Does getting promoted literally rewire your brain to lose empathy?

The science says YES. 🧠

In this research-backed episode of Arguing Agile, Product Manager Brian Orlando and Enterprise Business Agility Consultant Om Patel examine the unsettling neuroscience behind why your favorite coworker turned into a corporate tyrant after their last promotion.

Drawing from peer-reviewed studies in the Journal of Experimental Psychology and Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, watch or listen as we explore three mechanisms that erode empathy in leadership positions (and talk through how to evade entropy).

🔬 WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
• How power physically changes your brain chemistry and reduces your ability to read emotions
• Why narcissistic individuals rise faster through corporate ranks (and how to spot them)
• How socioeconomic class divides create empathy blind spots in leaders
• Practical guardrails to maintain your integrity as you advance

Whether you're a product manager, agile coach, or aspiring leader, this episode will help you recognize the warning signs of empathy erosion in yourself and others... before it's too late!

Have you watched someone change after a promotion? Let us know!

RESEARCH:
• "Power Changes How the Brain Responds to Others" (Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2014)
• "Social Class, Contextualism, and Empathic Accuracy" (2010)
• Prosocial orientation and power amplification studies (JPSP, 2011)

#Leadership #CorporateCulture #WorkplacePsychology

Journal of Experimental Psychology (2014) - Power Changes How the Brain Responds to Others, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (2011) - Prosocial Orientation and Power Study, Social Class Contextualism and Empathic Accuracy (2010), Hittner & Haase (2021) - Empathic Accuracy and SES Study, Management 3.0 - 360 Reviews, Good to Great by Jim Collins (implied - wrong people wrong seats metaphor), Die Hard (film reference), Elon Musk Twitter/X takeover, Sheryl Sandberg (referenced), Glassdoor

LINKS
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@arguingagile
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/362QvYORmtZRKAeTAE57v3
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/agile-podcast/id1568557596
Website: https://arguingagile.com/

INTRO MUSIC
Toronto Is My Beat
By Whitewolf (Source: https://ccmixter.org/files/whitewolf225/60181)
CC BY 4.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)

Is 'Move Fast & Break Things' just permission to be reckless?

Join Product Manager Brian Orlando and Enterprise Business Agility Consultant Om Patel as they examine Mark Zuckerberg's (in)famous mantra and reveal how it may have metastasized from breaking code to breaking laws, teams, and even contributing to real human harm.

Watch or listen as we explore the critical dimensions of this philosophy, including:

1. BREAKING SOFTWARE: How the original meaning of 'break things' (emphasizing first-mover advantage) evolved from rapid iteration of code to justifying regulatory evasion and monopolistic behavior.
2. BREAKING TEAMS: Using Harvard research that shows 'always-on' cultures decrease productivity by 20% and spike turnover to discuss how intensity without recovery is just exploitation (and what to do instead).
3. BREAKING PEOPLE: Discussing the human costs of unchecked speed, from Facebook's alleged role in the Myanmar genocide to Uber's systemic harassment culture to Theranos's fraud.
4. LEARNING OVER SPEED: We discuss Eric Ries's seminal work: The Lean Startup and how it went out of it's way to emphasize learning velocity over shipping velocity. WRONG (we guess)!
5. PUSHING BACK (WITHOUT GETTING FIRED): We brainstorm for frameworks to use for challenging speed-obsessed leadership, including trade-off and discuss real-world experiences.

Whether you're running a business, a product manager, or a team member just trying to keep up, this episode arms you with arguments and frameworks to advocate for ethical innovation.

What's your take on 'move fast' culture? Have you seen it more of a positive or negative?

#ProductManagement #TechEthics #AgileLeadership

REFERENCES
Move Fast and Break Things by Jonathan Taplin (2017), Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power Greed and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn Williams, The Lean Startup by Eric Ries (2011), The Fearless Organization by Amy Edmondson (2018), Susan Fowler's blog 'Reflecting on One Very Very Strange Year at Uber' (February 2017), UN Human Rights Council 2018 report on Facebook and Myanmar, Harvard Business School research on always-on cultures (2009), Agile Podcast E22 - Interview with a Scrum Trainer: Fred Mastropasqua (August 2021), Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink, The Social Network (film, 2010)

LINKS
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@arguingagile
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/362QvYORmtZRKAeTAE57v3
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/agile-podcast/id1568557596
Website: https://arguingagile.com/

INTRO MUSIC
Toronto Is My Beat
By Whitewolf (Source: https://ccmixter.org/files/whitewolf225/60181)
CC BY 4.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)

Stop wasting time building the wrong thing faster!

In this episode of Arguing Agile, Product Manager: Brian Orlando and Business Agility Coach to THE STARS: Om Patel respond to yet another listener question, discussing Product Risk Analysis in agile environments!

Listen or watch as they challenge the common misconception that analyzing risks upfront is "waterfall" and reveal why ignoring product risks until you've burned three sprints is how teams end up building features nobody wants.

Stick around while the hosts break down Marty Cagan's four critical product risks (Valuable, Usable, Feasible, and Business-Viable) but stick around for the conversation on why most teams focus on execution risks while the real product killers are hiding in plain sight!

The topics covered are:
- Difference between product risks and execution risks
- Why traditional risk registers are theater
- "Speed-to-death" prioritization for testing assumptions
- Handling team skill gaps as feasibility risks
- Aligning stakeholders who fixate on the wrong risks
- Why business viability (pricing, unit economics) is the most ignored yet most dangerous risk

This episode is great for product managers, agile coaches, and team members who want to stop building things people don't want.

#ProductManagement #Agile #RiskAnalysis

REFERENCES

"Marty Cagan - Inspired", "Melissa Perri - Escaping the Build Trap", "Teresa Torres - Continuous Discovery Habits", "David Marquet - Turn the Ship Around", "Product School blog", "Eric Reis - The Lean Startup"

LINKS
YouTube

Website

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/362QvYORmtZRKAeTAE57v3
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/agile-podcast/id1568557596

INTRO MUSIC
Toronto Is My Beat
By Whitewolf (Source: https://ccmixter.org/files/whitewolf225/60181)
CC BY 4.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)