The Great Game of Business

Rating:
Summary: You Can't Manage What You Don't Measure
Review: All games have rules. When the score is kept, there are winners and losers. Business is no different. The concept of open-book management has been around since some company owner in the distant past gathered employees and attempted to explain to them why it is so important to produce quality work, on time and without waste. No doubt at least one of those employees wondered "What's in it for me?" Good question.

With contributions by Bo Burlingham, Stack wrote this book (first published in 1992) partly in response to that question. He introduces "The Higher Laws of Business":

1. You get what you give.

2. Its easy to stop one guy, but it's pretty hard to stop 100.

3. What goes around comes around.

4. You do what you gotta do.

5. You gotta wanna.

6. You can sometimes fool the fans, but you can never fool the players.

7. When you raise the bottom, the top rises.

8. When people set their own targets, they usually hit them.

9. If nobody pays attention, people stop caring.

10. As they say in Missouri: Shit rolls downhill. By which we mean change begins at the top.

To these Stack adds "The Ultimate Higher Law": When you appeal to the highest level of thinking, you get the highest level of performance. These are the eleven laws on which Stack's system of open-book management is based. He explains each in thorough detail. Let's say that you agree that these laws make sense, that they are relevant to your own organization. Now what?

Pretend that you have entered "Stack's Open-Book Management Store." He greets you at the door. For the next several hours, he guides you through an abundance of strategies, tactics, measurement instruments, communication devices, policies, procedures, etc. He answers all of your questions. He offers a number of caveats. He shares his own successes and failures. He directs you to the latest "newer and better" but also to "what still works really well." At the end of your visit, you are fully prepared to pick and choose from among all the options. Then he assists you with formulation of a plan to design and then implement your own open-book management program, one which is specifically appropriate to the needs of your own organization. In effect, this what happens as you read the book. I recommend it highly. Even if an open-book management program is not what your organization currently needs, the issues Stack addresses and the questions he raises are still worthy of your thoughtful consideration.

Rating:
Summary: Bay State Press has used this book to build our business.
Review: As an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (or ESOP) company, the success of our company lives by the employee's understanding of how a business operates and how they cand and do affect the bottom line. Since everyone's bonus is dependent upon profits, everyone is interested in knowing how to maximize the bottom line. GGOB helps Bay State communicate the principles of growing our business.

Rating:
Summary: The Old Testament of Open Books management....
Review: Can't really improve on Robert Morris' review of this book. He cover's it well. My own observation is that this is a "real" book, not ivory tower fluff. Stack is a guy that was grinding it out in the trenches and adapting as he went along. You know he's someone who speaks from experience.

An interesting footnote here is that I read in an airline magazine the results of a poll of people who "loved their jobs" and thought they had "the best jobs in the world." One of the people quoted was a lady who works for Stack at Springfield Remanufacturing. She washes diesel engine parts.

Rating:
Summary: Street-Smart Practicality
Review: Can't really improve on Robert Morris' review of this book. He cover's it well. My own observation is that this is a "real" book, not ivory tower fluff. Stack is a guy that was grinding it out in the trenches and adapting as he went along. You know he's someone who speaks from experience.

An interesting footnote here is that I read in an airline magazine the results of a poll of people who "loved their jobs" and thought they had "the best jobs in the world." One of the people quoted was a lady who works for Stack at Springfield Remanufacturing. She washes diesel engine parts.

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring
Review: Employers are increasingly challenged to find ways to engage their people, to inspire and motivate them, and to encourage them to stay with the organization for an extended period of time. Employers who can be successful in attaining these lofty goals can dominate their markets, drive more money to the bottom line, and enjoy a stable, productive, and happy workforce.

Jack Stack and his associates at Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation learned how to do this. It was a fascinating, educational, and sometimes painful journey, with benefits that exceeded the wildest dreams of those who put the plan together and made it work. The secret? Share numbers with your employees. All the numbers that have meaning-from profit and loss to balance sheet, from sales projections to costing standards. The concept is that the more employees know-and understand, the more they will partner and support the company's mission and goals (which they also help set).

