The Octopus Organization: Most companies are built for a world that no longer exists

Today we have more intense emotions and a sense of overwhelm, causing all of us stress. Leaders are dealing with so much more than they have in the past. A study on stress in America tells us that 47% of people are experiencing Anxiety, 44% are sad, 39% are angry, while 75% of us feel we could use more emotional support. For much of that support, they are turning to their leaders, who now need more counseling and coaching skills. What are they and we to do with this abundance of emotions and feelings? Drs. Greenberg and Nadler will take a deeper look at how you manage these feelings. In our Emotional Brilliance book, we presented a model of dealing with them called NAME. Notice and Name, Accept, Manage, and Express. We will look at the M for Manage: managing your thoughts and actions, which will help regulate these feelings. What is causing the most stress today, according to a recent American Psychological Association study, is:  Inflation (e.g., gas prices, energy bills, grocery costs): 87%  Supply chain issues: 81% Global uncertainty: 81% Potential retaliation from Russia (e.g., cyberattacks, nuclear threats): 80% Russian invasion of Ukraine: 80%  For more leadership tools and information on Dr. Relly Nadler go to https://drrellynadler.com

In our fast-paced, high-tech, ever-evolving world the speed of change, decision-making is getting faster, the level of competition fiercer, and adversity, ambiguity are striking harder than ever. As this is the current and future state of our world, it is imperative that people stay level-headed and focused to effectively function at optimal capacity. The ability to be that stabilizing influence in a world of constant disruption can provide a true competitive advantage and determine the long-term success of any individual and company. This topic provides insights on facing, overcoming, and learning from obstacles, while also realizing that failure, change, and adversity can be leveraged as positive catalysts for growth…and to not only help you survive in the face of adversity but to thrive in it. Steve Gavatorta, the owner of the Steve Gavatorta Group, specializes in empowering individuals and organizations in exceeding performance goals. Steve has coached and trained thousands of high performers from small businesses on the move to Fortune 500 companies.

Dr. Dave Rabin, MD, PhD is a senior research scientist on faculty at The  Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC), the Executive Director of The Board of Medicine, and the co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Apollo Neuroscience. His research focuses on understanding the mechanisms of action of psychedelic drugs and developing evidence-based guidelines for unregulated medicines and therapies that have proven effectiveness.  His upcoming book A Simple Guide to Being Alive (June 2026) is a science-backed manual for anyone who's ever felt overwhelmed by the modern world, exploring themes of burnout and navigating hard times through humor and often-overlooked practical steps to a saner life. He has been studying the impact of chronic stress in humans for 20 years with a focus on non-invasive therapies for treatment-resistant illnesses. His primary research on MDMA-assisted therapy for severe PTSD indicates that trauma can be reversed at the epigenetic level, offering hope of a cure.  He received his MD in medicine and PhD in neuroscience from Albany Medical College and specialized in psychiatry with a distinction in research at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. For more information, please visit https://www.drdave.io/Email: [email protected] For more information about Dr. Relly Nadler to to https://drrellynadler.com

Dr. Steven Stein is a world-renowned clinical psychologist, entrepreneur, and expert in emotional intelligence, hardiness, and human behavior. As Founder and Executive Chair of Multi-Health Systems (MHS), he has spent more than four decades helping leaders and organizations better understand what drives performance, teamwork, and success. Beyond his work with organizations around the world, Dr. Stein is known as the psychologist behind dozens of reality television productions, where he has helped assess and support contestants while gaining unique insights into leadership, relationships, conflict, and group dynamics. For more information, please visit https://mhs.com/about-us/Email: [email protected] For more information about Dr Relly Nadler go to https://drrellynadler.com  

Find out why over 1M people view his TED Talks. Join us, especially if you're in Public Safety for a rare look at how extraordinary experiences shape us, our happiness, wellbeing and performance. Paul J. Zak is a professor at Claremont Graduate University and is ranked in the top 0.3% of most cited scientists with over 180 published papers and more than 19,000 citations to his research. Zak's two decades of research have taken him from the Pentagon to Fortune 50 boardrooms to the rainforest of Papua New Guinea. Along the way he helped start a number of interdisciplinary fields including neuroeconomics, neuromanagement, and neuromarketing. He has written three general audience books and is a regular TED speaker. His latest book, Immersion: The Science of the Extraordinary and Source of Happiness (2022), identifies the neurologic basis for extraordinary experiences and uses 50,000 brain measurements to show readers how to create high-impact training among other benefits.

