What if the reason your team isn't performing has nothing to do with strategy, structure, or process, and everything to do with the human brain? In this episode, Simon sits down with Mike Mears, former Chief of Human Capital at the CIA, bestselling author, and founder of the CIA Leadership Academy. Drawing on decades of experience from operating behind the Iron Curtain to working alongside Jack Welch at GE, Mike reveals why most executives are unknowingly working against human nature, and what to do about it. Mike breaks down the neuroscience behind why certainty is the missing ingredient in modern leadership, why only 25% of employees are truly engaged, and how a simple shift in approach can unlock the brain chemicals that drive trust, motivation, and real change. You'll also hear how Leon Panetta's approach to the hunt for Bin Laden is one of the best leadership lessons you've never been taught and how you can apply the same principle to transform your team starting this week.

In this episode of Tenzing's Executive Edge, host Greg Anderson sits down with Omer Abdullah — global business leader, co-founder of the SmartCube, and founder of procurement advisory venture Procuria — to tackle a pressing question: how do procurement practitioners future-proof themselves in an AI-driven world? Drawing on over 35 years of experience, Omer argues that procurement has reached an existential inflection point. AI and agentic technology are rapidly eliminating not just transactional work, but a significant portion of the analytical middle layer too — and the function will emerge smaller, leaner, and far more strategically oriented as a result. Omer and Greg discuss why this is actually the opportunity procurement professionals have always asked for, but only for those willing to skill up and embrace the change. For those who don't, CFOs will simply let the machines do the work.

In this episode of Executive Edge, Greg interviews Yale Peebles — a West Point graduate, former Army captain, Wharton MBA and CEO of YSP Advisory Services — about turning complex strategy into real-world execution.

Yale explains how disciplined leadership, clear communication, and practical planning (including built-in flexibility and a regular ‘‘drumbeat’’ of updates) help teams move from vision to measurable results. He emphasizes simplifying plans, identifying critical dependencies, assigning ownership, and focusing on solutions, not problems.

Tune in for actionable lessons on accountability, cross-functional coordination, and executing mergers, integrations, and growth initiatives under pressure.