The most vital issue here, I think, is that every employee becomes more educated, more involved, more committed, and-end result-more loyal. They become a part of a team, rather than just workers. No longer is their relationship with the employer "just a job." It's now considerably more, as they participate in the decisions that drive the company's success. When employees are motivated this way and have so much more control over vital aspects of their employment lives, they will stay longer with their employer. There are more reasons to stay than to leave. Result: a substantially more stable, dedicated, and effective workforce.

The book begins with a "Players Guide," a chapter-by-chapter outline of what will be covered. By itself, this guide is a valuable tool to stimulate thinking. The questions are thought-provoking, creating a hunger in the reader's mind for more information. The answers are presented in the chapters that follow.

Stack makes it clear from the outset that he's writing for an audience of doubters and the curious and suspicious. The front matter includes a presentation entitled, "Does it really work or is it a bunch of hype?" Right to the point. The reader gets the sense, even before getting into the meat of the book, that this author will tell it like it is. And he does.

The author's higher laws of business are presented to place things in perspective. Consider the premise that Stack's design is to get people involved, committed, and supportive, and these postulates make sense. 1. you get what you give 2. it's easy to stop one guy, but it's pretty hard to stop 100 3. what goes around comes around 4. you gotta do what you gotta do 5. you gotta wanna 6. you can sometimes fool the fans, but you can never fool the players. 7. when you raise the bottom, the top rises 8. when people set their own targets, they usually hit them 9. if nobody pays attention, people stop caring 10. change begins at the top.

Is your mind asking for more details? What is this all about? Sure got my attention, then we dove into the real message, the powerful concept of open book management. A listing of the chapters of the book will demonstrate the level of content covered: Why We Teach People How to Make Money, Myths of Management, The Feeling of a Winner, The Big Picture, Open Book Management, Setting Standards, Skip the Praise-Give Us the Raise, Coming up with the Game Plan, The Great Huddle, A Company of Owners, The Highest Level of Thinking, The Ultimate Higher Law: A Message to Middle Managers.

This is a powerful book that, if properly applied, can change the way a company does business. Substantially. Profitably. Permanently. Read it, then if you're inspired, follow the directions so well-presented by Jack Stack, a man who has "been there, done that."

Rating:
Summary: Knowledge is power and motivation
Review: From the moment we come in to this world we all ask why? The Great Game of Business is about the importance of providing answers to that question, and making meaningful connections between our actions and the their consequences in the work place.

People must have confidence in, and be willing to invest in themselves. They must know how they fit in to the company, where the money comes from, where it goes, and what drives the business. Jack reccomends playing The Great Game by providing people with the knowledge and information necessary to make intellegent decisions, build confidence, and develop a sense of purpose for what they do. Open book management is a key ingredient to furthering this goal.

Rating:
Summary: Knowledge is power and motivation
Review: From the moment we come in to this world we all ask why? The Great Game of Business is about the importance of providing answers to that question, and making meaningful connections between our actions and the their consequences in the work place.

People must have confidence in, and be willing to invest in themselves. They must know how they fit in to the company, where the money comes from, where it goes, and what drives the business. Jack reccomends playing The Great Game by providing people with the knowledge and information necessary to make intellegent decisions, build confidence, and develop a sense of purpose for what they do. Open book management is a key ingredient to furthering this goal.

Rating:
Summary: The best business book I have ever read
Review: Great Game of Business zeros in on productivity in the USA. Employees are dynamic, creative and in the thick of the action...Great Game shows how to capitalize on that, how to get everyone focused on the same target, and above all... how to communicate within the company. Few businesses know where to start. Great Game says start with the most fundamental tool of a business, the financial statements. As a CPA, I love what Jack Stack has to say in this book.

Rating:
Summary: The best business book I have ever read
Review: Great Game of Business zeros in on productivity in the USA.Employees are dynamic, creative and in the thick of the action...Great Game shows how to capitalize on that, how to get everyone focused on the same target, and above all... how to communicate within the company. Few businesses know where to start. Great Game says start with the most fundamental tool of a business, the financial statements. As a CPA, I love what Jack Stack has to say in this book.

Rating:
Summary: Open Book Management = More Profits and Happier People
Review: How can people play the game if they don't know the rules or how to keep score? Open book management means you teach people how business works, you share financials and you reward them for improving the profits of the company. Good solid "how to" information if you want to set up a profit sharing plan and get people really involved in the success of the company.