Amy’s Ice Creams’ workforce is made up primarily of millennials, most of which are seasonal employees. In the short time these younger workers are with Amy's, this Great Game All-Star company maximizes engagement in order to make a lasting impact on employees' futures, as well as the success of the business. Take a look at what Marketing and Communications Director, Aaron Clay, has to say about the company's fun, fast-paced and positive Huddles, and his four guidelines for enhancing engagement in your team's Huddles.

I was saddened to hear about the loss of Herb Kelleher, the founder of Southwest Airlines. I’ll never forget the time back in the early 1990s when I was invited to Texas to talk about the Great Game of Business with Herb and his team at Southwest. After I gave my talk, I figured everything I had shared about our open-book story wasn’t worth much given how big Southwest was and how many locations they operated out of. I wasn’t sure our Great Game system would work in a big company. Then Herb stood up. He took over the podium and told his leaders that there were only five things that could take out their company: their five unions. I admit I was shocked because I didn’t know they were a union company. But Herb then told his team that the only way their airline was going to make it was if they could teach everyone, all ninety thousand people—including every union employee—how the company made money and generated cash.

For more than 25 years, we’ve helped thousands of companies implement open-book management to its fullest capacity. Along the way, we’ve developed a list of common mistakes companies make while using transparency and open-book management in their organization. If you think you are not executing open-book management correctly, or are not seeing the results you expected, then you may be making one of these four common errors:

Over 1,000 business books are published every month. Over 100 of those have ‘leadership’ in the title. It seems that we are always looking for new ways to lead in an ever-changing world of business. But has true leadership ever really changed? Here’s another question to consider. Is leadership different in an open-book environment?

Is your leadership team ready to make the leap into open-books, but the rest of your employees lagging behind? If you’re ready to start sharing financial and operational business information with your employees, but they’re just not ready to play along, there are probably some very logical –and common – reasons why. Here are the top four reasons that your employees haven’t jumped on the open-book management bandwagon.

You've heard about Great Game All-Stars, but what does the transformation of a company that achieves All-Star status actually look like? This Gravitas Impact webinar, the second half of a two-part series, features Rich Armstrong as he discusses the real-life case study of Great Game practitioner Practice Velocity, measurable results, detailed MiniGame™ examples and more with Gravitas Impact President, Keith Cupp. 

Like many business leaders and owners, my partners and I found it difficult to find time to work “on” the business, because we were so busy working “in” the business. We were already working 60-hour workweeks and with a rapidly growing company, we feared working “on” the business would result in 70+ hour workweeks. Our company had increased the top line at a breakneck pace, but the bottom line lagged behind and our bonus plan was flawed.

The For You Leaders podcast, hosted by Kirk Dando, focuses on actionable leadership and business growth insights from some of the world's best leaders. In this episode, Dando interviews the CEO of Kerbey Lane Cafe, Mason Ayer, as he explains what he's learned as the leader of a highly successful restaurant in Austin, Texas.    Sneak Peek- What's Included in the Podcast: Mason’s transformation from his law career to becoming the CEO of the family business.  How Mason chose to make this shift in his career, and the advice for those on the verge of making a significant life change.  How Kerbey Lane Cafe uses open-book management to empower employees with financial information to help meet the goals of the business. What pushed Mason to implement open-book management, and how he overcame his initial resistance to the concept.  How Mason aligns all of his employees with the company's EBITA goal. Why Kerbey Lane Cafe gives every hourly employee financial education. Challenges of transforming the business to open-book, and the impact on financials and culture.  How the company is able to thrive in an area filled with successful restaurants. What every leader can learn from the restaurant industry. The one job Mason recommends everyone have at least once in their life.

Gravitas Impact is a global coaching network that guides, challenges, and supports CEOs in their growing companies. They work with internationally-recognized thought leaders to help CEOs ignite groundbreaking insights to empower positive growth and ongoing success. This webinar hosted by Gravitas Impact President, Keith Cupp, features Jack Stack as they cover his role as a passionate leader over 35 years and concepts from the Great Game of Business.   Sneak Peek- What's Included in the Webinar: What is the Great Game of Business and why does it make a difference? What are companies afraid of when implementing The Game and what are barriers to implementation? How SRC has not only survived four recessions, but doubled in value within five years of each of these economic downturns.  What is SRC's Critical Number™? The Living Laboratory in Springfield, MO. The Great Game applied in Non-Profit organizations and international countries

  The Gut+Science Podcast, hosted by Nikki Lewallen, features the nation's greatest leaders as they cut to the core of people-first cultures and ask CEOs how they are redefining employee engagement. Gut+Science recently featured The Great Game of Business' President, Rich Armstrong, as he discusses playing the Great Game, employee engagement, "gamifying" business and more.  Check out the full podcast below! Sneak Peek- What's Included in the Podcast: Definition of open-book management: four components The concept of "gamifying" business Business and the elements of a game Is every financial detail shared in OBM? Do company culture and employee engagement impact profitability? Education- who, how often, and how to educate through this process Common skills and values found in Great Game leaders Cross-departmental alignment MiniGames™ Lightning round- learn about Rich Armstrong  

We often hear it, “You need to give people a sense of ownership—the feeling that they are being treated as if they are an owner, even if they aren’t.” A sense of ownership can include input into decisions on how the job is done, open-book management, meetings with the boss, celebrations of wins, and other techniques well known to Great Game players. But is a sense of ownership enough? 

    United Heating, Cooling & Plumbing is new to The Great Game of Business®.  After several employees had read the book, they decided to take the leap into open-book management earlier this year at their two locations including more than 300 employees. United hopes to embrace their employees' excitement for transparency and OBM, keep this energy going and continuously better communication within the company by implementing the Great Game of Business. As United is rolling out the Great Game to their company, their leaders are using a more innovative approach to introducing GGOB practices to their employees by releasing fun and informative videos. We spoke with Sarah Lambert in Process Improvement about how they have begun the process at United. Check out their videos and our Q&A below!