The Tiny Experiments Approach to Goals, Energy, and Burnout with Anne-Laure Le Cunff

Anne-Laure Le Cunff is a neuroscientist, founder of Ness Labs, and the bestselling author of Tiny Experiments. Her work sits at the intersection of science, curiosity, and high performance, helping ambitious individuals build smarter, more sustainable ways to grow without burning out.Despite achieving early career success, Anne-Laure found herself feeling disconnected and unfulfilled. That disconnect led her back to university to study neuroscience, where she began to understand why so many driven people follow paths that look impressive but feel empty. What started as a personal exploration turned into a global body of work that now helps leaders rethink how they approach growth, goals, and decision-making.In this conversation, Chris and Anne-Laure unpack the concept of tiny experiments. Instead of chasing rigid, long-term goals, they explore a more adaptive approach rooted in curiosity and iteration — one that allows you to make progress without the pressure of having everything figured out.They also get into how this mindset rewires your relationship with failure, why the scientists in the room aren't wired differently from the rest of us (they're just trained), and how a simple weekly tool called Plus/Minus/Next can help you stop overcommitting and start building a business you still love five years from now.If you are building for the long-haul and want a more grounded, flexible way to move forward, this episode will give you a fresh perspective and practical tools to apply right away.IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN:Why big, rigid goals create the illusion of control and what to replace them withHow scientists are trained to approach uncertainty with curiosity and how you can be tooThe Plus/Minus/Next weekly reflection method for cutting through overcommitment and building a business you still loveThe 24-hour anthropologist exercise to design your very first tiny experimentEPISODE TIMESTAMPS:04:24 - What Drove Anne-Laure to Write Tiny Experiments07:56 - Why Your Newsletter Isn't a Book (Yet)10:29 - Replacing Rigid Goals with Experiments13:15 - How Experiments Rewire Your Relationship with Failure15:03 - Using Tiny Experiments to Manage Your Energy20:09 - The Plus/Minus/Next Method for Weekly Reflection26:05 - Running One Experiment Alongside Your Current Career28:41 - How Anne-Laure Tracks Her Experiments (+ A Failed One)34:17 - The 24-Hour Anthropologist ExerciseIMPORTANT LINKS AND RESOURCES:Get Your Copy of The Long-Haul LeaderConnect with Chris on InstagramCheck Out Ness LabsAnne-Laure's Book, Tiny ExperimentsConnect with Anne-Laure on LinkedIn