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The Great Game of Business: Unlocking the Power and Profitability of Open-Book Management Paperback – October 1, 1994

by Jack Stack (Author)

746

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In the early 1980s, Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation (SRC) in Springfield, Missouri, was a near bankrupt division of International Harvester. That's when a green young manager, Jack Stack, took over and turned it around. He didn't know how to "manage" a company, but he did know about the principal, of athletic competition and democracy: keeping score, having fun, playing fair, providing choice, and having a voice. With these principals he created his own style of management -- open-book management. The key is to let everyone in on financial decisions. At SRC, everyone learns how to read a P&L -- even those without a high school education know how much the toilet paper they use cuts into profits. SRC people have a piece of the action and a vote in company matters. Imagine having a vote on your bonus and on what businesses the company should be in. SRC restored the dignity of economic freedom to its people. Stack's "open-book management" is the key -- a system which, as he describes it here, is literally a game, and one so simple anyone can use it. As part of the Currency paperback line, the book includes a "User's Guide" -- an introduction and discussion guide created for the paperback by the author -- to help readers make practical use of the book's ideas. Jack Stack is the president and CEO of the Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation, in Springfield, Missouri. The recipient of the 1993 Business Enterprise Trust Award, Jack speaks throughout the country on The Great Game Of Business and Open Book Management.

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Print length

252 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Currency/ Doubleday
Publication date

October 1, 1994
Dimensions

6.1 x 0.81 x 9.19 inches
ISBN-10

038547525X
ISBN-13

978-0385475259
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is the brilliant story of the most radical act committed by a businessman in this century. You can't run or manage your business the old way once you read The Great Game." -- Paul Hawken

From the Publisher

In the early 1980s, Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation (SRC) in Springfield, Missouri, was a near bankrupt division of International Harvester. That's when a green young manager, Jack Stack, took over and turned it around. He didn't know how to "manage" a company, but he did know about the principal, of athletic competition and democracy: keeping score, having fun, playing fair, providing choice, and having a voice. With these principals he created his own style of management -- open-book management. The key is to let everyone in on financial decisions. At SRC, everyone learns how to read a P&L -- even those without a high school education know how much the toilet paper they use cuts into profits. SRC people have a piece of the action and a vote in company matters. Imagine having a vote on your bonus and on what businesses the company should be in. SRC restored the dignity of economic freedom to its people. Stack's "open-book management" is the key -- a system which, as he describes it here, is literally a game, and one so simple anyone can use it. As part of the Currency paperback line, the book includes a "User's Guide" -- an introduction and discussion guide created for the paperback by the author -- to help readers make practical use of the book's ideas. Jack Stack is the president and CEO of the Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation, in Springfield, Missouri. The recipient of the 1993 Business Enterprise Trust Award, Jack speaks throughout the country on The Great Game Of Business and Open Book Management.

"This is the brilliant story of the most radical act committed by a businessman in this century. You can't run or manage your business the old way once you read The Great Game." -- Paul Hawken

From the Inside Flap

In the early 1980s, Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation (SRC) in Springfield, Missouri, was a near bankrupt division of International Harvester. That's when a green young manager, Jack Stack, took over and turned it around. He didn't know how to "manage" a company, but he did know about the principal, of athletic competition and democracy: keeping score, having fun, playing fair, providing choice, and having a voice. With these principals he created his own style of management -- open-book management. The key is to let everyone in on financial decisions. At SRC, everyone learns how to read a P&L -- even those without a high school education know how much the toilet paper they use cuts into profits. SRC people have a piece of the action and a vote in company matters. Imagine having a vote on your bonus and on what businesses the company should be in. SRC restored the dignity of economic freedom to its people. Stack's "open-book management" is the key -- a system which, as he describes it here, is literally a game, and one so simple anyone can use it. As part of the Currency paperback line, the book includes a "User's Guide" -- an introduction and discussion guide created for the paperback by the author -- to help readers make practical use of the book's ideas. Jack Stack is the president and CEO of the Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation, in Springfield, Missouri. The recipient of the 1993 Business Enterprise Trust Award, Jack speaks throughout the country on The Great Game Of Business and Open Book Management.

