Aligning Core Values & Employee Engagement with Garry Ridge

Garry Ridge, Founder of The Learning Moment joins The Future of Teamwork host Dane Groeneveld for a spirited conversation about both being from Australia, how to reflect the values of an organization by listening to employee voices and improving engagement, and how to build a culture around contributing to a larger goal than oneself. The two also discuss Garry's philosophy that "Life is a gift" and integrating that idea into building personal and organizational values you can be proud of. Lastly, Garry talks about what it was like to run WD-40 for decades as its CEO, and some of his observations on work since COVID.

Key Takeaways:

• [00:11 - 01:02] Introduction to Garry, "Life's a gift"
• [01:06 - 03:37] An Australian in the US, running WD-40 Company as CEO
• [03:41 - 06:58] A 25-year apprenticeship, happiness and contributing to something larger
• [07:00 - 08:46] COVID and the numb state
• [08:46 - 13:02] Employee engagement, empathy, and ego
• [13:21 - 17:25] Deeper moments and memories, reflecting on the values of an organization
• [17:28 - 19:46] Core behaviors and sharing, doing the right thing
• [19:59 - 22:45] Innovation in all aspects of business, not just product
• [23:20 - 24:19] Ethnology and listening to end users
• [24:21 - 25:19] Outsourcing, R&D, and collaboration
• [25:22 - 27:05] Values alignment in collaboration
• [27:17 - 28:21] Integrating values into quarterly conversations
• [29:34 - 31:22] Excitement about seeing other companies adopt WD-40's model for success
• [31:29 - 34:08] The ESG movement and recognizing employee contributions
• [34:12 - 36:45] What a future with AI looks like, better data processing
• [37:51 - 40:18] Creating better outcomes in rehabilitation
• [40:41 - 41:56] Bravery and extinction