Sales POP - Purveyors of Propserity
LOG IN
Login with Username or Email Register
🎧 The Neuroscience of Resistance to Change
Podcast Leadership / PodCast / May 24, 2026 / Posted by Travis Hahler / 1

🎧 The Neuroscience of Resistance to Change

0 comments

Travis Hahler is Senior Director of Global Strategy & Transformation at Salesforce and the founder of The Neurological Nomad. With a background fusing EEG research, Harvard neuropsychology, and an MBA — plus over 100 transformations behind him — Travis joins John Golden to reframe one of the hardest problems in leadership: why well-funded, well-communicated change still stalls. His answer cuts straight through the usual playbook. Resistance isn’t rebellion, it’s biology, and leaders who learn to read the signal stop pushing harder and start leading better.

In this Expert Insight Interview, Travis and John cover:

  • Why humans are wired against change — and what the amygdala is actually doing during your big rollout
  • Resistance as a “check-engine light” — diagnostic information rather than the problem itself
  • Why habits sit at the foundation of every resistance pattern, especially in sales teams
  • The three losses behind every change: competence, relationships, and status
  • How leaders separate ego from reaction and stop personalizing pushback
  • Change overload, amygdala hijacking, and why “burning platform” urgency stops working when everything is urgent

Lead with the brain, not against it. Learn more about Travis’s work and book a free consultation at theneurologicalnomad.com.

Visit us on Apple Podcast You can also find SalesPOP! on all major podcast stations.

View comments (0)
About Author

TRAVIS D. HAHLER transforms how Fortune 500 companies navigate change by revealing a startling truth: Resistance isn't rebellion—it’s biology. As Senior Director of Global Strategy and Transformation at Salesforce, and Founder of The Neurological Nomad, Hahler brings an unprecedented fusion of neuroscience and business acumen to organizational transformation. His unique journey conducting EEG research in Denmark, studying neuropsychology at Harvard, earning an MBA, and leading change at Google, Salesforce, and others, makes him a unique transformation expert who can explain why your amygdala sabotages your strategic plan and why you can blame everything on your basal ganglia. Over 15 years, Hahler has guided more than 100 companies through successful transformations, earning him the nickname "Resistance Fortune Teller" for his uncanny 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, consistently delivering that aha moment when executives finally understand why 70 percent of transformations fail to achieve their goals. And, more importantly, how they can join the successful 30 percent. Rethink Resistance represents Hahler’s continued mission to democratize neuroscience for business leaders. Helping them to remove ego and embrace neuroscience to lead transformational change. Hahler lives with his husband, Brian, his son, Lachlan, and his dog, Burton, while working toward a future in which understanding neural wiring puts people back at the center of change.

Comments

About Author

TRAVIS D. HAHLER transforms how Fortune 500 companies navigate change by revealing a startling truth: Resistance isn't rebellion—it’s biology. As Senior Director of Global Strategy and Transformation at Salesforce, and Founder of The Neurological Nomad, Hahler brings an unprecedented fusion of neuroscience and business acumen to organizational transformation. His unique journey conducting EEG research in Denmark, studying neuropsychology at Harvard, earning an MBA, and leading change at Google, Salesforce, and others, makes him a unique transformation expert who can explain why your amygdala sabotages your strategic plan and why you can blame everything on your basal ganglia. Over 15 years, Hahler has guided more than 100 companies through successful transformations, earning him the nickname "Resistance Fortune Teller" for his uncanny 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, consistently delivering that aha moment when executives finally understand why 70 percent of transformations fail to achieve their goals. And, more importantly, how they can join the successful 30 percent. Rethink Resistance represents Hahler’s continued mission to democratize neuroscience for business leaders. Helping them to remove ego and embrace neuroscience to lead transformational change. Hahler lives with his husband, Brian, his son, Lachlan, and his dog, Burton, while working toward a future in which understanding neural wiring puts people back at the center of change.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. For information on cookies and how you can disable them, visit our privacy and cookie policy.