The Great Game of Business & Open Book Management

If you want to improve your company's results (and who doesn't?), please take a few minutes to read this ...

In 1982, International Harvester's engine rebuilding plant in Springfield, Missouri was facing closure. Instead, plant manager Jack Stack and 12 of his fellow managers borrowed $9 million and bought the place, renaming it SRC (Springfield Remanufacturing Company.) The loan payment was big and the team was inexperienced, so they opened the books and got everyone in the company focused on the financials, so all the employees could help the company make money and survive. They created a business of business people. The concept known as "Open Book Management" was born.

Other companies started hearing about SRC's success and began trekking to Springfield to learn more. Jack Stack wrote his now-classic book The Great Game of Business and it became (and remains) an international sensation. SRC has since grown into a $400 million company with 7 subsidiaries. One of those divisions is also called The Great Game of Business, and they help businesses teach their employees to think and act like owners - a proven path to business success and a common-sense way to run a company.

I personally discovered The Great Game of Business in 1993, about 5 years after starting my electronics company, which was still struggling at the time. We implemented open book management and went on to enjoy years of growth and success, culminated by every entrepreneur's dream - selling the business and cashing out in 2005. That same year, I wrote my own book and started Collier Business Advisors. In 2007, I purchased a Great Game of Business franchise and am now helping businesses in the St. Louis region use our methods to achieve success.

What is Open-Book Management?

OBM is NOT about full financial transparency. OBM IS about giving employees the key measures of business success and teaching them to understand those measures and use them to improve business performance. It’s about fully engaging employees in the business. It’s about teaching employees how the business works and what is critical to success. It’s about getting employees to openly discuss wins and losses so they can keep learning and getting better.

OBM works because employees get a chance to act – to take responsibility rather than just “doing their job”. Each employee knows and understands how they can contribute to the financial performance of the company – and understand that they have a direct stake in the company’s success.

Great Game Services:

  •  Coaching & support programs - Whether you're just getting started or already playing the Great Game in your company, we have a program tailored for your situation. PDF brochure
  • Business and financial literacy training - help your people understand how the company makes money, why it's in their best interest for the company to succeed, and most importantly, how everyone can help. We can bring these workshops to your company, and we periodically run public workshops.
  • Open Book Forums - peer advisory roundtable groups. Your fellow members become an informal and confidential advisory board. Learn from each other, hold each other accountable for success, and solve your toughest challenges - all in a confidential environment. PDF brochure

Resources & More Info:

Call Bill at 314-221-8558 or email for more info.

Not in the St. Louis area? Visit www.greatgame.com for more info. You'll be glad you did!

Here's what Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, has to say about The Great Game of Business:

“A rare & wonderful contrast to the short-sighted, undisciplined thinking that has infected our modern business culture.”