The Mammoth in the Room

By Nicolas Pokorny, PhD, MBA

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Episodes: 112

Description

History doesn’t repeat itself. Human behavior does. The Mammoth in the Room is a leadership podcast that guides listeners through pivotal historical moments, helping decipher the human instincts that shaped decisions, outcomes, and entire eras. These are the same forces shaping leaders and organizations today — inviting reflection, self-awareness, and more deliberate leadership in the present. In each episode, you’ll discover: - Why leaders gain (or lose) trust, authority, and influence - How teams behave under pressure and why they succeed or lose - The hidden incentives, instincts, and biases behind big decisions - What repeating patterns in history can teach today’s organizations Hosted by Nicolas Pokorny (multinational executive leader, neuroscientist, and author). If you lead people, teams, or change—this show will help you lead with more awareness, adaptability, and intent.

Episode Date
The Danger of Being Right Before: Churchill's Final Leadership Lesson
Oct 08, 2026
Winning the War... Losing the Country
Oct 01, 2026
Leading Giants: Influence Without Control
Sep 24, 2026
The Power of Words: Turning Fear into Resolve
Sep 17, 2026
Britain's Darkest Hour: When No Option Was Safe
Sep 10, 2026
The Lonely Warning: Churchill, Hitler and the Courage to Dissent
Sep 03, 2026
When Boldness Backfires: Churchill's Greatest Failure
Aug 27, 2026
Ambition Without Restraint: When Success Starts Lying to You
Aug 20, 2026
The Boy Nobody Believed In
Aug 13, 2026
The Queen Who Outlived Her Time
Aug 06, 2026
When Courage Defeated the Greatest Fleet on Earth
Jul 30, 2026
The Signature That Changed History
Jul 23, 2026
Trust No One: The Hidden War for Elizabeth's Crown
Jul 16, 2026
The Other Queen
Jul 09, 2026
The Decision She Refused to Make
Jul 02, 2026
Elizabeth I - The Queen Who Refused to Choose Sides
Jun 25, 2026
A Queen Under Judgment
Jun 18, 2026
Queen Elizabeth I — Survival in a House of Wolves
Jun 11, 2026
Queen Elizabeth I — Born to Fall: The Child Who Refused to Disappear
Jun 04, 2026
The System Wins: Why Power Always Finds a New Center
May 28, 2026
After the Knife: When Chaos Chooses Its Next Leader
May 21, 2026
The Ides of March: When Silence Breaks
May 14, 2026
The Quiet Danger of Power: When No One Pushes Back
May 07, 2026
Victory’s Shadow: Who Your Team Becomes After Losing
Apr 30, 2026
Mercy and Control: How Caesar Won the War—and lost the Room
Apr 23, 2026
Julius Caesar Crossing the Rubicon: When Leaders Reach the Point of No Return
Apr 16, 2026
Conquest as Credibility: How Julius Caesar Turned Victory into Power
Apr 09, 2026
Power in Alliance: Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus
Apr 02, 2026
Debt, Risk, and Recognition: The Making of Julius Caesar
Mar 26, 2026
Rome Before Julius Caesar: How Systems Create Strongmen
Mar 19, 2026
Napoleon Bonaparte: Waterloo. When past success becomes your greatest enemy.
Mar 12, 2026
Napoleon Bonaparte - When the World Stops Cooperating
Mar 05, 2026
Napoleon Bonaparte - Success and Strategic Blindness
Feb 26, 2026
Napoleon Bonaparte - The Quiet Transition of Power
Feb 19, 2026
Napoleon Bonaparte - From Crisis to Control
Feb 12, 2026
Napoleon Bonaparte - Leadership Born of Chaos
Feb 05, 2026
When Leadership Moves: Observing the Mammoth
Feb 05, 2026
How to Use Power in Leadership As a Tool, Not a Weapon
Dec 25, 2025
How to Deal with a Blame Shifter in Your Team
Dec 18, 2025
3 Research-Backed Ways to Design Power That Drives Performance
Dec 11, 2025
Why the Fear of Losing Power Makes Leaders Selfish (And How to Prevent It)
Dec 04, 2025
The Hidden Saboteur: Why Your Team Is Falling Apart and How to Fix It
Nov 27, 2025
How Hard vs. Soft Power Affects Leadership Motivation and Success
Nov 20, 2025
How to Stop Free Riders in Your Team (Without Confrontation or Conflict)
Nov 13, 2025
Hard vs Soft Power: Are You Using the Right Power in Leadership?
Nov 06, 2025
How to Handle a Selfish Teammate Without Creating More Conflict
Oct 30, 2025
How to Build Trust as a New Leader (Without Forcing Authority)
Oct 23, 2025
How to Lead When One Team Member Dominates the Room
Oct 16, 2025
The Ultimate Guide to Designing Effective Leadership Hierarchy
Oct 09, 2025
Why Prestige Is a More Powerful Leadership Tool Than Dominance
Oct 02, 2025
Fear vs Respect in Leadership: What Ancient China Reveals About Lasting Authority
Sep 25, 2025
Why Every Flat Organization Eventually Turns Into a Hierarchy When Scaling Up
Sep 18, 2025
How Ancient Societies Solved the Problem Every Growing Company Faces
Sep 11, 2025
Evolution of Leadership: Why Humans Traded Equality for Hierarchy
Sep 04, 2025
4 Simple Ways to Stop Overconfidence from Ruining Your Leadership
Aug 28, 2025
How to Spot Overconfident Leaders Before They Destroy Your Team
