The Culture That Converts Even the Biggest Cynics with former WD-40 CEO Garry Ridge

Who would’ve guessed that one of the world’s best company cultures was hiding behind a can of WD-40? Of all the places to find a leadership masterclass, the blue-and-yellow can in your garage probably wasn’t on your list - but it’s time to put it there. Garry Ridge—an Australian who brought his charm and curiosity across the Pacific—joined WD-40 Company in the late ’80s and rose through the ranks, eventually serving as CEO for 25 years. But he didn’t start out as the culture-building expert he’s known as today. Early in his career, he lived by the old mantra: “be brilliant, be brief, be gone.” He had to unlearn that mindset and rebuild himself into a leader who centers people, learning, and belonging - an evolution that reshaped WD-40 from the inside out. His new book, Any Dumb Ass Can Do It, captures that journey. In this episode, we break down how Garry built a company where people genuinely love coming to work—even through recessions, pandemics, and all the external chaos leaders can’t control. We dig into the systems and behaviors that fueled WD-40’s rise, from psychological safety to accountability to building internal consistency no matter what the market is doing. Garry and I both believe that people deserve to love their work - even if they don’t like it every single day. People want to feel seen, heard, and valued. And Garry is one of the rare leaders who knows exactly how to make that happen. This is A Bit of Optimism. --------------------------- This episode is brought to you by the Porsche USA Macan --------------------------- Check out Garry’s new book. https://thelearningmoment.net/any-dumb-ass-can-do-it/ And his coaching work with The Learning Movement. https://thelearningmoment.net/ + + + Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together. Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do. Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game. + + + Website: http://simonsinek.com/ Live Online Classes: https://simonsinek.com/classes/ Podcast: http://apple.co/simonsinek Instagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/ Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinek Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek Simon’s books: The Infinite Game: https://simonsinek.com/books/the-infinite-game/ Start With Why: https://simonsinek.com/books/start-with-why/ Find Your Why: https://simonsinek.com/books/find-your-why/ Leaders Eat Last: https://simonsinek.com/books/leaders-eat-last/ Together is Better: https://simonsinek.com/books/together-is-better/ + + + #SimonSinek

Garry RidgeguestSimon Sinekhost

Nov 24, 202556mWatch on YouTube ↗

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

How WD-40 built a high-performance culture through coaching leadership daily

Garry Ridge describes shifting from command-and-control to servant leadership, starting with personal behavior change and the humility to say “I don’t know.”
WD-40’s culture was built deliberately around a purpose (“create positive, lasting memories”), hierarchical values, and relentless consistency rather than perks or “fairy dust.”
Replacing “manager” with “coach” operationalized leadership expectations through frequent check-ins, clarity on what success (“an A”) looks like, and active people development.
They argue performance follows culture via a simple formula—strategy quality multiplied by the will/engagement of the people executing it—making culture a hard, measurable business lever.
WD-40’s long-term results (market cap and stock growth, global expansion, high engagement during COVID) are presented as proof that people-first leadership scales and converts even skeptics.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Change the leader before changing the company.

Ridge emphasizes that culture transformation started with his own behavior—moving from “be brief, be bright, be gone” to humility, praise, and asking for help—because CEOs often underestimate how their presence shapes fear and trust.

Treat culture as a daily operating system, not an offsite exercise.

WD-40 framed culture as “values + behavior × consistency,” meaning the real work is repeated practice and reinforcement over time, not a one-time training or a poster on the wall.

Make purpose human and non-product-based to unify decisions at scale.

“Create positive, lasting memories” is a statement about the kind of company they want to be, which then guides how people treat each other and customers across 176 countries, regardless of the simplicity of the product.

Rename “managers” to “coaches” to force better leadership behavior.

By removing the word “manager,” WD-40 clarified expectations: coaches develop people, don’t steal the ball, and hold regular conversations about obstacles, wellbeing, and progress—raising respect for direct leaders dramatically.

Define what “an A” looks like, then help people earn it.

Performance management becomes development-oriented when leaders set clear standards and collaborate on progress, replacing gotcha evaluations with ongoing coaching and fewer surprises.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

“No, I didn’t. I missed your numbers.”

— Simon Sinek (recounting Garry Ridge)

“Culture equals values plus behavior times consistency.”

— Garry Ridge

“The will of the people times the strategy equals the outcome.”

— Garry Ridge

“We do not make mistakes. We have learning moments.”

— Garry Ridge

“I’m not smart enough to run a company in 90-day intervals.”

— Garry Ridge

Servant leadership and leader self-changePurpose beyond the productValues plus behaviors times consistency“Tribe” as an organizing metaphorCoaches vs managers language shiftLearning moments vs mistakes (reducing fear)Engagement as a performance multiplier

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