Someone wants two days of your time. It's the kind of thing you'd love to do.
And saying no feels like shutting a door that might matter.
So you say yes.
Then the cost shows up. It comes out of the hours you'd saved for building. And you pause.
Your team does it too. They say yes to your face. Then the change costs them something they're good at. Six months in, hardly anything's moved.
Travis Hahler wrote a book about that pause. It's called Rethink Resistance. He's led change at Google and Salesforce. And since the book came out, the asks keep landing on him too.
Most of us live in the space between "yes" and "done." A few get to done, and what gets done is the thing they're building.
ABOUT TRAVIS HAHLER
Travis Hahler is the founder of The Neurological Nomad and the author of Rethink Resistance. He pairs a psych degree and an MBA with having led transformation at Google and Salesforce. For ten years he's been working out why most change efforts fail, across more than 100 organizations.
INSIDE THE EPISODE
- How to make change actually happen in your org
- The signs of stalling and success that predict change
- Why "yes" doesn't lead to "done"
- How to give a "yes" that actually gets done
THIS EPISODE IS FOR
- Founders whose good yeses keep eating the hours they'd saved for building
- Leaders whose team said yes to the change months ago, and hardly anything's moved
- Founders who say yes because "no" feels like closing a door
GUEST LINKS
WHAT TO DO NEXT
Share
Send this to the founder whose list keeps growing while the real work waits. Ask them: "What's the one thing that matters but keeps getting pushed down because of another yes?" They'll know exactly what you mean. And they'll remember you as the one who asked what everyone else let slide.
Connect
with Dr. Yishai on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dryishai/
Let's Chat
Book your free Ceiling Break Session on his LinkedIn page to get the shift yourself.
ABOUT THE PODCAST
You were built for speed.
But right now you feel slower than you look on paper.
Most founders try to outwork that slow-down.
It only burns them out.
Your mind is the only machine your company doesn’t upgrade.
So leaders keep pushing against the wrong thing.
Hosted by doctor of psychology and executive coach Dr Yishai Barkhordari.
DISCLAIMER
This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace medical, psychological, legal, or financial advice. It is not therapy, clinical advice, or coaching guidance. All examples and stories are illustrative. Some examples or stories are composites. Results vary based on personal effort, context, and market conditions.
Always consult qualified professionals before making decisions that impact your business, health, or well-being.
© 2026 Yishai Barkhordari. All rights reserved.
