The Hidden Architecture of Choice: Rewiring Belief and Influence with Leslie Zane

Today, I am honored to speak with Leslie Zane, a woman whose work reveals the unseen forces that shape our decisions, our loyalties, and even our sense of self. Leslie is an award-winning marketer, TEDx speaker, founder and CEO of Triggers® Brand Consulting, the first brand consulting firm rooted in behavioral science, and a foremost authority on leveraging the instinctive mind to drive brand and business growth.

With a BA from Yale, an MBA from Harvard, and a career that includes leadership roles at Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, and Bain & Company, Leslie has dedicated her life to understanding what truly drives us as human beings.

Her pioneering concepts, such as the Brand Connectome® and Growth Triggers®, illuminate how subconscious cues influence everything from consumer choices to cultural narratives.

Leslie is also the author of the book The Power of Instinct: The New Rules of Persuasion in Business and Life.

But beyond business, Leslie’s insights invite us to reimagine the architecture of our beliefs, to recognize how positive associations can overwrite fear-based programming, and to explore how branding itself is not just strategy, but frequency, resonance, and soul expression.

In today’s conversation, we explore the hidden architecture of choice, how beliefs are formed at the intersection of identity and environment, and how each of us can leverage subconscious science to create deeper trust, authenticity, and transformation in our lives and in the world we shape.

I cannot wait to share this illuminating dialogue with you.

Episode highlights:

02:00 – How subconscious cues and the “brand connectome” drive behavior

04:00 – Why we often make automatic decisions—95% of them, in fact—without realizing it

06:00 – Applying brand psychology to personal health and behavior change

08:30 – Why the conscious mind resists persuasion, and how to influence through positive associations

10:15 – Connectomes as living systems that grow or decay based on inputs

12:30 – What happens when once-strong brand loyalties dissolve

14:45 – Positive and negative “memories” stored in brand connectomes

17:15 – The power of symbols, visuals, and language to rewire physiology and emotions

18:30 – The story behind Leslie’s first growth trigger: putting a father in a baby shampoo ad

20:30 – What makes a trigger effective: sensory cues that carry positive associations

22:00 – Why growth triggers act like mental fertilizer, accelerating influence

24:00 – Advice for small businesses: target the biggest market share, not just the closest competition

26:30 – The Dollar Shave Club example: how underdogs unseat industry giants

28:45 – Overriding fear-based programming through positive association and belief

30:15 – Political polarization as a result of unbalanced connectomes

33:00 – Why avoiding political discussions leads to ignorance, not peace

36:00 – Mirror-image connectomes and why political disagreement triggers physical pain

38:00 – Building sovereignty by balancing perspectives and reclaiming agency

40:00 – How conscious brands can shift cultural narratives through emotion and values

42:30 – The danger of emphasizing mission over product value

44:30 – The gap between what people say and what they buy

45:45 – Feminine intelligence in branding: attraction, resonance, and subtlety

47:00 – The future of marketing is instinctive, not aggressive

48:30 – Closing thoughts and where to find Leslie’s work

Resources mentioned:

Leslie Zane’s book – The Power of Instinct: The New Rules of Persuasion in Business and Life

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Instinct-Persuasion-Business-Life/dp/1637743479

Triggers Brand Consulting

https://www.triggers.com

Connect with Leslie Zane on LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesliezane/