The Great Game of Business: Unlocking the Power and Profitability of Open-Book Management

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   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 .