The Brain Vault: Where Science Meets Success

Why can intelligent, successful leaders see everything in the room except the one thing holding their company back? My guest this week is Nicolas Pokorny. He trained in neurobiology and neuroscience, then spent more than 30 years leading teams in global business. He's the best-selling author of The Mammoth in the Room and the founder and CEO of Mammoth Leadership Sciences. Nicolas looks at leadership the way a scientist looks at behavior. People do what gets them the outcomes they need, and a good leader works with that instead of pretending it isn't there. We start with how Nicolas got his first leadership job. He was good at building detail aids, so they handed him a team of eight. Sound familiar? From there we get into power plays that pass for strategy debates, why company politics aren't the enemy, and why the best leaders he's known could tell you the names of their people's kids. I think you're going to get a lot out of this one. What you'll hear: The mammoth in the room: the issue everyone in the meeting already knows and no one will name Why leadership is really about leading human behavior, not the business The evolutionary roots of leadership, and why followers matter as much as leaders Why span of control should never exceed six to eight people The law of reciprocity, and the difference between appealing to someone and manipulating them ABOUT NICOLAS POKORNY Nicolas Pokorny is the best-selling author of The Mammoth in the Room and the founder and CEO of Mammoth Leadership Sciences. He has a PhD-level background in neurobiology and neuroscience and more than 30 years of global business leadership. Over that time he has built high-performing teams and helped organizations turn human behavior into a competitive advantage. His approach draws on evolutionary science to explain how people behave in groups, and his philosophy is simple: do the right things rather than simply doing things right. He also hosts The Mammoth in the Room podcast, which looks at leadership lessons from history through the lens of human behavior. ABOUT LARRY OLSEN Larry Olsen is a Two-Time Vistage Speaker of the Year and Fortune 50/500 Executive Performance Advisor with 40+ years of client work at Toyota, PepsiCo, Starbucks, Harley-Davidson, Honda, American Airlines, State Farm, Frito Lay, Lexus, and Tropicana. He is the author of Get a Vision and Live It! and the founder of Performance Driven Neurology. IF THIS LANDED FOR YOU Some things in a room are true whether or not anyone says them out loud. Naming what's actually happening, not just what's comfortable, is the same lens Larry brings to every leadership conversation he has. How Leaders Think: https://larry-olsen.kit.com/how-leaders-think CONNECT WITH LARRY Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/larry-r-olsen CONNECT WITH NICOLAS POKORNY Website: https://mammothleadershipsciences.com/ Book: The Mammoth in the Room (Amazon) Podcast: The Mammoth in the Room (YouTube, Apple, Spotify) SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE New episodes of the Brain Vault Podcast publish every other Wednesday. #BrainVaultPodcast #MammothInTheRoom #LarryOlsen #NicolasPokorny #Leadership

What if engagement isn't the goal? Dave Garrison says buy-in is a much higher standard, and most leaders are optimizing for the wrong one. Dave Garrison holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and has spent more than 30 years helping CEOs, senior leaders, and organizations create meaningful buy-in across their teams, with executive leadership experience and board roles including Ameritrade. He is the founder of Garrison Growth and author of The Buy-In Advantage. In this conversation, Larry sits down with Dave to talk about why engagement is the wrong finish line, and what actually gets people to bring their full selves to work. What you'll hear: Why buy-in is a higher standard than engagement, and the Friday night football analogy that explains the gap The real reason people say they're leaving for "more money" The three things employees are actually looking for: purpose, voice, and being seen as a human being Why "do you have any questions" is one of the least intelligent questions a leader can ask ABOUT DAVE GARRISON Dave Garrison holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and has more than 30 years of executive leadership experience, including board roles with organizations such as Ameritrade. He is the founder of Garrison Growth and author of The Buy-In Advantage, and hosts free monthly workshops on leadership topics. ABOUT LARRY OLSEN Larry Olsen is a Two-Time Vistage Speaker of the Year and Fortune 50/500 Executive Performance Advisor with 40+ years of client work at Toyota, PepsiCo, Starbucks, Harley-Davidson, Honda, American Airlines, State Farm, Frito Lay, Lexus, and Tropicana. He is the author of Get a Vision and Live It! and the founder of Performance Driven Neurology. IF THIS LANDED FOR YOU A new buy-in process won't fix an old operating system. What actually changes outcomes is how a leader makes decisions under pressure, and that's the same lens Larry brings to every leadership conversation he has. How Leaders Think: https://larry-olsen.kit.com/how-leaders-think CONNECT WITH LARRY Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/larry-r-olsen CONNECT WITH DAVE GARRISON Website: garrisongrowth.com Free assessments and monthly workshops available on his website Book: The Buy-In Advantage SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE New episodes of the Brain Vault Podcast publish every other Wednesday. #BrainVaultPodcast #SituationalLeadership #LarryOlsen #AdaptiveLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment

