In this episode of The Inspire Podcast, Bart speaks with Barry LaBov—CEO, founder, author, and former rock musician and producer—about his new book The Power of Differentiation. Barry explains why differentiation is critical for brands, businesses, and leaders, and how clarity around what makes you unique is essential in today’s crowded marketplace
He shares stories from his early days in the music industry and his unexpected transition into marketing, highlighting how great bands, great companies, and great leaders all know what makes them distinctively unique, and they double down on it. Barry also walks through his approach to finding and naming your differentiators, and why leaders must launch and celebrate them by engaging the people who bring them to life.
Whether you want your business to stand out or you’re looking to elevate your own leadership brand, Barry’s insights offer practical guidance for differentiating in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
Shote Notes:
00:22 Show intro
00:56 Introducing Barry
02:05 What is differentiation?
02:53 It's so important today to have authenticity
03:15 Harley Davidson's differentiation
03:58 Elon Musk
04:42 Bart talks about differentiating brands
04:59 Music and unique artists
06:07 Barry's early days in a band and as a producer
06:58 Wrote songs for famous performers
07:19 Band members were all doing something unique
07:47 From music to marketing
09:49 Someone asked him to take on a marketing role – and he declined!
10:18 We trust YOU
10:49 Writing a book
11:09 Why write the book on differentiation?
11:48 How the COVID great resignation changed his thinking
12:11 Hearts, minds and market share
12:46 How can people discover their unique proposition?
13:20 Talk to humans about the brand
14:21 Observing the biz to see what is unique
14:53 Example of a unique process in a business
15:50 Jam session with the client
16:07 Taking the differentiators and executing in marketing and business
16:21 The Launch
16:26 Launch to the most important people first
16:58 You're often too close to your own work to see the differentiators
17:47 How to do this personally
19:08 These are things I do well — but it's not for everyone!
20:14 Celebrating your differentiators
24:03 Morale slipping — leaders need to reframe
25:26 How to maintain enthusiasm for your core strengths
25:57 Don't wait for the holiday party — tell them every day
26:28 Don't talk about profit unless you are sharing it
27:03 Cheerleading vs authentic celebration
28:41 Music acts that are unique today
30:53 Where can people get more
31:28 Thank-yous and outro
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In this episode of The Inspire Podcast, Bart speaks with Barry LaBov—CEO, founder, author, and former rock musician and producer—about his new book The Power of Differentiation. Barry explains why differentiation is critical for brands, businesses, and leaders, and how clarity around what makes you unique is essential in today’s crowded marketplace
He shares stories from his early days in the music industry and his unexpected transition into marketing, highlighting how great bands, great companies, and great leaders all know what makes them distinctively unique, and they double down on it. Barry also walks through his approach to finding and naming your differentiators, and why leaders must launch and celebrate them by engaging the people who bring them to life.
Whether you want your business to stand out or you’re looking to elevate your own leadership brand, Barry’s insights offer practical guidance for differentiating in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
Shote Notes:
00:22 Show intro
00:56 Introducing Barry
02:05 What is differentiation?
02:53 It's so important today to have authenticity
03:15 Harley Davidson's differentiation
03:58 Elon Musk
04:42 Bart talks about differentiating brands
04:59 Music and unique artists
06:07 Barry's early days in a band and as a producer
06:58 Wrote songs for famous performers
07:19 Band members were all doing something unique
07:47 From music to marketing
09:49 Someone asked him to take on a marketing role – and he declined!
10:18 We trust YOU
10:49 Writing a book
11:09 Why write the book on differentiation?
11:48 How the COVID great resignation changed his thinking
12:11 Hearts, minds and market share
12:46 How can people discover their unique proposition?
13:20 Talk to humans about the brand
14:21 Observing the biz to see what is unique
14:53 Example of a unique process in a business
15:50 Jam session with the client
16:07 Taking the differentiators and executing in marketing and business
16:21 The Launch
16:26 Launch to the most important people first
16:58 You're often too close to your own work to see the differentiators
17:47 How to do this personally
19:08 These are things I do well — but it's not for everyone!
20:14 Celebrating your differentiators
24:03 Morale slipping — leaders need to reframe
25:26 How to maintain enthusiasm for your core strengths
25:57 Don't wait for the holiday party — tell them every day
26:28 Don't talk about profit unless you are sharing it
27:03 Cheerleading vs authentic celebration
28:41 Music acts that are unique today
30:53 Where can people get more
31:28 Thank-yous and outro
S7 E12: How to Create Real Buy-In with Your Employees with Dave Garrison
The Inspire Podcast
38 minutes 32 seconds
2 months ago
S7 E12: How to Create Real Buy-In with Your Employees with Dave Garrison
In this episode, Bart speaks with Dave Garrison, Founder and Chief Navigating Officer of Garrison Growth, about his new book The Buy-In Advantage. They explore why employee engagement is at a decade low, the forces driving disengagement, and why it’s critical for leaders to overcome these challenges to build a fully committed workforce. Dave shares practical, no-cost strategies leaders can use to foster authentic buy-in—shifting from “telling” to “asking,” recognizing employees as human beings (not just human doings), and connecting people’s work to purpose and growth. A timely and valuable conversation for leaders at all levels, offering concrete tools to inspire and engage teams in an era when it matters more than ever.
