Garry O Ridge, Chairman, and CEO, WD-40 Company
- Garry O Ridge is the Chairman and CEO of WD-40 Company.
- He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of San Diego.
Podcast
Overview
Here’s the thing about leadership that a lot of people either don’t understand or refuse to believe: Everyone can be a leader. There is no single answer to “What is leadership?” because it isn’t something you’re either born with or without, but a powerful skill that can be developed over time. Great leaders don’t follow a single path or personality type. In fact, you’ve probably taken on leadership roles in your life that you didn’t realize at the time. So what makes a good leader, really? Garry O Ridge, Chairman, and CEO, of WD-40 Company, talks to us about leadership.
00:32- About Garry O Ridge
- Garry O Ridge is the Chairman and CEO of WD-40 Company.
- He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of San Diego.
- He is an author of a book titled ‘Helping People Win at Work’.
01:01- About WD-40 Company
- WD-40 Company is a publicly-traded, global sales and marketing company.
- It was founded in San Diego, California, U.S.A. in 1953.
- The product was developed to stop condensation and corrosion in the umbilical cord of the atlas space rocket.
- The blue and yellow can with the little red top and yellow “shield” carries with it positive brand equity – the brand is memorable, easily recognizable, and known for its superiority in quality and reliability to end users across 62 unique channels of trade in more than 176 countries.
02:40- Products of WD-40 Company
- The core is our blue and yellow can with a little red top but from that, we’ve expanded it into a range of products called wd-40 specialists.
- This range of products addresses the needs of users, particularly tradesmen.
- We’re in the memories business, we exist to create positive lasting memories by solving problems in factories homes and workshops all around the world.
04:31- What goes into building a global brand?
- You have to have an honest product, which is really important.
- You have to build an organization that has a really high will of the people.
- There are two things, I believe in business, that you need:
- You require a sound and understandable strategy. But you can have the best strategy in the world, but if you don’t have a high will of the people or a high employee engagement you’re not going to maximize the opportunity.
06:04- Important qualities the CEO should have
- It’s not about you as a CEO, as a leader your role is to help people step into the best version of their personal selves.
- You have to make sure that your empathy eats your ego, your ego doesn’t eat your empathy.
- If you’re in a room where you’re the most significant or the smartest person, you’re in the wrong room because it’s not about you, it’s about what you do to help people be their best.
17:25- Three life lessons
- Leadership is not about you, it’s not about being right. It’s about enabling others to be their best.
- Get very comfortable with the three most powerful words: ‘I DON’T KNOW’.
- Embrace the learning moment.
RESOURCES:
You can connect with Garry O Ridge- LinkedIn
Visit http://www.wd40company.com
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Profile
- Garry O Ridge is the Chairman and CEO of WD-40 Company.
- He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of San Diego.
- He is an author of a book titled ‘Helping People Win at Work’.
