Think about tribal leaders—they sit around a fire and share their learning with younger tribe members. So that’s the number one responsibility of the WD-40 tribe—to make learning inclusive and evolutionary.

- Garry Ridge, CEO, WD-40

Garry Ridge is the CEO of WD-40. But he doesn’t lead an organization. He leads a tribe.

Garry’s really got the Renegade HR thing down. Some insights from an article on his leadership style:

• “One of the most important desires that people have in life is a desire to belong to something.”
• “Folklore in non-tribal language is ‘we’ve always done it that way,’ which has a confrontational feel. Instead, we call it folklore.”
• Part of Ridge’s leadership model includes his catchy mantra: “Don’t mark my paper, help me get an A,” which is about creating and enabling leaders to be successful. Helping leaders get an A involves first defining what an A embodies and then creating a culture where leaders can achieve an A.
• Although he believes WD-40 is a great company, it’s not a good fit for everyone.

Check out the full article for more great insights (and some context around the ones I listed above).