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David Allison

Engagement & Influence Expert, Human Values Research Pioneer, Best - Selling Author & CEO

About 90% of what you did today happened without you thinking about it. The shirt you put on this morning, how you reacted to the barista, how you behaved in the budget meeting with your boss. But none of it was random. An unseen force is driving it all, and David Allison has spent the past decade turning that force into data. He calls it What Matters Most. In other words, what you value.

David is one of those speakers who makes people put down their phones and lean in. He’s that engaging. He opens every keynote with a live, real-time diagnostic that shows everyone in the room what’s driving their behavior. Once you feel What Matters Most working on you, it’s obvious how it’s driving everyone else. Then he shows you What Matters Most to the people you need to reach, whether they’re customers, employees, members, or donors. It’s all built on one million surveys, so nobody’s guessing anymore.

Those surveys are the Valuegraphics Database, the world’s first global inventory of core human values, collected in 152 languages across 180 countries by the research company David founded.

Google, PayPal, Amazon, and the United Nations Foundation use it to understand the people they serve, because when an organization gives people more of What Matters Most to them, engagement goes up 40%, trust and loyalty go up 20%, and financial commitment goes up 12%. And who doesn’t want that?

His books have a habit of doing well. We Are All the Same Age Now was a runaway bestseller. The Death of Demographics made INC Magazine’s list of the top ten leadership books of the year, and marketing textbooks used in more than 100 countries now teach valuegraphics right next to demographics and psychographics. His third book, The Values Map: Discover What Drives You and How to Move Others, comes out from Wiley in January 2027. Douglas Coupland, the novelist who coined the term Generation X, has already read it: “The noise is everywhere, and none of it knows who you actually are. This book does.” In 2025, David received the Silver Apple Award for Innovation, an honor handed out only four times in 100 years.

He’s just as good in person. “The best speaker we’ve had since Malcolm Gladwell,” said Cindy Chandler of the American Gem Society. Event Planner Liz Ptak goes further: “The star of our show! Feedback was off the charts!” And from the seats: “Life-changing!” and “Lit a fire in me! My mind was racing for days!”

You’ll leave knowing exactly what buttons to push to move the needle on trust, loyalty, and engagement. And with a newfound understanding of What Matters Most to you, the people you work with, and the people you love.

Speaking topics

Your Silent Strength: For leaders, or anyone who's exhausted, scattered, or spread too thin

Why This Keeps Happening to You and How to Fix It

The Problem
You’re only consciously in control of about 10% of what you do each day. The rest runs on autopilot at a subconscious level. An unseen force is driving the car that is your life, and you’re in the back seat. Being the leader, family member, or friend you want to be while that force is pushing you along 90% of the time is the challenge of our lives. It’s exhausting, and it’s where careers, relationships, and whole teams stall out.

The Solution
David spent a decade helping Fortune 500 companies understand customers and teams, with one million surveys about What Matters Most to people. Then he used the research to understand himself, and now he’s sharing what he found with you. In just one hour, guided by a live real-time diagnostic, you’ll see exactly What Matters Most to you. You’ll learn how to drive your life in the right direction, and how you can help the people around you do the same.

Irresistible Change: For teams that are stuck, divided, or unengaged

Why This Keeps Happening to You and How to Fix It

The Problem
The amount of change and disruption in the workplace right now is unrelenting, and your people are feeling it as intensely as you are. They’re asking more questions, pushing back, taking sides, or checking out. But you still have to get things done, and leading people you can’t understand is exhausting.

The Solution
This keynote begins with a real-time diagnostic that reveals the unseen force that drives what you do. Then you’ll see how that same unseen force impacts the people you need to motivate and engage. David calls the unseen force What Matters Most — and he teaches you how to use it, because nothing builds trust faster than being understood.

The Easy Yes: For brands that want to stand out, hold their price, and keep the customer

Why This Keeps Happening to You and How to Fix It

The Problem
You already know who your customers are: age, income, region, segment. You could recite it in your sleep. But you still don’t know why people buy, why they don’t, or why they’d leave you for someone else. You have an enormous amount of data about your customers, and none of it explains how to impact the decisions they make. Isn’t that what you need to do?

The Solution
What Matters Most drives everything we do. That’s why David begins every keynote with a live real-time diagnostic that helps you discover What Matters Most to you, the unseen force behind all of your decisions. Once you feel that force working on you, it’s obvious how it’s driving your customers’ decisions too. Drawing on a billion data points, David brings concrete, statistically accurate data about the customers, donors, voters, members or investors you need to engage and motivate.