253: The Buy-In Advantage: How Great Leaders Inspire Teams, Drive Engagement, and Create Meaningful Workplaces with Dave Garrison

Navigating the Customer Experience

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In this powerful episode of Navigating the Customer Experience, we sit down with Dave Garrison, leadership strategist, former CEO, and author of The Buy-In Advantage: Why Employees Don’t Care – and What Great Leaders Do to Inspire Them to Give Their All. With over 25 years of experience leading and advising public and private companies—including Ameritrade—Dave shares his journey from CEO to co-founder of Garrison Growth, where he helps leaders transform workplace culture and team engagement.

Dave’s Journey from CEO to Culture Champion

Dave opens up about his personal transformation—from leading multinational corporations to discovering his passion for helping people reach their full potential. Encouraged by close friends who questioned whether being a high-profile CEO was truly bringing him joy, Dave embarked on a path that led to founding Garrison Growth. Today, his mission is to help leaders create workplace environments where employees thrive—and where customers feel that impact.

Why Engagement is Dropping (And How to Reverse It)

Dave discusses startling insights from Gallup’s latest data showing that global employee engagement has dropped again. He explains that no leader wants a disengaged workforce, and no employee chooses to disengage—but without intentional focus, engagement simply won’t happen. Because it's not commonly reinforced by investors or executive dashboards, many leaders unknowingly neglect it.

The “Gas Factor” and What Really Drives Engagement

Leaders often default to surface-level perks like bonuses, free food, or ping-pong tables to boost morale. While appreciated, these don’t move the needle. Dave reveals that employees today—especially Gen Z—are more motivated by meaningful impact, alignment with purpose, and strong team relationships. When employees feel heard, valued, and connected to a bigger mission, that’s when true engagement happens.

From Micromanaging to Empowerment

Micromanaging often comes from good intentions but can stifle team growth. Dave challenges leaders to identify the one or two areas where their close involvement truly adds value and let go of control in other areas. Referencing Steve Jobs’ hyper-focus on design, he urges leaders to trust the “collective genius” of their teams and foster an environment of trust and autonomy.

The Three Pillars: Inspired People, Smart Outcomes, Empowered Teams

In The Buy-In Advantage, Dave outlines three key pillars of high-performing organizations. The biggest challenge he sees? Prioritization. Many leaders overwhelm teams with long lists of goals. He stresses the importance of narrowing focus to just three core priorities and engaging the team in bringing them to life. The secret? Creating alignment through conversations, not commands—what Dave calls a “done with” not “done to” mindset.

Making Values Stick Through Storytelling

Company values can’t just live on a poster. Dave champions storytelling as a powerful way to reinforce culture. He shares practical examples like executives spending time in customer service centers or calling clients directly—not to promote products, but to deeply understand their needs. These experiences yield stories that inspire teams and reinforce the company’s purpose in meaningful, memorable ways.

AI as a Game-Changer

When asked about a tool he can’t live without, Dave points to AI—specifically tools like Claude and ChatGPT. He emphasizes the importance of input quality, recommending leaders use detailed, emotionally contextual prompts (about 400 words) to get the most powerful results from AI, especially for brainstorming and problem-solving.

Books That Shaped Dave’s Thinking

Two books had a significant influence on Dave’s approach to