The CX Live! Episode 93: The Resilience Roadmap: Driving the Boat, Not Focusing on the River with Spencer Waldron

In our first episode of 2026, Spencer Waldron, CEO of Cenrox, shares a deeply personal story that led him to uncover ways of managing difficult situations with new behaviors and choices.  He walks through many elements that contributed to creating his Resilience Roadmap. From understanding neuroscience and the power of our eight emotions to identifying new habits that offer self care that we need in challenging situations, Spencer offers ways to navigate these situations, i.e. driving our boat while not focusing on the river. He also reinforces the fact that resiliency is not about having it all together. It’s about moving forward anyways and making a daily impact. As he says, ‘we are capable of handling more than we think we can’.   

Highlights

Neuroscience and Emotions
Thousands of ‘Feelings’, only 8 ‘Emotions’ which are physical 5 are negative, 2 are attachments: Love/Trust and Joy/ExcitementOnly 1 other emotion can flip negative to positiveOffer ‘Surprise’ early in presentation to establish emotional attachmentAristotle:  Emotion + Trust = Persuasion
Think of presenting as a gift = ‘a present’Resiliency from Spencer’s son’s accident 
Buddhist book:  ‘Living a Life With Heart’ 
The river: cannot control where it goesThe boat:  control what you do In each situation, ask yourself, “Is it the River or Boat?” 
The Resilience Roadmap
Resilience is a choiceSteps taken to get through - not about perfection, self care and daily impactPut yourself in challenging situations
PTSD & Psychological Safety
Remove from the trauma (i.e. at work: operationalize, relationships, self care) 
Comedy Improv Example 
Challenging, humor and a form of therapy

Resources

Resilience Keynote Speaking of Success Podcast 

Guest Thought Leader

Spencer Waldron,  CEO, Cenrox

As the founder of Cenrox, Spencer helps people show up as the best version of themselves when it matters most. He’s best known for his work in Conversational Presenting, helping leaders and teams move away from one-way slide decks and toward clearer, more engaging, audience-led conversations.

Spencer’s work isn’t just based on theory or technique. In the past year, his perspective on communication and leadership has been shaped by navigating a serious family crisis, which led him to explore what resilience really looks like under pressure.

Today, he brings those lessons into his work with organisations, combining clarity, presence, and human connection in high-stakes moments. He’s also a LinkedIn Learning instructor, a TEDx speaker, and a student of improv comedy.