How Intentional Leadership Transformed a Struggling Fleet Into a Top Performer
This article is based on a recent episode of The Fleet Success Show podcast.
Watch the full episode here:
When Dave Persad took over the fleet at the City of Boynton Beach, it wasn’t an award-winning operation. It was a team working hard under pressure, in outdated facilities, with aging vehicles and minimal resources. Fast forward a few years: that same fleet is now ranked among the top 100 in the nation.
So what changed?
The answer isn’t technology or funding. It’s something far more powerful: intentional leadership grounded in purpose, driven by data, and aligned with four core pillars of sustainable fleet success.
This article unpacks the transformation journey led by Dave Persad and what other fleet managers can learn from it.
1. Cultivating an Intentional Culture: The Foundation for Everything
“Whatever you allow becomes a habit,” said Dave, quoting his wife—and it’s a truth that defines how cultures are built. Toxic attitudes, apathy, and low morale don’t come out of nowhere; they grow when left unchecked.
Dave’s leadership style is built on clarity, empathy, and accountability. From hugging his team members to holding tough one-on-ones, his mission is to create a space where people feel valued, respected, and responsible for their impact. The result? A culture where technicians don’t just fix vehicles, they solve problems that affect public safety and community service.
He doesn’t sugarcoat tough conversations. But he approaches them with kindness and a goal: to help people succeed. “If you’re struggling here, how can I help you get to where you need to go… even if that’s somewhere else?”
Dave isn’t just leading a shop. He’s building a movement. And it starts with culture.
“It’s not a Dave mission. This is our mission. And together we get it done.”
2. Elevating Stakeholder Satisfaction: Fleet Is a Service
One of the clearest signs of Dave’s success is his ability to build bridges, not silos.
He holds quarterly “State of the Fleet” meetings with every major department: police, fire, solid waste, and parks. These aren’t status updates; they’re collaborative planning sessions where needs are prioritized, data is shared, and alignment is forged.
This customer-first mindset is deeply rooted in service. A garbage truck in the bay isn’t just downtime—it’s missed pickups, angry residents, and community risk. A police cruiser off the street isn’t just a repair—it’s one fewer patrol car protecting families. Dave makes sure his technicians understand this, too.
When internal customers understand that fleet is their partner (not their gatekeeper) support increases. So does satisfaction.
3. Maximizing Resource Efficiency: The Right Work, Done Right
Even with limited resources, Dave’s teams have consistently boosted availability and vehicle readiness. How?
By relentlessly eliminating inefficiency.
He overhauled parts management. He documented maintenance patterns. He pulled in operators to weigh in on spec decisions, reducing the chance of misfit or underperforming equipment. He eliminated waste in scheduling by prioritizing PM compliance and reducing deferred work.
And he didn’t do it alone.
Technicians helped shape SOPs. Supervisors led improvement initiatives. Operators joined spec committees. Everyone had skin in the game.
Efficiency doesn’t mean cutting corners. It means making every resource count.
Want to build a culture like Dave’s? Request your free copy of The Fleet Success Playbook to learn actionable strategies for cultivating intentional culture and boosting team engagement.
4. Making Better Decisions With Data: From Gut Feel to Informed Strategy
Dave doesn’t ask for resources, he builds the case for them.
When he needed to push for replacement funding, he didn’t just ask. He showed data. Deferred replacement leads to lower availability. Lower availability leads to fewer garbage pickups. Fewer pickups means angry constituents. Angry constituents call city hall.
Suddenly, it's not “just a truck” anymore.
This is what it means to lead with data: frame every decision in terms of downstream impact and community risk. Dave’s ability to tell that story—backed by numbers—was key to getting buy-in from administration and securing more funding year over year.
Fleet managers aren’t just wrenching on trucks anymore. They're strategic operators driving public service outcomes.
5. Mitigating Risk: Fleet Isn’t Just Ops. It’s Public Safety
Every asset in a municipal fleet has one thing in common: it serves people. Whether it's a sanitation truck, a police cruiser, or a fire engine, if that vehicle isn’t operational, someone in the community is going without a critical service.
That’s why Dave focuses on availability as the North Star metric. He constantly asks: how many assets are ready to serve today? And when they’re not, why?
This mindset keeps risk front and center. It prevents maintenance shortcuts. It makes safety a non-negotiable. It builds resilience into fleet operations—so when emergencies hit, the city is ready.
In Boynton Beach, Dave also prioritized getting rid of DNRs (Do Not Replaces) by year three. These vehicles had outlived their lifecycle but were still being run due to shortages. It wasn’t sustainable. By tackling this head-on, Dave reduced risk across the board.
The Takeaway: Fleet Success Is Possible… But Only With Purpose
Dave Persad didn’t get lucky. He didn’t wait for someone else to fix things. He led. Intentionally. Relentlessly. Transparently.
And you can too.
Whether you manage a small municipal fleet or a large public works operation, the principles of fleet success are the same: lead with intent, measure what matters, serve your stakeholders, and build a culture worth joining.
Fleet management isn’t just about uptime and repair tickets. It’s about people. It’s about community impact. And with leaders like Dave blazing the trail—it’s about time fleet started getting the credit it deserves.