Two Decades of Obsession: The Journey to Radical Resilience
I’ve been studying resilience for over 20 years—initially because I was desperate for a lifeline.
Adolescence and early adulthood hit me hard. Like many, I faced trials that could have broken me. But I wasn’t a quitter. I just knew I was making things harder on myself than they needed to be.
So, I became obsessed with finding a better way—a method to access what I now call radical resilience. I believe this deep capacity is hardwired into all of us by design—if only we learn how to unlock it.
The Breakthrough: Resilience Is Built Through Story
In my research, a clear pattern emerged:
Children who endured extreme adversity and still flourished.
Veterans who transformed trauma into growth, strength, and purpose.
Business leaders who bounced back from crushing setbacks stronger than ever.
What did they all have in common?
The meaning they assigned to their pain.
The stories they told themselves weren’t just reflections of their past. They became the pivot points of their transformation.
And here’s the insight that changed everything:
These stories can be taught.
To activate this radical resilience, the new narrative must be:
Specific – giving pain a clear pathway to growth.
Empowering – focused on what’s in your control, activating hope and motivation.
Authentic – rooted in belief, not bravado. No “fake it till you make it.”
This is how people ignite unshakable resilience—becoming more adaptable, courageous, and purposeful.
From Battlefield to Boardroom: A New Model for Leadership
We took this powerful framework and brought it to high-stakes business environments through our True North Radical Resilience training.
Our mission: To help executives and leaders in high-pressure industries turn stress, setbacks, and uncertainty into a strategic advantage.
It was a novel application of resilience science. No one else was doing this in a business context—and the results were extraordinary.
Inside the Room: Real Stories, Real Transformation
We once ran a session for a top leadership team in a high-revenue, blue-collar business. This wasn’t a “warm and fuzzy” group:
Some leaders were old-school and no-nonsense.
Others were inked from neck to knuckle.
Ambitious millennials sat next to seasoned veterans.
Egos were big. Tension was real.
Yet, once we walked them through our framework, something shifted.
Stories surfaced—some after 20 years of silence. Leaders spoke of life, loss, and inner battles they had never shared before.
The energy in the room transformed. You could feel the mutual respect deepen with every word.
Then, a soft-spoken veteran said:
“There’s no other group of people in the world I’d rather be in a bunker with than the people in this room.”
That moment changed everything.
Four months later, the CEO called me with a simple update:
“This team is performing at an entirely new level.”
✅ Relentless innovation
✅ Cultural alignment
✅ A 40% increase in profits
Why It Works: Rewriting the Source Code of Leadership
If these methods can transform trauma into triumph for veterans, imagine what they can do in business.
Our process cultivates adaptability and transforms setbacks into strategic growth. Leaders emerge with a renewed sense of purpose, identity, and direction—and their teams follow suit.
While 70% of employees in most companies are emotionally disengaged, our clients are reversing burnout, turnover, and toxic culture—fast.
Why?
Because we don’t just teach skills. We rewrite the internal code of leaders and align it with the organizational DNA.
The One-of-One Advantage
This isn’t motivational fluff.
It’s a system for building sustainable, peak performance cultures—immune to burnout, toxicity, and disengagement.
That’s why the largest HR organization in the world partnered with us to elevate their executive and operations teams.
We don’t just talk resilience.
We engineer it—through the intersection of identity, culture, and mission.
Because when leaders truly believe they can grow through anything, they stop playing defense—and start building legacies.
And when every leader in your organization thinks that way?
You don’t just compete.
You dominate.
In your corner,
Dr. Andy Garrett
CEO & Founder, True North Radical Resilience