The Unexpected Learning Moment: Lessons in Leading a Thriving Culture Through Lockdown 2020

In the first quarter of 2020, families, individuals, small businesses and corporations of every size watched as their worlds turned upside down with the emergence of what would soon be called Covid-19. Values-driven corporate leaders knew that the choices they made had to align with the principles and culture promises they had extended to their stakeholders when times were relatively predictable and stable. Now they were faced with the question, “How do we ride this turbulence while staying true to who we are at the core and what we have promised?” It has been a moment-by-moment learning process, at a tune when few decisions presented themselves as obvious choices.

There is a tremendous amount of lasting value and wisdom to be mined from these times of uncertainty, and, in many cases, real fear. In The Unexpected Learning Moment, WD-40 Company CEO and Chairman Garry Ridge presents 13 essays that track in real time the evolution of his culture and engagement thinking during this time when the company’s values served as the principles guardrails for his thinking and strategic planning.

Here’s what you’ll discover in The Unexpected Learning Moment: Lessons in Leading a Thriving Culture Through Lockdown 2020:

• How a CEO – world-renowned for creating and leading a robust, empowered culture of loyal “tribe” members – takes on the new life-threatening challenges to his company and his people on a global scale.
• What it means to be driven by long-established values while making difficult decisions.
• How not to be a soul-sucking CEO, no matter what is going on in the world.
• The four pillars of a fearless tribe.
• The importance of ranking values in the proper order to drive decisions.
• How to use virtual tools to keep the emotional bonding of belong authentic.
• The power of gratitude, in even the hardest of times.