E041: Growing a Safety Orchard with Mark McBride-Wright and David Garner

In this episode, safety leader David Garner joins host Mark McBride-Wright to share his remarkable journey from growing up in a world where safety didn’t exist to leading cultures that put people first. Drawing on decades of hands-on experience across manufacturing, architecture, and the military, David reflects on what it takes to move beyond the outdated “name, blame, shame, and retrain” mindset and create systems that truly learn and adapt.

He speaks about trust, psychological safety, and the human side of industrial work, reminding us that leadership isn’t about punishment, it’s about understanding. Through vivid metaphors and lived experience, David offers a vision of safety rooted in empathy and growth, where every action plants a seed for future leaders to nurture and sustain.