July 09 update

The early bird for the summit has now closed, and already four months out we are close to half full, and have people from 17 different countries attending.

We're delighted to see so many people from last year coming back again. If you're planning to attend we recommend you book early as we expect to sell out some time before October.

The participants are as fascinating as the speakers - people up to some important projects, across organizational development, learning, education, leadership development, change management and coaching. If you are coming, we recommend you totally clear your calendar while you are there, as it's a rare chance to meet so many fascinating people.

The theme for this year is 'Toward Integration' and the idea is to be linking the science even closer to practice, and be connecting up the fields in deeper ways.

This year we have some of the most important thinkers in the field of both neuroscience, change and leadership development speaking, including Daniel J Siegel, Warren Bennis and Werner Erhard.

We have also added several features to make the event even more interactive and rich, including:
- Starting and finishing the summit focused on the theme of change.
- A session on brain assessments and training
- A poster session for anyone to present a case study, research or research plans
- A focus on educational tools for practitioners
- A time for practioners to share with each other
- Two salon sessions in the evening for more philosophical discussion time

We have also ensured that there are only 4 sessions each day (plus the evening salons), with even more time for connecting with others within the sessions.

For more information see the summit website, or download the full program here:

Update on the 2009 summit in Los Angeles

We are very excited to have some of the most brilliant minds of our time involved in this year's event, including these three:

Warren Bennis, One of the greats of leadership development

Werner Erhard, Founding father of the transformational leadership field

Daniel Siegel, Author of the best seller "The Developing Mind", co-director of UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Centre.

The theme this year is 'toward integration', and the sessions will be even more integrative than the highly acclaimed summits in 08. The topics this year also build on the previous year's insights, to provide an ongoing educational forum for senior change-agents from around the globe.

This is an event for people who are already making an impact in the world, and don't find that normal conferences provide new insights or the right level of networking. Many participants are involved in a broad range of wide scale and global change initiatives, inside or outside large organizations.

(Or to put it bluntly: I go to 30 conferences a year and rarely attend a session: this summit is specifically the topics I want to learn about now...) Few people out of 150 in NYC last year missed a single session.

Early bird registrations are open, til June 30 only. There are only 200 places at this event, so if you're keen we suggest you register early to reserve your place. We have people registered from 9 countries so far, including USA, UK, Canada, Peru, Australia, Netherlands, Brazil, Liechtenstein and Belgium.

The Summit 2009 brochure outlining a larger list of presenters and topics will be available in early May.

David Rock

2008 North American NeuroLeadership Summit Debrief

What happens when you get 150 change agents from 20 countries around the globe, together with the world's leading neuroscientists, to talk about the biology of decision making, managing emotions, collaborating with others and facilitating change? A tremendous number of new connections, between people, ideas and research, and new insights for developing leaders. As one participant said: 'This conference was truly historic'. (Okay, so we made up the picture on the right...)

While the first Summit was held on top of a mountain in northern Italy, this was in heart of Times Square amidst the bustle and chaos. The theme for this Summit was ‘making new connections’.

These connections were helped along by wonderful facilitation from Art Kleiner, editor of strategy+business magazine. Participants came from China, Japan, Korea, South Africa, Turkey, Romania, Slovakia, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, UK, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Canada, US, Mexico, Peru, Brazil and Australia. About a third were from inside large organizations, a third were independent consultants or coaches and a third were educators. What they had in common was a desire to bring the science of the brain into the way they created positive change in the world.

A common quote from participants was 'I never normally go to conferences, and if I do, I don't go into sessions. Here I can't bear to miss a single talk.' This was a Summit for people doing challenging, complex change work, who wanted new tools, not the same old ideas, and wanted to learn from their peers.

Below are some of the highlights of the event. If you want to dive into this work and make your own connections, you can get the entire Summit on audio, with both slides and a recording of every session.

As well, you might want to join the NeuroLeadership Institute, or order the first edition of the NeuroLeadership Journal, on it’s way for release in the next few weeks. You can also order a DVD set of the entire 2007 first summit in Asolo, Italy.

There's some great podcasts up now, with interviews with several speakers, to hear more about the field at high-level.

Preconference – ‘Neuroscience 101’
Lila Devaci did a great job of outlining the brain overall for novices, providing a platform of knowledge for going into the summit. There was extra interest in the brain circuits for memory and emotional regulation.


Opening session – ‘How attention changes the brain’
Neuropsychiatrist Jeffrey Schwartz and physicist Henry Stapp presented a 'double-act' rich with insight about the underlying physics of how attention changes the brain. The session was held in the magnificent Hudson Theatre and provided some deep insights about the processes involved in change in the brain.


