
“Culture is the promise you make to your people. Customer experience is the promise they keep on your behalf.”
Three questions, answered by the guru, checked by the research team. Not what they think. What they changed.
WD-40 Company in 1997: one famous can, a small team, and a culture where mistakes were hidden and people waited to be told what to do. Growth had stalled because nobody felt safe enough to try anything.
Replaced “mistakes” with learning moments: a positive or negative outcome of any situation that is openly shared to benefit all. Built the Tribe around belonging, psychological safety and the Awareness, Intention, Behavior, Results loop, with coaching in place of managing.
The 93% is measured, published and sustained across years, not a one-off survey. The company went from one product in a handful of markets to 176 countries under the same culture.
Garry Ridge is Chairman Emeritus of WD-40 Company and founder of The Learning Moment. He taught corporate culture for 16 years in the Master of Science in Executive Leadership program at the University of San Diego and serves on the Board of Trustees of National University. He does not believe in managing people. He believes in coaching them.
Every verified guru gets one: year, category, global rank, and the standard it was earned against. Made for LinkedIn, email signatures and speaker one-sheets.
Four connected principles that close the gap between who leaders say they want to be and how they actually show up.

Understand how you show up, what drives your behavior and how others experience your leadership.
Clarify who you want to be and the leadership promise you intend to make to your people.
Translate intention into observable actions, coaching conversations and everyday habits.
Measure the impact of leadership behavior through performance, engagement and the experience of others.

Learning moments from an everyday CEO of a multibillion-dollar company. Garry Ridge and Martha Finney on trust, accountability and building a culture centered on people.
“Am I being the person I want to be right now? Who is that person?”