How do you lead people who are reluctant to follow? The answer is human connection. Once we have a greater understanding of our need to connect with others, we can start to build better, deeper, stronger relationships with those around us. Scott draws from his experiences leading and connecting people in some of the most challenging, war-torn environments in the world to outline powerful methods for fostering better trust and connection using time-tested Green Beret interpersonal skills that can be adapted by any organization. Afterall, what works in life and death works even better in life and business.

How do you lead when everything is falling apart and chaos reigns supreme? In the heat of America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, a group of volunteer veterans stepped into the breach to lead a grassroots movement to help rescue Afghan nationals trapped in extremely dangerous conditions as the country collapsed all around them.

Operation Pineapple Express, the nonprofit organization Scott founded and dedicated to rescuing and resettling our Afghan allies, played a pivotal role in their safe passage away from life-threatening situations.

Scott will take the audience along for the heart-wrenching, moment-by-moment events as he tells the story of secretly moving Afghans through holes in the airport perimeter known as the Pineapple Express. Then, he brings it all full circle as he challenges people to identify their own Pineapple Express and answer the call to lead in difficult times.

Supply chain shortfalls. Unprecedented change management. Low personnel numbers. Now more than ever, teams are being asked to consistently perform at the highest level with fewer – and more limited – resources. This ultimately leads to burnout and high levels of turnover.

In this talk, Scott demonstrates to leaders how they can inspire consistent high performance in a sustainable way. Drawing from his experiences as a leader in the Special Ops Community, he shares the ways embracing a culture of rhythm, rituals, regimen, and rigor can help teams overcome the inertia of burnout while remaining resilient over the long haul to achieve strategic objectives. 

How can you connect with clients and associates when we are facing an epic struggle? By telling your story. It’s how the brain makes sense of the world and how your audience makes sense of your mission. As Lt. Col. Scott Mann shares, through purposeful storytelling, you can create an impact, accelerate trust, and make your vision more relatable to the people you aim to connect with.

In this talk, Lt. Col. Mann leads a discussion where he walks audiences through the process of discovering purpose, building a movement, and learning to tell their story in the service of others. In doing so, he arms organizations with the skills needed to influence and engage people, while developing a competitive edge.

How do we reconnect after the persistent fear, unprecedented change, and epic isolation of a multi-year pandemic? Reemerging and reconnecting after a storm like the one we’ve been through is not to be left to instinct alone. “The Great Resignation” has shown us that leaders who can’t reconnect with their people wherever they are on their emotional journey will likely lose them. This affects performance and the bottom line.

Scott shares his lessons learned from reconnecting as a multi-tour veteran returning home from war and how they can be adapted to the evolving workplace. Creating parallels to people returning to the office, he offers hard-hitting human connection skills that will enhance leaders’ ability to boost psychological safety and human connection in their organizations, while uniting their people around a shared purpose.

How do you overcome the trust gaps between you and the people you serve that seem so pervasive in these complex times? As Scott shares, you have to get below the waterline – that’s where the real essence of humanity and connection, regardless of language or culture, resides. Green Berets recognize this, and it’s how they build rapport in low trust, war-torn environments where there is a thin line between life and death. Having trained Green Berets in this social science skillset for more than two decades, Scott gives audiences a crash course on how to get below the waterline with their teammates and clients. He shares actionable steps for building the type of trust that moves people to follow you and invest in a shared vision, as well as insights for develop in a detailed plan of action that is more relevant to achieving your objectives.