Summary

In this episode, Andy interviews Dave Garrison, author of The Buy-In Advantage: Why Employees Stop Caring and How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Give Their All. We’ve all faced moments where our team seems checked out or disengaged. But what if the real issue is that they don’t feel invited to care? Dave challenges conventional approaches to engagement and offers practical, actionable strategies for fostering true buy-in.

In this conversation, Dave shares the difference between engagement and buy-in, how traditional methods like bribing or badgering can backfire, and how leaders can use curiosity, clarity, and inclusive decision-making to fuel commitment. You’ll learn how to better structure meetings, make feedback more meaningful, and identify red flags that indicate declining motivation.

If you're leading teams and looking to create cultures where people don’t just show up but they fully buy in, this episode is for you!

Sound Bites

• “It's not about satisfaction. It's about whether people are bringing their head, heart, and gut to work.”
• “Leaders go last all the time. Except when it comes to vulnerability. Then leaders go first.”
• “You don’t know how you land unless you ask. And you can’t ask in a way that intimidates.”
• "People support what they create."
• “PB&J? It stands for 'patiently badger and jam it down their throat.' And that doesn’t work.”
• “Three is greater than seven when it comes to priorities. Seven is not a priority list.”
• “Done with, not done to.”

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction
• 01:40 Start of Interview
• 02:00 What's the Difference Between Engagement and Buy-In?
• 04:20 Why Are We Facing a Perfect Storm of Low Buy-In?
• 07:00 What Leaders Do That Actually Makes Buy-In Worse
• 08:25 The Meaning of PB&J (Patiently Badger and Jam It)
• 10:26 How Leaders Unintentionally Undermine Buy-In
• 12:00 Warning Signs of Low Buy-In on Your Team
• 14:37 Debunking the Myth That Money Is the Main Motivator
• 15:42 The Difference Between Collective Genius and Consensus
• 18:00 A Structured Approach to Inclusive Problem Solving
• 19:58 The Role of Curiosity in Performance Reviews
• 21:40 The Power of Pre-Reading and Slowing Down for Better Thinking
• 24:20 How to Prioritize What Matters—From Ideation to Internalization
• 27:10 Simplifying and Clarifying Priorities
• 29:40 Ideas for Celebrating in Ways That Actually Matter
• 31:44 Why Specific Recognition Matters More Than General Praise
• 34:40 What Cornhole and Cookouts Have to Do With Buy-In
• 35:20 Applying These Ideas at Home: Buy-In in Parenting
• 36:49 End of Interview
• 37:15 Andy Comments After the Interview
• 42:29 Outtakes

Learn More

You can learn more about Dave and his work at BuyInBook.com.

For more learning on this topic, check out:

• Episode 428 with Rich Diviney, a former Navy SEAL commander, on unlocking optimal team performance.
• Episode 94 with Heidi Grant and Tory Higgins, sharing deep research on the science of motivation.
• Episode 31 with Adam Grant—his first-ever podcast interview! Hear insights from Adam before the world knew him.

Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast!

Talent Triangle: Power Skills

Topics: Leadership, Team Engagement, Motivation, Organizational Culture, Buy-In, Decision Making, Psychological Safety, Project Management, Recognition, Meetings, Communication, Employee Retention

The following music was used for this episode:

Music: Summer Morning Full Version by MusicLFiles License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Music: Synthiemania by Frank Schroeter License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license