Leadership Lessons from WD-40: What Mike Rowe and Garry Ridge Taught Me About Culture

Recently, I had some drive time and decided to spend it with one of my favorite podcasts—Mike Rowe’s The Way I Heard It. This show is consistently a must-listen for its common-sense takes on a wide range of topics.

Episode 436, titled "Any Dumbass Can Do It," was no exception.

Garry Ridge wasn’t on my radar—and maybe not on yours either—but I’d bet good money you know his product and probably have it in your home.

WD-40

Back in 2009 when the inventor of this miracle product died, the New York Times reported that 80% of American homes have a can of this lubricant on their shelf. I have no reason to doubt that number has gone down in the past 16 years. And after listening to Garry Ridge, I have no doubt why this company is so successful. The title of the podcast is also the title of Garry's book, and you'll have a hard time convincing me he is a dumbass.

Ridge is recently retired, after spending 25 years at the helm of WD-40. That in itself is an amazing fact, since CEOs of publicly traded companies just don't last that long. But those who do almost always build a strong company culture. Culture is often undervalued by struggling organizations—or worse, completely ignored. by many businesses.

WD-40’s story is one of prioritizing culture over profits. The belief is that if you do things correctly and have a good product that the profits will follow. Their product is a miracle in a can, and one of my go to items around the house. That same New York Times article discussed the over 2,000 known uses (and counting) for the product.

Stats on the culture at WD-40 are equally impressive. In a time when American workers surveyed indicated that only 39% of them were engaged in their work, WD-40's culture blows that out of the water. Here are a few of the stats Ridge went over during his talk with Rowe:

• 90% agree the work they do at WD-40 Company gives them a sense of personal accomplishment

• 94% are excited about WD-40 Company’s future direction

• 97% strongly agree their opinions and values are a good fit with the WD-40 Company culture

• 98% love to tell people where they work 

• 97% respect their coach (their term for manager)

In the interview, Ridge expanded on the surveys, saying they actually saw their employee engagement improve during Covid. That’s practically unheard of! Many factors contributed to this success—and many people, not just Ridge, deserve credit. But the company culture fostered by the leadership, and three key pillars of the company were the cornerstones. These three basic questions, when answered positively, form a recipe for a successful team:

1. Do I belong?

2. Do I matter?

3. Can I make choices?

WD-40 company culture is a blueprint for success, with a very simple approach. Doing the right thing. I guess this particularly hits home for me, since that is the exact approach of my current employee, Sweetwater. Founder Chuck Surack instilled that simple approach into every employee, and the results speak for themselves. High employee engagement, excellent culture and business success.

The WD-40 approach resonated with me, and how I've aspired to be as a leader. Rowe and Ridge discussed the importance of being a servant - leader. Education on this approach should be mandatory for every individual that becomes a manager or strives to become one. I'm reminded of a quote from former Major League Baseball pitcher Carl Erskine made to me at lunch one day, "Getting the most out of what you've been given is the true measurement of leadership." To get the most out of your team, you need to serve them and help them soar to new heights.

Leadership is tough. To build a successful team, a servant leader principles must possess two key ingredients. They need a combination of both a heart of gold and a backbone of steel. If you lean too far into either of these key traits, success will likely elude you and you’ll end up an ineffective leader. Success comes from striking the right balance—being both tender-hearted and strong-minded.

A good leader's mission is to help every member of their team to find the best version of themselves. For me, helping people achieve that is also the best version of me.

This 70-minute episode is time well spent. Consider it entertaining - it is of course - but also consider it food to help you grow as a leader. The advice given was implemented in a multinational organization, but is practical enough to work with even the smallest of teams.