You’re attending the annual Gathering of Games! This event is designed for you; to give you as much as we can in what little time you have away from our organization. Many attendees have told us that they most benefit from the conference with what we call a track system. Previously, we have identified the first three tracks for you to follow based on what you are hoping to get the most out of the conference.

We’re excited that you will be joining us for the Gathering of Games. Often attendees go into this annual conference with a clearly defined goal in mind, whether it’s learning more about a specific topic, or gathering ideas to tackle a nagging issue. With that in mind, we have developed a series of tracks surrounding the three central themes of the Great Game as well as three topical tracks for a total of six tracks. Here, we offer a sneak peak of the first three tracks, and full details are below.

If you’ve seen any of the recent research on what motivates employees in the workplace, you’ll run across several repeating items, such as “having the ability to make an impact,” “recognition for a job well done” and “the opportunity to progress in the company.” A motivating and engaging workforce is one way to ensure that you have a team committed to driving the success of your company.

Thinking of attendingthe Gathering of Games Conference in September? Great! It promises to be a great one, as this year’s theme is “Harnessing the Wisdom of the Crowd.” Let’s see what else you have to look forward to at this year’s conference:

Coming up on April 21-23, 2015, the Great Game of Business team will hit the road for Denver, Colorado, for the National Center for Employee Ownership’s annual Employee Ownership Conference. The NCEO Employee Ownership Conference is the premiere gathering on employee ownership, and the NCEO’s annual conference provides an ideal opportunity to learn, network and share knowledge with others in the employee ownership world.

Mid America Metals is a 29-year-old firm based in Forsyth, Missouri, that provides metal, stone, wood, and glass refinishing and restoration services to primarily Class A office buildings across the U.S. Business Challenges Even as the company has grown over the years, it became apparent to Dale Donat, who co-founded Mid America with his two brothers, that the members of his workforce – which are distributed all over the U.S. – were struggling with their own finances – which prompted him to turn to the system his neighbor, Jack Stack, helped start: the GGOB.

Van Belle Nursery is a commercial supplier of trees, plants, and shrubs based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. The company, which was founded in 1973, ships to a variety of retailers in western Canada as well as in the northern U.S. Business Challenges One of the biggest challenges that the nursery faces is finding a way to build a cohesive company culture for its 100 associates, most of whom are immigrants from companies like Mexico, Iraq, Sudan, Zimbabwe, China, Costa Rica, Peru, Mexico, and India, and even a few from Canada.

U.S. Tower Services helps wireless phone providers like T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint, U.S. cellular and Verizon build, maintain, and upgrade their communication towers. After starting out in St. Louis in 2002, U.S. Tower has expanded across the country and now has offices in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Missoula, Montana – the hometown of the company’s founder, Chad Berg.

The turnaround story of Springfield Remanufacturing Company (SRC) that began back in 1983 has become an inspiration to thousands of businesses around the world. The key was using the analogy of a game – with rules, a scorecard, and rewards for winning – to help explain to every individual in the company how they could literally impact the bottom line. That premise became the foundation for a management system that’s now known as The Great Game of Business (GGOB) that, at its heart, is all about financial sustainability.

West Paw Design is a world-class manufacturer of high-quality pet toys, beds, and apparel based in Bozeman, Montana. Founded in 1996, 100% of West Paw Design's products are manufactured in the U.S. using nontoxic, organic, or recyclable materials and are sold largely through independent retailers.