The Annual Gathering of Games provides learning opportunities for beginner, intermediate and advanced Great Game® practitioners. We're able to bring you both new takes on foundational open-book practices as well as fresh ideas to take your Game to the next level by choosing speakers who are Great Game practitioners themselves.

For 22 years, The Annual Gathering of Games has been the top resource for providing companies with educational sessions on open-book management, transparency, gamification, business & financial literacy, rewards & recognition, incentive programs, business planning and a slew of other topics that support the principles and practices of The Great Game of Business .

We're looking for reformed open-book management doubters, disbelievers, critics & skeptics to join us at the 2014 Annual Gathering of Games taking place September 3-5, 2014 in St. Louis, MO.

Inc. Magazine recently shared an article about salary transparency in light of the recent firing of New York Times executive editor, Jill Abramson, who was seemingly let go shortly after she made an inquiry about her compensation. In the article, writer Ilan Mochari details some common challenges faced when implementing open-book as well as some tips for those who want to make salaries more transparent at their workplace. While the tips are practical, we loved this article because there are some illuminating lessons that can be learned from the examples in the story.

The success of companies like SRC and other practitioners of the Great Game of Business continues to draw the curiosity of academics not just in the U.S., but also those around the world interested in decoding the secrets of what makes open-book companies tick. Here is a small sampling of some of the universities who have recently done research on The Great Game of Business:

Recently, we sat down with Frank Shipper, a Professor of Management in the Franklin P. Perdue School of Business at Salisbury University, to discuss his ongoing research and findings on open-book companies, such as our team here at SRC. Dr. Shipper, who specializes in researching employee ownership and culture, figures he first heard about Jack Stack and SRC more than 20 years ago. He knew right away that SRC was doing something special; similar to what other employee-centric companies he had studied (like Lincoln Electric, Herman Miller, W. L. Gore & Associates, and Atlas Container Corporation) were doing. “The difference is that SRC has developed a business operating system that can turn around a gritty/dirty blue-collar firm,” says Shipper. “They went from the brink of bankruptcy to a level of success that would embarrass many high-tech firms.”

If your company is currently employee owned, or you are considering it; you're probably planning to attend the 2014 Employee Ownership Conference held April 8-10, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia which is presented by the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO).

Transparency and the idea of "having information at your fingertips" is practically a given with most things today…even business. For some businesses, this means tossing aside the old command-and-control management model and opening the lines of communication with employees. In a two-part series on companies who play The Game, the Daily Herald reports that The Great Game of Business (GGOB) is a game you might want to play if your company is looking for the next logical step to open-book management. In the series, Kevin Walter, Principal of Tasty Catering and Great Game Coach in Chicago, discusses one of the reasons his company plays The Game:

During our journey to share the coolest employee engagement infographics around, we've shared research detailing the impact of engaged (and disengaged) employees along with the best-practices for engage employees at all levels of the company. Incentive programs, workplace perks and unique rewards are often seen as best-practice for employers. Check out the infographic below to learn if these workplace incentives are really what keeps the talent around.

Each year at the Annual Gathering of Games, we recognize several companies who represent the “best of the best” in open-book management practice by honoring these companies with an All-Star Award. This prestigious award recognizes and celebrates the remarkable achievements of companies from around the globe that have fully embraced the principles of open-book management and The Great Game of Business, and have demonstrated outstanding results. For the past few weeks, we’ve been introducing the most recent winners of the All-Star Award. This week, we’d like to introduce you the company who joined the ranks of the most exceptional Great Game companies: The All-Star Hall of Fame. Hall of Fame companies must have a 10-year history of playing The Game; the 2013 Hall of Fame inductee will no doubt inspire you as you continue to explore open-book management.