From the Back Cover

"This is the brilliant story of the most radical act committed by a businessman in this century. You can't run or manage your business the old way once you read The Great Game." -- Paul Hawken

About the Author

JACK STACK is President and CEO of SRC Holding Corporation, an employee-owned company that supplies remanufactured engines to the transportation industries. He is also the author of A Stake in the Outcome. He lives in Springfield, Missouri.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Currency/ Doubleday (October 1, 1994)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 252 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 038547525X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0385475259
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 0.81 x 9.19 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,840,841 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4,124 in Decision-Making & Problem Solving
- #14,536 in Business Management (Books)
- #17,424 in Leadership & Motivation

Customer Reviews:
746

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Jack Stack
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Jack Stack
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Jack Stack is President and CEO of SRC Holdings Corporation, which remanufactures gasoline and diesel engines for the automotive and off-highway markets, distributes engine kits, manufactures power units and remanufactures electrical components, and conducts seminars and training programs specializing in all aspects of teaching people how to implement open-book management. SRC has sales of over $550,000,000 a year and currently employs 1,600+ people. He is known as the "father of open-book management", having developed the concept at SRC in the early 1980s. He is the author of two best-selling books, "The Great Game of Business" and "Stake in the Outcome". His latest book "Change The Game: Saving The American Dream By Closing The Gap Between The Haves And The Have-Nots" will be released October 1, 2019.
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Bo Burlingham
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Bo Burlingham is currently a contributor to Forbes where he produces the magazine's annual Small Giants section. Previously, he worked for 33 years at Inc. magazine, as senior editor, executive editor, and editor at large. He is the coauthor, with Jack Stack, of The Great Game of Business and A Stake in the Outcome and, with Norm Brodsky, of The Knack (renamed Street Smarts in paperback). He is also the author of Small Giants and Finish Big. The popularity of Small Giants led to the creation of the Small Giants Community where business leaders learn and share practices and systems they can use to make their companies great, whether or not the businesses are big.
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Great book about management

Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2019

Verified Purchase

This is a great book about management, much better than most of the management books I read. There are a few reasons I liked this book

1. This book was written from the author’s real experiences in SRC by bringing a small and almost bankrupted business into a healthy and growing company.

2. Jack Stack really poured heart into it rather than copy & paste. He has many great examples, cases, tools for readers to learn.

3. I like the philosophy of the book - open book management, which has been successfully used by many companies like Netflix. Some other great business leaders like Jack Welch, Howard Schulz - they all focused on the essence of open book management (candor and transparency)

4. Last but not least, the book offered implementation guide. The GGOB is not a rocket science but rather something that every manager can learn and use.

I would recommend the book to other readers and the book is definitely worthy of your time!

5 people found this helpful

Angela Maria Jaramillo

great and inspiring. it was insightful

Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2023

Verified Purchase

It gave to me the lost link, in order to commit every body in an organization.

At the end, most organizations have to adopt insight like that

Open Book Management Defined!

Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2012

Verified Purchase

Through this book Jack outlines his open-book management framework - which he calls "The Game" - while at SRC. As he states: "What lies at the heart of the Game is a very simple proposition: The best, most efficient, most profitable way to operate a business is to give everybody in the company a voice in saying how the company is run and a stake in the financial outcome, good or bad." The ensuing chapters discuss the various aspects of this framework, covering a breadth of topics such as vision, goals, compensation etc. Below is an outline of these topics:

"1- Why teach people how to make money: On profit in general, On your company's profits, On making money and generating cash, On jobs and job security, On wealth and wealth creation.

2- Myths of management: On the danger of telling the truth, On the danger of being a "nice guy", On the role of the manager, On motivation.

