In 2008, the world was in a state of panic. Warren Buffett wasn’t.

While banks scrambled for survival, Buffett sat calmly on the other side of the table with something rarer than cash, credibility. Goldman Sachs needed both.

He didn’t chase the deal. He waited. And when they came calling, he offered $5 billion in preferred shares paying 10 percent plus warrants to buy more stock later. Goldman got stability. Buffett got extraordinary returns. That’s leverage, earned over years, used in a single, decisive moment.

In this episode of Insights, I break down how Buffett’s approach reveals the Five Pillars of Leverage and how you can apply them to your own negotiations.

Read Emil’s book Leading With Trust:

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Ever notice how in golf the tiniest adjustment can change everything? One stroke is often the difference between making the cut or going home.

Leadership is no different. The small choices we make every day, easy to do, easy not to do, are what compound into long-term success.

In this episode of Insights, I share how the Slight Edge theory and golf teach us to lead with consistency, patience, and daily discipline.

Read Emil’s book Leading With Trust:

⁠Amazon⁠

⁠Barnes & Noble⁠

Sign up for the Insights email: ⁠ThinkNewAmsterdam.com.⁠

Disruptions aren’t the exception anymore; they’re part of the landscape.

Shutdowns, supply shortages, labor disputes, reorganizations, and even political or social unrest can send shockwaves through even the most prepared teams. We live in a period of VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous).

So what’s a leader to do? Ignore it and hope for calm? Push harder and risk burnout? Or use the disruption itself as a way to build resilience and clarity?

In the latest episode of Insights, I share practical ways leaders can respond when disruption hits. You’ll hear why acknowledging uncertainty openly, creating clarity where you can, reconnecting to purpose, adapting workflows thoughtfully, and caring for people’s resilience matter more than ever.

I revisit Delta Air Lines’ journey, which began with a rocky loyalty program rollout but ultimately became one of its strongest assets through learning from the disruption.

Read Emil’s book Leading With Trust:

⁠Amazon⁠

⁠Barnes & Noble⁠

Sign up for the Insights email: ⁠ThinkNewAmsterdam.com.⁠