Almost every person has heard of or read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey.  To be honest, I had heard of this book throughout most of my life. My dad had the book and I frequently saw it sitting on his desk at home, but I never once took the opportunity to dig into this myself and learn what all the hoopla was about. It was the summer of 2016 when the 7 Habits came into my life in a profound way.  I was the Parent Teacher Organization President at my daughter’s school where they implemented what was called the “Leader In Me” structure.  I had no idea what that meant, but I knew it was going to positively impact our children attending this school. With the role that I was serving in the next two years, the principal asked me to join their training sessions by Franklin Covey.  This was when my life changed significantly.   What is The 7 Habits Promise?

Many of you have probably heard of Brené Brown. You may have read her books like The Gifts of Imperfection, Daring Greatly, or her newest release, Dare to Lead. Or, you may have heard her famous Ted Talk, “The Power of Vulnerability,” which has scored over 35 million views. If you are not familiar with her work, Brown is a social scientist who studies the concept of shame and vulnerability and how they shape us as human beings and as leaders. She found that those who embrace their weaknesses and let themselves be shown are the ones who live the most fulfilled lives.  But what does vulnerability have to do with the Great Game and open-book management?

As a company manager (or owner), it’s your job to have all of the answers, right? Wrong. While you might feel accountable for finding/knowing/having all of the answers all of the time, sharing problems with the rest of your employees might provide some unexpected benefits for you, your employees and your business.

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. 

When I’m asked to explain the best way to talk with employees about company financials, I am reminded of an old axiom from Jack Stack, “Numbers are just stories about people.” And it’s true. All numbers on your financial statements have a story behind them – a story that explains how it came to be.  When you communicate numbers and the stories behind them, they take on a whole new meaning. Employees will begin to understand the “why” of what they do and how they can make a difference. Here are 7 things to help you “get to the stories behind the numbers”.

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  

Is talent your Critical Number™? While most of us focus on revenue or profit, Jack Stack took the stage at this year’s Gathering of Games and announced that hiring top talent was this year's important focus at SRC. The Great Game of Business Community embraces the idea that its both Money and People that drive results. As Great Game practitioners, I believe we are the coolest companies to work for in the world! However, most of us are just not telling that story to potential employees.

  Meeting together as a team to discuss the financials and critical elements of your business is a vital part of the Great Game of Business, but more importantly, it is an opportunity to focus on the people responsible for those numbers and the story behind the numbers. Successful Huddles affect all team members' mindsets and influence your team's performance in the financials.  Here are 8 tips to help you get the most out of your Huddles.  

As Jack Stack says, “One of the challenges in leadership is you need to know when to push, when to hug, when to cheer, when to boo, and when to kick people in the butt.”  For any individual in a leadership role, there are endless responsibilities, people and tasks to keep in order. We've compiled a checklist of tips and questions to help our Great Game leaders reflect on their leadership styles and stay on track. Check out our best practices for GGOB leaders below! 

    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!  

    Are you ready to introduce the Great Game to your employees? Reading the book as a group is a great way to establish the concepts of the Great Game of Business® with employees, whether your company is new in implementing open-book management,  introducing new hires to the Game or refreshing your Great Game knowledge.  We recommend providing everyone a copy of the book and meeting weekly in small groups to go over one chapter at a time. This study guide is a perfect complement to this type of ‘book club’. Some companies assign a different discussion leader each week to share the leadership role and encourage engagement.