Any Dumb-Ass Can Do It
Learning Moments from an Everyday CEO of a Multi-Billion-Dollar Company
by Garry Ridge & Martha Finney
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Imagine creating and leading a company culture where people came to work every day doing meaningful work they believed in, where they felt safety and belonging among colleagues who support them.
Imagine creating and leading a company culture where people came to work every day doing meaningful work they believed in, where they felt safety and belonging among colleagues who support them.
In his book, Any Dumb-Ass Can Do It: Learning Moments from an Everyday CEO of a Multi-Billion-Dollar Company, Chairman Emeritus Garry Ridge tells the story of how he helped grow WD-40 Company into one of the world’s most recognized and beloved brands. How did he do it? By following the wisdom of Aristotle: “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.”
In his trademark Aussie storytelling fashion, Garry shares stories from his life that combine to create a deep well of leadership wisdom. Here’s what you’ll discover:
- The humbling importance of never getting too impressed with yourself.
- The number one responsibility of every leader, regardless of position in the org chart.
- What employees really mean when they ask, “Are you okay?”
- What he learned that time he rode a horse to Wall Street, dressed in full knight’s armor.
- How a letter from the father of a young girl forever changed his thinking around leadership.
- What makes a soul-sucking CEO and how not to be one.
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“The most useful, fun, and B.S.-free book I have ever read by a veteran CEO.”
“Garry Ridge is the embodiment of what it means to be a great CEO. That he took the time to write down how he learned to lead (with such humility, I might add) means that we all get to learn how to lead like him. And that can only be a good thing!”
-SIMON SINEK, New York Times
Bestselling Author, The Infinite Game
“I absolutely loved this book. Garry Ridge wants you to know that being a great leader is simple. But simple, alas, doesn’t mean easy. Becoming a great leader means becoming a better person-more caring, curious, humble, and more fully dedicated to making things better … Garry delightfully conveys the accumulated stories and wisdom of decades of leadership practice.”
-AMY C. EDMONDSON, Novartis Professor of Leadership, Harvard Business School, and Author, Right Kind of Wrong
“It’s not every day that you come across a CEO who aims to be the dumbest person in the room. Garry Ridge’s take on leadership is as refreshing as it is rare!”
-ADAM GRANT, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, Think Again and Hidden Potential, and Host, WorkLife podcast
ABOUT
Garry Ridge
Having served as the CEO and president of WD-40 Company for over 25 years, Garry Ridge has invaluable experience incorporating company culture and values into day-to-day operations and collaborating with tribe members and business partners throughout the world.
He is also an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego, where he teaches the principles and practices of corporate culture in the Master of Science in Executive Leadership program.
