Neuroscience of Resistance: How to Use ‘No’ as a Way In With the Transformation  Expert Who’s Led Change at Google & Salesforce

Every leader, parent, and consultant runs into the same wall: resistance. Someone pushes back on an idea or a change, and the instinct is to push harder. Travis Hahler, who has led transformation work inside Google and Salesforce and worked with over 100 organizations, says that instinct is exactly backwards.

In this conversation, Howie Chan sits down with Travis to unpack why the human brain treats change as a threat before it treats it as an opportunity. Travis breaks down the six neurological barriers behind every no, from routine and ambiguity to loss and exclusion, and explains why treating resistance as a personal attack only makes it worse.

You'll learn why leaders who spin their message trigger more resistance, how to influence people who outrank you using data, why "no" can actually be a doorway instead of a dead end, and how to apply this same framework to your own resistance to change.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Why We Resist Change

00:04:33 The Spin Trap Leaders Fall Into

00:06:59 Cultural Differences to Change

00:09:54 The 6 Neurological Barriers to Change

00:15:14 Why Resistance Isn't Personal

00:18:15 Change in Action: Getting People to Attend Events

00:22:10 How Coaches Can Help Participants Be Successful

00:28:05 Influencing Up Without Authority