The Leader's Brain, Updated and Expanded: Unlock Peak Performance in Work and Life with Neuroscience

In this updated and expanded edition of his groundbreaking book, Wharton Neuroscience Initiative director Michael Platt reveals how the latest advances in neuroscience--including new insights from artificial intelligence--are transforming our understanding of effective leadership.

Drawing on more than two decades of research at the intersection of neuroscience, psychology, and business, Platt reveals how leaders can develop critical abilities through understanding the brain's inner workings. In The Leader's Brain, Expanded and Updated, Platt offers the latest cutting-edge insights on what neuroscience can teach us about how to be a better leader.

In an all-new chapter on generative artificial intelligence (AI), Platt reveals how visionary leaders can harmonize human limitations with AI's boundless potential. He introduces three essential skills for AI-ready leadership and offers practical strategies for fostering workplace cultures where technology enhances rather than disrupts human connection. In the process, he illuminates the path to a more intuitive, ethical, and productive partnership between human intelligence and its artificial counterpart.

Neuroscience provides answers to many of the most vexing challenges leader's face, including:
+ Why different managers make vastly different decisions when presented with identical information
+ How companies like Apple build strong emotional connections with customers while others fail
+ What neuroscience teaches us about building high-performing teams
+ How to avoid common decision-making traps that plague even visionary leaders
+ What secrets AI can reveal about the brain
+ Techniques for optimizing communication and inspiring innovation

The Leader's Brain, Updated and Expanded, provides an essential blueprint for leadership development in a rapidly evolving business landscape where artificial intelligence and human potential must work in harmony. Whether you're a seasoned executive or an emerging leader, it offers evidence-based insights to help you lead more effectively in our technology-driven world.

Author: Michael Platt
Publisher: Wharton School Press
Published: 10/21/2025
Pages: 184
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.50lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.50w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9781613631959

About the Author

Michael Platt is a scientist known for asking some of the most challenging questions in 21st century neuroscience--and conceiving innovative ways to find the answers. He focuses on applying insights and technology from brain science to business, particularly questions in marketing, management, finance, and innovation.

As a Penn Integrates Knowledge (PIK) Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, he has appointments in the Department of Neuroscience in the Perelman School of Medicine, the Department of Psychology in the School of Arts and Sciences, and the Department of Marketing in the Wharton School. He is also Director of Wharton Neuroscience Initiative and an Affiliated Faculty Fellow of the Wharton AI & Analytics Initiative. A revered instructor, Platt won the Master Teacher/Clinician Award from the Duke University School of Medicine and the Teaching Commitment and Curricular Innovation Award from the Wharton School. He is the former Director of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences and the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke and the founding Co-Director of the Duke Center for Neuroeconomic Studies.

Platt's work has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, The Guardian, and National Geographic, as well as on ABC's Good Morning America, NPR, CBC, BBC, MTV, and HBO Vice.