About this episode

The episode explores the biological roots of organizational resistance to change, particularly in the context of AI, through an interview with Travis D. Hahler.

In this episode, host Michael Marchuk interviews Travis D. Hahler, author of Rethink Resistance and senior director of global strategy and transformation at Salesforce, about why organizational resistance to change, especially AI-driven change, is rooted in biology, not mindset. Travis explains how the brain scans for threat, expends energy when routines are disrupted, and processes change as loss, often affecting competence, relationships, and control. He outlines neurological systems involved in change (including the basal ganglia, prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, amygdala, and limbic system) and connects them to habits, learning effort, exclusion, ambiguity, anxiety, and loss. They discuss why empathy, honesty, and vulnerability matter, how successful organizations treat resistance as information, and why pacing, trust, clear narratives, and frequent transparent communication improve adoption. Here's what we talked about with Travis: -Resistance Is Biology -Autopilot Routines and AI -Empathy and Loss in Change -Six Brain Barriers Explained -Adoption Patterns That Work -Scaling Trust in Big Orgs Order Travis' book here: https://linktr.ee/theneurologicalnomad Visit…

People in this episode

Host: Michael Marchuk

Guest: Travis D. Hahler

Topics covered

• organizational resistance
• neuroscience of change
• AI-driven change
• empathy in change
• neurological systems
• communication in organizations

Keywords

• resistance to change
• neuroscience
• organizational behavior
• AI adoption
• empathy
• communication
• neurological systems

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Salesforce

Books & works: Rethink Resistance

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