Most leaders under pressure are not failing because they panic, they are failing because nobody ever taught them to think clearly when panic is already present.
Fredrik Sandvall has operated in environments where that gap costs lives. As a military leader, international operator, investor, and strategic advisor to founder-led businesses, he has spent decades studying what separates leaders who hold a room together in a crisis from those who quietly make everything worse. This episode draws on that experience to surface frameworks that are genuinely useful when the pressure is real.
The conversation covers the discipline of intelligence gathering before you act, the difference between useful structure and micromanagement, and why stress narrows your decision-making at exactly the moment you need it most. The CIA model Fredrik shared, Control, Influence, Accept, is the most practically transferable tool here. How much of your current mental bandwidth is spent on things that sit firmly in the Accept column? Writing those three categories down honestly will free up more energy than most productivity systems ever will.
Trust runs as the backbone of the whole conversation. Fredrik frames it as an emotional bank account, and the logic holds whether you are leading a team through a crisis, navigating a difficult acquisition, or simply trying to ask something of people who are already stretched. The withdrawals come when things go sideways. Whether the balance is there to cover them depends entirely on what was deposited before the emergency arrived.
Episode Breakdown:
00:00 Thinking Clearly Under Pressure
02:53 Intelligence Gathering and Decision Making in a Crisis
07:46 Self-Mastery and the Stress Cone
14:02 The CIA Model: Control, Influence, Accept
17:25 The Emotional Bank Account and Trust
23:07 Mergers, Acquisitions, and Trust as Currency
Connect with Fredrik Sandvall:
LinkedIn
Podcast: Invest in You
Books: Trust is the New Currency and Options Strategy: Build to Keep. Ready to Sell Tomorrow.
Fredrik Sandvall is a trusted investor, entrepreneur, bestselling author, podcast host, and strategic advisor to founder-led businesses.
With a background spanning military leadership, international operations, board work, investing, real estate, acquisitions, and entrepreneurship, Fredrik helps founders build stronger, more valuable, and more option-rich businesses.
He is the author of Trust is the New Currency and Options Strategy: Build to Keep. Ready to Sell Tomorrow. He is also the host of the Invest in You podcast, which has featured entrepreneurs, investors, fund managers, authors, and business leaders from around the world.
Fredrik’s work sits at the intersection of trust, leadership, capital, enterprise value, and ownership design. His core belief is simple: trust is currency. Used well, it can reduce friction, attract better partners, unlock capital, improve terms, and create options before they are urgently needed.
Connect with Maartje van Krieken:
Connect with Maartje on LinkedIn
Visit The Chaos Games Consulting website
Visit The Business Emergency Room website
Subscribe to The Business Emergency Room on YouTube
Subscribe to Maartje’s Substack
Host Maartje van Krieken is a crisis strategist and decision-making expert who thrives in high-stakes business environments. Combining disaster management training, hands-on experience in global industries, and leadership skills honed as a seasoned sailor, she helps businesses navigate chaos with precision. Whether tackling transformation, scaling challenges, or leadership bottlenecks, Maartje delivers actionable insights to turn turbulence into traction.
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm
