI, how the brain interprets organizational change as a loss of competence, relationships, or control, and why urgency and free rein so often backfire. Travis shares the practical shift that separates the successful 30 percent from the rest, including why your program manager gets a project live but your change manager is the one who actually delivers the return.
What You Will Learn in This Episode
How the brain interprets organizational change as a threat, and what leaders consistently misread when teams push back
Why every change equals loss, and how to lead through the three types of loss people experience at work: competence, relationships, and control
Why "just go play with it" is the wrong way to roll out AI, and what people actually need before they will engage
The difference between program management and change management, and why underinvesting in the second one quietly kills your ROI
How to think about adoption in terms of ROI, and why 20 percent adoption rarely justifies the investment
About Travis Hahler
Travis Hahler is Senior Director of Global Strategy and Transformation at Salesforce and the founder of The Neurological Nomad. Over more than fifteen years he has guided over one hundred companies through organizational transformation, earning the nickname "Resistance Fortune Teller" for his ability to predict where change efforts will fail. His signature keynote, The Neuroscience of Change, has reached over 25,000 leaders across 150 global events. His book, Rethink Resistance: Embracing Neuroscience to Lead Transformational Change, is forthcoming from Fast Company Press. Travis has held change and transformation roles at Google and Deloitte, studied neuroscience at Harvard and conducted EEG research at Aalborg University in Denmark, and holds an MBA from the University of South Dakota.
Connect with Travis Hahler
Website: https://www.theneurologicalnomad.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/travisdhahler/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneurologicalnomad/
About the Podcast
The SME Strategy and Leadership Podcast is where leaders come to sharpen their thinking on strategy, execution, and the human side of moving plans forward. Hosted by Anthony Taylor, each episode brings candid conversations with executives and experts who help teams get aligned and turn strategic plans into action.
Strategy Resources
Get help facilitating your strategic plan: https://www.smestrategy.net/strategic-planning-facilitator
Connect with Anthony Taylor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyctaylor604
Learn more about SME Strategy: https://www.smestrategy.net
Produced by
This episode is produced by Rednyne Productions: https://www.rednyne.com