3- The feeling of a winner: On the credibility of management, On the attitude of employees, On pride and ownership, On starting games, On celebrating wins.

4- The big picture: On defining the big picture, On Sharing the big picture, On moving people around the company, On sending mixed messages, On Connecting with communities outside the company.

5- Open-book management: On taking the emotions out of the business, On being the least-cost producer, On the fear of competitors, On the fear of employees, On sharing compensation figures.

6- Setting Standards: On critical numbers, On the purpose of standard costs, On setting up a standard cost system, On absorbing overhead.

7- Skip the praise - give us the raise: On designing the bonus program, On the effectiveness of the bonus program, On the size of the potential bonuses, On the issue of equal payouts, On educating with bonuses.

8- Coming up with the game plan: On budgets and game plans, On the sales forecast, On getting people to buy in, On changing the plan as the year goes along.

9- The great huddle: On staff meetings, On putting names on the numbers, On the timing of meetings, On the role of the Leader, On writing the numbers down.

10- A company of owners: On equity in general, On long-term thinking, On playing the game in employee-owned companies, On playing the game without the equity tool, On participation versus democracy in business.

11- The highest level of thinking: On the cost of health care and other benefits, On creating new opportunities for people, On cash-flow generators and overhead absorbers, On the hunger for ownership.

12- The ultimate higher law: a message to middle managers: On getting your boss to play the game, On playing the game without the boss, On having fun."

A great educative book on management, that promotes openness, transparency and effectiveness!

Below are excerpts from the book that I found particularly insightful:

1- "The only way to be secure is to make money and generate cash. Everything else is a means to that end. Those simple rules apply to every business. And yet, at most companies, people are never told that the survival of the company depends on doing those two things...most important, no one tells people how to make money and generate cash.

2- "People only get beyond work when their motivation is coming from the inside...Management is all about instilling that desire to win. It's about instilling self-esteem and pride, that special glow you get when you know you're a winner. Nobody has to tell you. You just feel it. You know it."

3- "Along the way, we learned some lessons about the kind of games and goals that work best: 1) Business is a team sport - choose games that build a team. 2) Be positive, build confidence. 3) Celebrate every win. 4) It's got to be a game. 5) Give everyone the same set of goals. 6) Don't use goals to tell people everything you want them to do."

4- "I found out that people who had worked in two or more jobs had a whole different attitude about business. Cooperation was great. They were much better at seeing the other guy's perspective. They understood how different functions fit together, how the depended on each other."

5- "The best argument for open-book management is this: the more educated your work force is about the company, the more capable it is of doing the little things required to get better."

6- "When you use financial statements as management tools, you have to adapt to your purposes...How you do that depends entirely on your business, but here are some general rules to follow: 1) Start with the income statement. 2) Highlight the categories where you spend most money. 3) Break down categories into controllable elements. 4) Use the income statement to educate people about the balance sheet."

7- "The real power of the bonus program lies in its ability to educate people about business. Once they understand the math, they see how everything fits together, and how business can be a tool for getting them what they want. And it all does fit together. The system really works. You can't criticize it because it is simply a reflection of reality. You can criticize individuals. You can take people to task for the way they do business. You can go after the ones who are greedy, who only want to help themselves, who exploit other people for personal gain. But the fault lies in those individuals, not in the nature of capitalism."

8- "That's because a company of owners will outperform a company of employees any day of the week..When you think like an owner, you do all the little things necessary to win...But people will only thing like owners if they have a larger purpose, if they are not just working for a paycheck...People have to see the Big Picture. They have to know what they are doing, why it's important, where they are going, and how business is helping them get there. Only then will they have the desire to go out and use the tools you provide and play the Great Game of Business to win."