Sam Shriver and Suzie Bishop join Larry Olsen from the Center for Leadership Studies, the home of the original Situational Leadership model. Sam brings more than 45 years of experience and has designed and delivered over 200 leadership and coaching programs. Suzie is Vice President of Product Development at the Center and has spent more than a decade adapting the model for today's modern learner. Together they are co-authors of Situational Leadership: The Model for Leading Others, Navigating Change, and Unlocking Performance. In this conversation, Larry sits down with Sam and Suzie to talk about why one-size-fits-all leadership fails, and how meeting people where they are unlocks trust, performance, and human potential. What you'll hear: Why "it depends" is the mantra of situational leadership, not a fixed leadership style The behaviors that run from direction to empowerment, and when each one backfires Referent power: why trust outperforms position power or expertise How a leader's presence alone can stifle honest conversation ABOUT SAM SHRIVER AND SUZIE BISHOP Sam Shriver has more than 45 years of experience in situational leadership and has designed and delivered over 200 leadership and coaching programs. Suzie Bishop is Vice President of Product Development at the Center for Leadership Studies. Together they are co-authors of Situational Leadership: The Model for Leading Others, Navigating Change, and Unlocking Performance. The Center for Leadership Studies is the global home of the original Situational Leadership model. ABOUT LARRY OLSEN Larry Olsen is a Two-Time Vistage Speaker of the Year and Fortune 50/500 Executive Performance Advisor with 40+ years of client work at Toyota, PepsiCo, Starbucks, Harley-Davidson, Honda, American Airlines, State Farm, Frito Lay, Lexus, and Tropicana. He is the author of Get a Vision and Live It! and the founder of Performance Driven Neurology. IF THIS LANDED FOR YOU Leadership isn't one style forced onto every person, it's reading the person in front of you and adjusting from there. That's exactly how Larry thinks through every leadership conversation he has. How Leaders Think: https://larry-olsen.kit.com/how-leaders-think CONNECT WITH LARRY Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/larry-r-olsen CONNECT WITH SAM SHRIVER AND SUZIE BISHOP Website: situational.com LinkedIn: Sam Shriver and Suzie Bishop Book: Situational Leadership: The Model for Leading Others, Navigating Change, and Unlocking Performance (Amazon and other major retailers) SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE New episodes of the Brain Vault Podcast publish every other Wednesday.