‘Why thinking has limits’
Amy Arnsten, one of the leading neuroscientists working on the prefrontal cortex, presented her research that explains why mental processes are so tiring, and how to maximize mental performance. A key theme was the importance of a sense of control for the brain.


‘The neuroscience of decision making’
Facilitated by Katharine McLennan, with Bob Eckert and Amy Arnsten, this panel discussion explored in depth some of the issues around decision-making.


‘The anatomy of an aha’
We were fortunate to have Jonah Lehrer (left), author and science writer, facilitate this rich session exploring the neuroscience of insight. Panel included Mark Jung-Beeman (right), the leading figure in the study of insight in the brain, Chris Wink, one of the founders of the Blueman group, taking about the creative process itself, and myself David Rock talking about organizational applications of insight. A great quote from Chris (that's him with the red nose): ‘I can’t even imagine having writers block now, it’s such a strange concept to me’.
The big idea: while insight is still mysterious, we are learning plenty now from the brain about how to 'stack the deck' to significantly increase the likelihood of it occurring.


‘Know thyself – the latest science of mindfulness’
Yiyuan Tang, a leading global researcher based in China and the US, presented a range of insights and science explaining mindfulness. His recent study showed the difference between 5 days of mindfulness training for 20 minutes a day, versus 5 days of relaxation training (in summary: a big difference!) Yiyuan is an inspirational, deep thinker who had a big impact on the group. You can see two people reflecting as they listen to his session here. There is more on Yiyuan’s work in the forthcoming NeuroLeadership Journal.


‘The limits of memory’

Lila Devaci delivered a powerful session on how memories are created, and how we can do better at encoding memories by understanding the brain. She had a wonderful ability to synthesize and simplify complex science to make it easy to digest (and remember!)

‘Mindfulness panel discussion’
We had an eclectic mix of people discussing mindfulness in more depth, including Yiyuan Tang, Anna Tavis from AIG and two consultants, Millie Greenough who was running the morning attention-training sessions, and Suzanne Kryder, working with senior leaders on mindfulness.

Connecting sessions
Each day had an hour for meeting other participants during the day. This allowed time for the brain to rest and digest, and to discuss ideas with scientists and other participants. Given the caliber of participants there, this proved to be a much appreciated window each day.

‘Stay cool under pressure’
Kevin Ochsner, one of the two founding father of the social neuroscience field, presented a dynamic session illustrating the neuroscience of regulating our emotions. He explored topics such as how suppression is a terrible strategy for our emotions, and the impact of reappraisal on the brain.

‘The brain is a social animal’
Matthew Lieberman, the other founding father of social neuroscience, delivered a powerful session illustrating the neuroscience behind the pains and pleasures of social life. He presented many fascinating findings around the theme of how social pains and pleasures use the same general systems as physical pains and pleasures. (My favorite study: Tylenol was reducing social pain more than a placebo in people.) There is more on this in a paper Matt published in the forthcoming NeuroLeadership Journal.

‘Panel on the neuroscience of leadership’
This was a rich discussion with John Case, ex CEO of a division of Electrolux, along with consultant Cathy Greenberg, with Diane Coutu, a senior editor with the Harvard Business Review, and Kevin Ochsner weighing in. John Case's FAT system was a highlight. The other highlight was Diane presenting the counter-argument that business isn’t ready for neuroscience yet, which was then discussed in the group.

‘Panel on education and the brain’
We heard from Al Ringleb, director and founder of CIMBA, an international business school teaching MBA students about the brain. Also Renee Rolleri, co-founder of the BlueSchool in NYC, who are integrating brain research (and soon teaching about the brain) into the way they are designing curriculum for k-12. Matthew Lieberman also participated, and the session was facilitated by an Australian educational consultant, Andrew Mowat.


‘A quantum theory of trust’
Karen Stephenson, one of the leading lights in social networking theory, presented a powerful session on the nature of trust and it’s role in networks. The group loved her straight-to-the-point approach and her humor, but above all her crisp insights about what really drives organizations: trust networks.


‘The neuroscience of cultural change’
This session featured Karen Stephenson discussing the ideas of changing systems in more detail, with input from Brent Oberholtzer(right), an executive from the Treasury in the US, Janet Crawford, a consultant, and Eugene Baker (left), who is collaborating with scientists to build brain based assessment techniques. This holds the promise of evidence-based assessments for leadership interventions based on changes in brain functioning, an important development in the field.
Facilitated by Cheryl Doggett, an executive from Bank of America, the session was a rich discussion about how we can use what has been discussed at the Summit to drive change in complex systems.


‘Coaching with the brain in mind’

This session featured cases from NASA, presented by their head of leadership development Chris Williams (right), and American Express by their head of coaching Scott Wigley (also right). I presented more of the theoretical framework for brain-based coaching, and Linda Page (left), who facilitated the session, presented some of the deeper foundations of brain based coaching.