9- "..."Everyone who comes fishin' here gits the same number of bites. The only difference between thems that catch the fish and thems that don't is preparation and concentration. You gotta make sure your hook is sharp and your line don't have no nicks. Then you gotta watch that line. You pay attention to them little things, and you'll catch all the fish you kin handle." I think of that story whenever I run into people who don't know what to do with their lives because there just aren't enough opportunities around. I also think of it when I hear about companies laying people off because their services aren't needed, because there isn't enough work for them, because the opportunities have all dried up. What a waste. There are opportunities everywhere - opportunities to grow, opportunities to start new businesses, opportunities to create jobs and absorb overhead. Everybody gets the same number of bites. You catch the fish when you're prepared and ready to respond."

12 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

The "real" business book

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2017

Verified Purchase

In 1995 Tom Peters mentioned Jack's company at a leadership conference. He said you can't forget the name Jack Stack, sounds like something you would order at IHOP. Shortly thereafter I had a turning moment when Jack's book was staring me in the face at Audrey's Bookstore in Edmonton Alberta Canada. The narrative was so intriguing that I had a hard time getting back to meetings I was attending that day. To say it was an affirmation that what I believed businesses should be and operate as was truly conformational, I wasn't nuts. I had the good fortune of bringing GGOB coaches Sydney Moore and David Lough into my former business and our transformation began. In short order, our organization changed its culture to one of transparency, open communication, and a planning forward approach. I have had the chance to attend a number of the GGOB teams conferences over the years and I make a point of going now every September to their Annual Conference, this year it will be their 25th.
To now watch the second generation of Jack's staff lead their organizations and observe thousands of companies using the cultural philosophy that has lead to the term open book management is simply amazing. This book is a staple and I continue to be inspired by it and gift it to leaders who get the value of empowering staff and rewarding for results.

6 people found this helpful

Excellent book for a business owner

Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2009

Verified Purchase

I have gotten a lot of good information from this book in building my consulting business. The author discusses his own experiences on building a business and how things might not go exactly the way we want them to if they do at all. In the world of business, nothing is a guarantee but what can be a guarantee is to wake up in the morning and tell yourself, "I can do what it takes to make it happen!" Just saying that will get you through the day because you are not opening yourself to high expectations. It is important to remember, when having high expectations they may not always be there and that will cause a downward spiral that just damages everything you have worked so hard to build. This book is what you need to get you through the day of building your business one step at a time.

3 people found this helpful

The info is good. But it start to repeat the same stuff ...

Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2018

Verified Purchase

The info is good. But it start to repeat the same stuff over and over starting around 1/3 of the book.

Every business leader needs to read this.

Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2022

Verified Purchase

There are some books that transform your way of thinking, and this is one of them! I wish every entrepreneur and executive would read this so we can change the way we do business to be more fun and rewarding for everyone. It's a bit challenging to implement if you already have a set way of operating, but I believe it will be worth the investment.

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Oscar Nuñez

Esta muy Alineado libro Scalinp Up

Reviewed in Mexico on July 17, 2021

Verified Purchase

Excelente libro queda ideas claras implementar, comunicación importante con el equipo de la meta crucial todos esten enfocados en lo crucial del negocio, Las métricas de revisar los números todo el equipo.

One person found this helpful

Translate review to English

Vikrama D.

GGOB is well worth the hype

Reviewed in India on February 28, 2021

Verified Purchase

The book starts off with a bang, meanders a bit in the middle before a leadership fable Appendix 1 comes to give it a high. I am a liberal rater of books and I think this deserves a 5. It gave me great tools and screenshots. I highly recommend this to anyone in midst of a change or a leadership challenge.

2 people found this helpful

Kil

Good shape and as described. Thanks!

Reviewed in Canada on October 31, 2018

Verified Purchase

Good shape and as described. Thanks!

Timo Kaapke

Change the Game...

Reviewed in Germany on July 26, 2020

Verified Purchase

...Play the System. – The best way to run a company!

Gareth B.

All makes sense

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 1, 2020

Verified Purchase

This feels like the missing part in the jigsaw about how to get people to want to commit, contribute and feel valued.

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