What if the biggest threat to your business right now is not moving too slowly? It is moving boldly in the wrong direction. Michael Hofer is a CFO, transformative executive, author, and advisor with 40 years in finance. He has led more than 30 mergers, acquisitions, and restructuring transactions worldwide, giving him a front-row seat to what happens when bold strategy works and when it turns into costly noise. He is the founder of the Thrive Network, where he connects business performance with human potential and health optimization. In this conversation, Larry Olsen sits down with Michael to talk about how leaders can tell whether their next move (AI, M&A, transformation) is creating value or just creating expensive complexity. ABOUT MICHAEL HOFER Michael Hofer is a CFO, transformative executive, author, and advisor originally from Austria, now based in Denver, Colorado. With 40 years in finance and 30+ mergers, acquisitions, and restructuring transactions worldwide, he brings a rare combination of strategic finance depth and human optimization philosophy. He is currently CFO of a major energy company, MIT-certified in artificial intelligence, and the founder of the Thrive Network. His work spans thriving with diabetes, thriving in business, and thriving in life. ABOUT LARRY OLSEN Larry Olsen is a Two-Time Vistage Speaker of the Year and Fortune 50/500 Executive Performance Advisor with 40+ years of client work at Toyota, PepsiCo, Starbucks, Harley-Davidson, Honda, American Airlines, State Farm, Frito Lay, Lexus, and Tropicana. He is the author of Get a Vision and Live It! and the founder of Performance Driven Neurology. IF THIS LANDED FOR YOU The next step is Larry's Brain Hacks Intensive. It is a guided practice that walks you through the foundational mindset shifts Larry teaches Fortune 500 executives. Brain Hacks Intensive: https://neuromindedcollective.com/brain-hacks-challenge FOR EXECUTIVE LEADERS If you want to find out which patterns are currently running your leadership, take Larry's free 5% Leadership Assessment. Less than 5 percent of leaders operate from the patterns it measures. 5% Leadership Assessment: https://tally.so/r/kde74r CONNECT WITH LARRY Website: larryolsen.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/larry-r-olsen CONNECT WITH MICHAEL HOFER Website: bymichaelhofer.com SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE New episodes of the Brain Vault Podcast publish every other Wednesday. Yours in growth, Larry

What if the reason your business cannot scale is not your team, your strategy, or your market. It is you. Rajesh Nagjee is a business physicist. Over more than 30 years, he has worked with over 350 CEOs across 15 countries to solve what he calls the founder bottleneck. That moment when a company is ready to scale but still depends on the founder for decisions, clarity, and stability. He is also the creator of CEO Freedom OS, a leadership architecture designed to help CEOs scale without losing control. In this conversation, Larry Olsen sits down with Rajesh to talk about how the very person who built the company becomes the one holding it back. Not because they are not capable, but because the way they think, decide, and operate has not evolved at the same speed as the business itself. What you'll hear: • Why Rajesh believes recognition produces a fixed way of being (and how it locks founders into identity traps) • The 1989 breakdown that reshaped Rajesh's entire methodology • The observer effect in quantum physics applied to founder-run businesses • The five default states of survival that keep leaders stuck (cynical, skeptical, resigned, cocky, arrogant) • The two intersections: where whining lives, and where possibilities live • Rajesh's father's line that shaped his life: the moment you decide, you will succeed • What Rajesh learned from meeting Mother Teresa about ruthless compassion ABOUT RAJESH NAGJEE Rajesh Nagjee is a CEO mentor and self-described business physicist with over 30 years of experience and work with more than 350 CEOs across 15 countries. He is the creator of CEO Freedom OS, a leadership architecture designed to help CEOs scale without losing control. His methodology was forged through personal breakdown in 1989 and refined over decades of working with founders and leaders. Based in Dubai. ABOUT LARRY OLSEN Larry Olsen is a Two-Time Vistage Speaker of the Year and Fortune 50/500 Executive Performance Advisor with 40+ years of client work at Toyota, PepsiCo, Starbucks, Harley-Davidson, Honda, American Airlines, State Farm, Frito Lay, Lexus, and Tropicana. He is the author of Get a Vision and Live It! and the founder of Performance Driven Neurology. IF THIS LANDED FOR YOU The next step is Larry's Brain Hacks Intensive. It is a guided practice that walks you through the foundational mindset shifts Larry teaches Fortune 500 executives. Brain Hacks Intensive: https://neuromindedcollective.com/brain-hacks-challenge FOR EXECUTIVE LEADERS AND FOUNDERS If you want to find out which patterns are currently running your leadership, take Larry's free 5% Leadership Assessment. Less than 5 percent of leaders operate from the patterns it measures. 5% Leadership Assessment: https://tally.so/r/kde74r CONNECT WITH LARRY Website: larryolsen.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/larry-r-olsen CONNECT WITH RAJESH NAGJEE LinkedIn: Rajesh Nagjee (posts regularly) Website: RajeshNagjee.com Email: [email protected] SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE New episodes of the Brain Vault Podcast publish every other Wednesday. Yours in growth, Larry