Get your copy of The Buy-In Advantage here: https://buyinbook.com/
00:37 Show intro
01:14 Welcoming Dave Garrison
01:51 What is a Chief Navigating Officer?
03:14 Dave's career background
04:27 The story of seeing a shaman
05:54 Removing artificial constraints
06:48 Walking out of the corporate world into CNO
07:22 What it was like to leave the job he had
07:53 The business was funded on credit card debt
08:18 How the venture has evolved in the last 10 years
09:27 About his new book
10:59 Creating engagement
11:06 Game-changing orgs always have 3 elements
11:38 How do leaders build an environment for engagement?
12:52 What is the buy-in crisis? And where does it come from?
13:49 Gen Z values – money less important, impact with like-minded people
14:59 What's driving the buy-in crisis
16:17 Two-thirds don’t care about the company
16:32 The costs of lack of engagement
16:53 Churn is a waste of time and resources
17:49 Are companies just grinning and bearing it with turnover?
19:01 How do great leaders foster buy-in
19:27 Give up on the bully or bribe approach
20:15 Why can’t people be as enthusiastic about jobs as they are about sports?
20:50 The way the boss sees things is only one way
21:02 Collective genius
21:22 Human beings, not human doings
22:10 Sense of purpose
22:34 Challenges and opportunities to learn and grow
22:57 Bart summarizes main points so far
23:35 Warning signs that buy-in is not occurring
26:21 What lets you know this is a great idea?
26:48 Don’t share your idea — share the problem
27:36 Example of Jeff Edison’s leadership
30:16 Ask questions instead of providing answers
32:08 Example of older leaders stuck in ‘answer mode’
34:05 Teachers with right answers
34:52 Where are we with workforce engagement?
35:21 We’re at a decade-low in engagement
36:23 Where to find The Buy-In Advantage
37:15 Thank Yous
37:28 Outro
The Inspire Podcast
In this episode of The Inspire Podcast, Bart speaks with Barry LaBov—CEO, founder, author, and former rock musician and producer—about his new book The Power of Differentiation. Barry explains why differentiation is critical for brands, businesses, and leaders, and how clarity around what makes you unique is essential in today’s crowded marketplace
He shares stories from his early days in the music industry and his unexpected transition into marketing, highlighting how great bands, great companies, and great leaders all know what makes them distinctively unique, and they double down on it. Barry also walks through his approach to finding and naming your differentiators, and why leaders must launch and celebrate them by engaging the people who bring them to life.
Whether you want your business to stand out or you’re looking to elevate your own leadership brand, Barry’s insights offer practical guidance for differentiating in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
Shote Notes:
00:22 Show intro
00:56 Introducing Barry
02:05 What is differentiation?
02:53 It's so important today to have authenticity
03:15 Harley Davidson's differentiation
03:58 Elon Musk
04:42 Bart talks about differentiating brands
04:59 Music and unique artists
06:07 Barry's early days in a band and as a producer
06:58 Wrote songs for famous performers
07:19 Band members were all doing something unique
07:47 From music to marketing
09:49 Someone asked him to take on a marketing role – and he declined!
10:18 We trust YOU
10:49 Writing a book
11:09 Why write the book on differentiation?
11:48 How the COVID great resignation changed his thinking
12:11 Hearts, minds and market share
12:46 How can people discover their unique proposition?
13:20 Talk to humans about the brand
14:21 Observing the biz to see what is unique
14:53 Example of a unique process in a business
15:50 Jam session with the client
16:07 Taking the differentiators and executing in marketing and business
16:21 The Launch
16:26 Launch to the most important people first
16:58 You're often too close to your own work to see the differentiators
17:47 How to do this personally
19:08 These are things I do well — but it's not for everyone!
20:14 Celebrating your differentiators
24:03 Morale slipping — leaders need to reframe
25:26 How to maintain enthusiasm for your core strengths
25:57 Don't wait for the holiday party — tell them every day
26:28 Don't talk about profit unless you are sharing it
27:03 Cheerleading vs authentic celebration
28:41 Music acts that are unique today
30:53 Where can people get more
31:28 Thank-yous and outro
