SPRING WORKSHOP 2023

The USSSA 2023 Spring Workshop kicked off with a great presentation by Garry Ridge, former CEO of WD-40.

In his talk, It’s All About the People - Don’t Be a Soul Sucking CEO or Leader he shared insight on how to create a team culture that moves your company forward. He also shared the WD-40 company’s “Maniac Pledge” that demonstrates the level of personal responsibility they instill in all levels of the company. “I am responsible for taking action, asking questions, getting answers, and making decisions. I won’t wait for someone to tell me. If I need to know, I am responsible for asking. I have no right to be offended that I didn’t ‘get this sooner.’ If I am doing something others should know about, I am responsible for telling them.”.

The first day also included an optional workshop on becoming a better speaker as well as an in water session. The day ended with an engaging power networking session hosted by our membership connections committee that quickly became one of the highlights of the workshop.

Day two kicked off with a powerful presentation by Deborah Deras on the Power of Mindset to Optimize Your Workplace. She shared tips on how to reframe your mindset to get you the results you want both in work and in life. She also shared interview questions that can help you understand if the candidate is mindful with questions such as, “Tell me about a time you failed and how did you respond? and Do you believe people are born with talent or can it be developed?”

Day two continued with a variety of breakouts from Thinking Outside the Box When it Comes to Getting Water, to Finding the Right Person to Move into Management and How to Do It. Our Owner and Instructor Ask the Expert panels were also full of insightful questions and recommendations. We ended our time together with a session on team building with Scott Rathke, a Navy Seal officer.

We would like to take a moment to thank our Spring Workshop Committee and USSSA staff for planning and executing another successful event. We also want to thank all of our speakers for sharing their expertise and knowledge with us, as well as offer a shout out to our moderators that helped keep us on track and in the right place at the right time. We hope you will join us at our next event, our National Conference taking place October 2-4th at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando, FL.