Eric M. Bailey

Eric M. Bailey is President of Bailey Strategic Innovation Group, one of the fastest-growing human communication consulting firms in the United States, and the bestselling author of The Cure for Stupidity: Using Brain Science to Explain Irrational Behavior. He holds a Master's degree in Leadership and Organizational Development from Saint Louis University.

Using Brain Science to Fix Workplace Communication

Eric created the Principles of Human Understanding™, a leadership and communication methodology grounded in brain science and psychology, designed to appeal to analytical thinkers and emotional feelers alike. His work centers on a simple premise: most workplace issues trace back to miscommunication and ego, and while ego is hard to shrink, communication can be taught. A recurring theme in his talks is naming why organizations keep promoting skilled individual contributors who are genuinely bad with people, then watching good employees quietly leave because of it. He argues human-centered leadership isn't a "soft" add-on: it shows up directly in Gallup's estimate of over $1 trillion in annual attrition costs, and in research showing employees who feel psychologically safe report dramatically lower turnover and higher productivity. He has worked with organizations including Google, the U.S. Air Force, Los Angeles County, and the Phoenix Police Department, and has been honored as Diversity Leader of the Year and a 40 Under 40 award recipient. He also runs a YouTube series of two-minute executive lessons called The Walking Meeting.

Topics Eric speaks on

• Why organizations keep promoting people who are terrible with people
• Using brain science to explain irrational workplace behavior
• The Principles of Human Understanding communication methodology
• Building psychological safety as a business case, not just a values statement
• Human-centered leadership in the age of AI

Sessions with Achieve

Eric is a featured guest on the Achieve webcast "Human-Centered Leadership: Transformation Through Creativity and Connection" (April 9, 2026), presented in partnership with Workhuman and moderated by Darcy Jacobsen, alongside fellow speaker Jeff Harry. In it, Eric makes the case that soft skills are actually the hardest skills, walks through how organizations should acknowledge and apologize for past harm before they can build real psychological safety, and argues that companies chronically underprice the true cost of tolerating a toxic high performer.

Connect

• Eric M. Bailey on LinkedIn
• Eric M. Bailey

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