Mistakes as Learning Opportunities: WD-40

In 1953, a fledgling company called Rocket Chemical Company and its staff of three set out to create a line of rust-prevention solvents and degreasers for use in the aerospace industry. Working in a small lab in San Diego, California, it took them 40 attempts to get the water displacing formula worked out. That’s 40 mistakes that this company used as learning opportunities to grow and innovate! The original secret formula for WD-40_® Multi-Use Product -which stands for Water Displacement perfected on the 40th try—is still in use today.

Convair, an aerospace contractor, first used WD-40 Multi-Use Product to protect the outer skin of the Atlas Missile from rust and corrosion. The product actually worked so well that several employees snuck some cans out of the plant to use at home.

Founder, Norm Larsen experimented with putting WD-40 Multi-Use Product into aerosol cans, reasoning that consumers might find a use for the product at home as some of the employees had. The product made its first appearance on store shelves in San Diego in 1958, which resulted in the use of this product in every 4 out of 5 households in following years!

And the rest is history! Today the company is worth 2.37 billion dollars! Just goes to show how organizational supported growth allowed and celebrated repeated mistakes and failure as they worked to innovate their product, leading to the amazing success and profit of the WD-40 organization!