Aug 21, 2025
The “Better Than Average” Trap: The Leadership Bias That Creates Fatal Blind Spots
Aug 14, 2025
The Illusion of Control: How Overconfident Leaders Make Fatal Mistakes
Aug 07, 2025
Why Overconfidence Kills Leadership Success (And How to Overcome It)
Jul 31, 2025
Why Cooperation Beats Conflict: Leadership Lessons from History
Jul 24, 2025
STOP Retaliating! The Counter-Intuitive Leadership Strategy That Actually Wins
Jul 17, 2025
The Truth Behind Global Trade Wars: Leadership Lessons from History
Jul 10, 2025
The Outsider CEO Who Broke Every IBM Rule (And Saved The Company!)
Jul 03, 2025
The Company That Built America, Then Destroyed Itself
Jun 26, 2025
The Greed That Toppled an Empire: The Fall of the British East India Company
Jun 19, 2025
How BlackBerry Lost 80 Million Users in 5 Years (And What Every CEO Must Learn)
Jun 12, 2025
What Blockbuster Didn’t See Coming (This Could Destroy Your Business!)
Jun 05, 2025
The Evolution of Alliances: Why Smart Leaders Build Coalitions, Not Empires
May 29, 2025
Status Anxiety in Business: Why Rivals Push You to Make Bad Decisions
May 22, 2025
The Fairness Instinct: Why Pride, Not Profit, Breaks Billion-Dollar Deals
May 15, 2025
The Real Cost of Dominance: How Pride Undermines Business Leadership
May 08, 2025
Wheelchair-Bound and Unstoppable: How Sir Frank Williams Turned Adversity into Triumph
May 01, 2025
Why Playing It Safe Could Be the Riskiest Move You’re Making
Apr 24, 2025
Why Apple Fired Steve Jobs (And Why It Made Him Unstoppable)
Apr 17, 2025
The Hidden Framing Bias That Could Ruin Your Business Decisions (Fix This NOW!)
Apr 10, 2025
The Confirming Evidence Trap - The Hidden Bias That’s Killing Your Business Growth
Apr 03, 2025
How a $10 Billion Mistake Could Have Been Avoided (The Sunk Cost Trap)
Mar 27, 2025
How Kodak, Blockbuster, and Microsoft Lost Billions by Playing It Safe
Mar 20, 2025
How The Anchoring Bias Hijacks Your Business Decisions (And How to Stop It)
Mar 13, 2025
STOP Letting Your Brain Fool You! The Truth About Decision-Making Biases
Mar 06, 2025
Evolutionary Truths That Make You An Outstanding Leader (Most Leaders Ignore These!)
Feb 28, 2025
How a 'Failed' President Became One of the Most Admired Leaders in History
Feb 20, 2025
Does Your Team Secretly Call You ‘Micromanager-in-Chief’? Here’s How to Fix It
Feb 13, 2025
Never Ask Your Team to Collect Wood— Inspire Them to Do This Instead
Feb 06, 2025
What Today’s Business Leaders Can Learn from Ancient Rome’s Greatest Leaders (Countdown to the GOAT)
Jan 30, 2025
What Today’s Leaders Can Learn From Ancient China’s Greatest Leaders (The Countdown to the GOAT)
Jan 23, 2025
Challenge and Be Challenged: Lessons from Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Netflix, & WeWork
Jan 16, 2025
How to Foster Growth and Create High-Performing Teams
Jan 09, 2025
Know Your People: The Secret to Leadership Success
Jan 02, 2025
Walking Your Talk: How Authentic Leadership Builds Trust and Respect
Dec 26, 2024
6 Practical Steps to Manage Fear, Stress, and Anxiety at Work
Dec 19, 2024
How To Manage Fear And Anxiety In The Corporate Context
Dec 12, 2024
The Leadership Mistakes that Demotivate Employees
Dec 05, 2024
The Biggest Myth in Leadership: Can You Really Motivate Others?
Nov 28, 2024
Practical Tips Every Leader Needs to Build Lasting Team Motivation
Nov 21, 2024
7 Tips to Adhere to Build a Team That’s Truly Yours
Nov 14, 2024
How to Manage Your Energy in a New Leadership Role to Avoid Burnout
Nov 07, 2024
Office Politics Are Rigged Against You—Here’s How to Win
Oct 31, 2024
The Psychology Behind Corporate Greed: Lessons from Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme
Oct 24, 2024
Corporate Greed and the Surprising Post-Pandemic CEO-to-Employee Pay Ratio
Oct 17, 2024
Assessing Company Culture: The Critical Step Leaders Must Not Miss To Ensure Long-Term Success
Oct 10, 2024
10 Metrics Every Leader Must Understand to Drive Business Success (Part 2)
Oct 03, 2024
4 Financial Metrics Every Leader Needs to Drive Business Success and Growth
Sep 26, 2024
From KPIs to Cultural Dynamics: The Essential Leadership Insights You Need for Your First 100 Days
Sep 19, 2024
Why Great Leaders Must Also Be Great Followers: The Critical Balance for Long-term Success
Sep 12, 2024
Starting Strong: Leadership Tips for Your First One-on-One Interaction
Sep 05, 2024
From First Impressions to Lasting Impact: Top 3 Strategies for New Leaders
Aug 29, 2024
How Your First Meeting with a New Team Can Make or Break Your Leadership
Aug 22, 2024
Leveraging Game Theory for Effective Leadership
Aug 15, 2024
What Do The BEST Leaders Know And You Don’t? Here Is The Key And How To Use It!
Aug 15, 2024
The Mammoth in the Room: The Real Reason Why Businesses Succeed or Fail
Aug 15, 2024
Welcome to The Mammoth in the Room
Aug 05, 2024