Phil Le-Brun is a former corporate VP and International CIO at McDonald's Corporation.  He co-led the consolidation and modernization of technology across thirty-eight thousand restaurants in 120 countries. He now leads the Amazon Web Services Executives in Residence team, former business and public sector leaders who mentor and guide Fortune 500 leaders on their journeys to create more adaptable organizations.  He is a sought-after speaker and has been featured in Harvard Business Review, the Wall Street Journal, and The Guardian. He is co-author of The Octopus Organization: A Guide to Thriving in a World of Continuous Transformation (Harvard Business Review Press).  For more information, please visit https://www.theoctopusorganization.com  Email: [email protected] For more information about Dr. Relly Nadler, go to https://www.drrellynadler.com    

Alicia Rius is an ICF PCC-certified leadership coach, former co-founder and COO, and author of Lead With Clarity: How New Managers Turn Confusion into Confident Leadership. She lived the doer-to-leader leap firsthand, scaling distributed teams across Europe and the US in fast-moving startup environments.  Today, through Hive Leadership & Team Coaching, she helps engineering organizations strengthen their leadership pipeline by equipping first-time managers with the clarity, structure, and confidence to lead well. She is the creator of the 4Ps Leadership Framework™ and writes about the invisible shift from doer to leader. For more information: [email protected] hiveteamcoaching.com For more information about Dr. Relly Nadler go to https://drrellynadler.com

Most CEOs don't realize they've become the bottleneck inside their own success, and Rajesh Nagjee lived that story himself before he solved it. He is a CEO mentor, creator of CEO Freedom OS™, and a trusted advisor endorsed by Dr. Marshall Goldsmith and Dr. Ivan Misner. For 30 years, he has helped 350+ CEOs running $5M to $25M companies move from chief problem solver to strategic leader, without losing control of what they built. Rajesh Nagjee built his first company, burned out running it, and nearly lost everything. That breaking point became the foundation for everything he teaches today. Now a CEO mentor and business physicist, Rajesh helps scale-stage founder-CEOs escape the Founder Bottleneck: when a company grows sophisticated enough to scale yet still depends on the founder for decisions and operational stability. He calls this underlying dynamic the Velocity Crisis, when systems evolve faster than the founder's internal operating capacity. To solve this, Rajesh created CEO Freedom OS™, a leadership architecture that removes structural founder dependency without sacrificing control. The framework installs four systems: Command Center OS, Delegation OS, Client Magnet OS, and Personal Brand OS. Over 30 years, Rajesh has mentored 350+ CEOs across 15 countries, including leaders at Amex KSA, Nielsen MEA, and BNI Middle East, helping them build companies that scale beyond the founder. For more information, please visit https://rajeshnagjee.comEmail: [email protected] For more information about Dr. Relly Nadler go to https://drrellynadler.com

Frederic Marshall is a pioneer in identifying the research-based behavioral patterns of top performers—and then helping global innovators like Apple, Pfizer, and Genentech scale those behaviors to drive billions in brand growth. He is a recognized expert in change management, launching new brands, and sales force effectiveness. He's personally trained over 130,000 people in fourteen countries. And the Quantum Learning team has helped launch seventy-four new brands in the biopharma space that have generated billions in new growth.  Known for his ability to turn anxiety into agency and radically simplify the complex, Fred's pragmatic but zen-like approach helps organizations go from zero to market leader—fast. Now, for the first time, he is sharing his research-based insights to a wider audience at a time when change, future uncertainty, and job anxiety are at an all-time high. For more information, please visit https://thrivefutureyou.com/ Email: [email protected] For more information about Dr. Relly Nadler go to https://drrellynadler.com  

Ryan A. Cherry, Colonel, USMC (Ret.), is an executive coach, speaker, and retired Marine aviator and senior military leader with over twenty-five years of service around the globe. From leading helicopter squadrons in the Indo-Pacific to advising top Department of Defense leaders on crisis response and autonomous aviation strategy, he has dedicated his career to leading under pressure.  Cherry is widely recognized for building and mentoring high-performing teams, driving innovation, and leading complex operations in some of the most demanding environments. For more information, please visit RyanACherry.comEmail: [email protected]