‘Drive change’
This was the closing keynote for the Summit, where the ideas from all the sessions were linked together. Of special interest to people was the definition of the field into four areas of interest (see left). Also the SCARF model which summarizes much of the science emerging about collaborating with and influencing others. See the Journal for more on both of these.



What to do next if you want to make more connections to these ideas?

Become a member of the NeuroLeadership Institute, and attend members-only events in Sydney and NYC coming up.



Order the Summit audio, including speaker slides, or DVD's from the first summit.



Order the first NeuroLeadership Journal




Join a general mailing list, be first to learn about 2009 Summit(s)

Making New Connections in Sydney

The theme for the Asia Pacific NeuroLeadership summit was ‘Making new connections’ and we certainly achieved that and a lot more.

Here’s how we know the event was a success:

•Attendance at the preconference on Neuroscience 101, over 80 people, which was very well received
• The number of senior business leaders who actually attended most sessions (a rarity nowadays)

• The very high number of books bought per person at the store – we had arranged just the right set of books selected for the 5 tracks emerging within this discipline
• Over one third of attendees registered for membership of the Institute, giving them an opportunity to stay connected
• Sales of DVD’s from the first summit, released in Sydney


• Strong participation in the self-organizing ‘connection sessions’.
• The fabulous comments from participants about the world class speakers

The new design of the event, based on feedback from the first summit, was more inclusive, and allowed for significant time for participants to digest the ideas, connect with each other and talk with the experts.

The format modeled how the brain likes to learn (intense bursts, then rest, with processes for integration such as informal and small group discussion time.)
And finally there was the great location (yes, the view in the picture was the view from the deck where we had every break) and the perfect weather, the first good weather of spring.

If you couldn’t make it to the Sydney Summit, you can order a digital summary of the event. This includes audio recordings of most sessions, as well as many of the slides and other resources. (This will be sent on a flash disk.) There is also a full audio summary of this event, and other audio resources here.

Asia Pacific/Sydney Summit Underway

The NeuroLeadership Summit being held in Sydney, Australia is in full swing and we are wrapping it up today. The Keynotes and breakout sessions have held captive audiences as they learn more about how the brain works and how they can use this information to be better coaches, facilitators and managers of people.

View the Sydney program.

NY Summit Program Confirmed

The program for the North American Summit being held in New York City is confirmed and Keynotes include:

• Attention changes the brain


• Know thyself: the latest science of mindfulness


• Stay cool under pressure


• The brain is a social animal


• Drive change

Feel free to follow this link to download the NeuroLeadership NY Summit Program.

September 08 Update

Hi everyone,

The big news right now is a fantastic article in the New Yorker Magazine, that summarizes the science emerging within one of my favourite areas of study, insight. Written by Jonah Lehrer, with interviews with Mark Jung-Beeman, the article is a must-read for anyone interested in the brain and leadership, innovation, coaching and change. To me insight is at the heart of change, and real change has an insight at the core. Download the article here.

I also recently interviewed Jonah about his current book, and he is speaking in NYC at the NeuroLeadership Summit. He will be running a session with Mark Jung-Beeman, along with one of the founders of the Blueman Group, all about the science of insight. You can listen to the 30 minute interview here.

One of the most fun parts of what I do is getting to spend time with some incredibly smart people, and Jonah is one of these for sure. Jonah also runs the best blog in the world for people interested in the latest neuroscience research. It's called the Frontal Cortex, and it's well worth diving into.

There was a great article in the Sydney Morning Herald recently about the NeuroLeadership field, a full page story with photos.

I am about to dive into the first of the two Neuroleadership summits. The programs are all finalized, you can dowload them on the neuroleadership site. Am also excited to be editing the first neuroleadership journal, which will come out around the NYC Summit at the end of October. We have over a dozen papers rich in insights and ideas coming together. I am publishing a paper on Influencing Others, with a summary of some of the key social neuroscience research.

Between the two summits I will be visiting Oxford University to give a talk, and spending time at CIMBA in Asolo, Italy, where I am on faculty. I look forward to working with a new group of MBA students, introducing them to the key findings from neuroscience as they start their year long MBA. It's exciting to be part of the team at CIMBA building a brain-based MBA for future leaders.

One thing I know for sure is that knowing about the brain is proving to be tremendously useful for staying cool under pressure amongst the chaos that is life. The more I am learning, the easier it is to catch debilitating patterns before they take hold. As a paper I read this week said, (by Craig Hassed who is teaching mindfulness to medical students), there are lots of trains of thought your mind travels along. I believe that knowing about your brain gives you more ability to choose which train to get onto, and more importantly, which to stay off.

That's about it for now. Please feel free to email me, davidrock@workplacecoaching.com, with any feedback about what you find useful or meaningful in this blog.