This week the Great Game of Business team will hit the road for Orlando, Florida, for the annual Inc. 5000 Conference and Gala. The Inc. 5000 Conference & Gala is an annual three-day event that brings the nation’s brightest, most successful business minds together to celebrate the remarkable achievements of the companies that appear on Inc.’s prestigious ranking of America’s fastest-growing privately held companies. The Great Game of Business made it's debut on the list this year at 2518 with three year sales growth of 148% and will also be speaking at the conference.

Inspiration. No matter the topic, the presenter, the intended audience…all the presenters at the 2015 Gathering of Games produced some powerful inspiration. With each session, we took away so many lessons, but these 14 really stood out, and we think they’re worth repeating because they embody so much of what The Great Game, Gathering of Games and being business leaders is all about.

While you’re still basking in the afterglow of the Gathering of Games, we wanted to share with you an additional opportunity to build relationships with some great leaders who have a deep commitment to values and collaboration from our friends at the Small Giants Community. (A number of whom are Great Game of Business practitioners.) It’s a quick turnaround, but definitely worth your effort. The 2015 Small Giants Summit in Dallas on September 20 - 23 has attendees from South Africa, the United States, Canada, Mexico, France, Japan and Brazil and is an excellent opportunity for global learning on an intimate scale.

Forecasting cash flow is the key to the survival of many organizations, yet it’s a non-existent process in others. Often, organizations with abundant cash see little value in taking the time to put a system in place to do this. Other organizations that operate with little or no cash see forecasting cash flow as a critical element in running their business in such a manner as to avoid a crisis of liquidity. The truth is, Forecasting cash flow should be a part of the monthly business cycle, regardless of your cash situation, and here is why.

According to Gallup and other workplace surveys, only about 18 percent of managers are effective in engaging their employees. Since it is well established that companies with highly engaged workforces perform far better than their competitors, this is a crucial issue for businesses to address. In an era when the prospect of a good job seems unattainable for many Americans, it is also a pressing challenge for the nation.

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.

If you have ever wondered how to help create a more effective and engaged workforce, you’re not alone. So many managers, owners and leaders within companies wonder that very same question. In fact, even line employees ask that same question. Let’s explore this idea through a brief but important journey on building a more effective team. Here’s what many people (myself included) frequently asked:

Co-authored by Trudi Saul I recently came across a statistic that said employees spend more than 31 hours a month in unproductive meetings - talk about a time suck! How is a daily huddle any different? Well for starters, it’s quick and to the point. You review the most crucial elements of the business and discuss anything else offline.

Co-authored by Eugene Rios The most commonly asked questions we get with The Great Game from non-practicing organizations are these: What if the competition gets a hold of our numbers? I don’t want the employees to know how much profit (or loss) the company generates. How can we play The Game when we have multiple locations? How can we have a weekly huddle when most of our employees work remote? This won’t work for us because we are a union shop. Each of the above questions can be easily diffused.

Co-authored by Randell Wallace