The Great Game of Business

In the early 1980s, Springfield Remanufacturing??Corporation (SRC) in Springfield, Missouri, was a??near bankrupt division of International Harvester.??That's when a green young manager, Jack Stack,??took over and turned it around. He didn't know how to??"manage" a company, but he did know about the??principal, of athletic competition and democracy:??keeping score, having fun, playing fair, providing??choice, and having a voice. With these principals??he created his own style of management --??open-book management. The key is to let everyone in on??financial decisions. At SRC, everyone learns how to??read a P&L -- even those without a high school??education know how much the toilet paper they use??cuts into profits. SRC people have a piece of the??action and a vote in company matters. Imagine??having a vote on your bonus and on what businesses the??company should be in. SRC restored the dignity of??economic freedom to its people. Stack's??"open-book management" is the key -- a system??which, as he describes it here, is literally??a game, and one so simple anyone can use??it. As part of the Currency paperback line, the??book includes a "User's Guide" -- an??introduction and discussion guide created for the??paperback by the author -- to help readers make??practical use of the book's ideas. Jack Stack is the??president and CEO of the Springfield Remanufacturing??Corporation, in Springfield, Missouri. The recipient??of the 1993 Business Enterprise Trust Award, Jack??speaks throughout the country on The??Great Game Of Business and Open??Book Management.

JACK STACK is President and CEO of SRC Holding Corporation, an employee-owned company that supplies remanufactured engines to the transportation industries. He is also the author of A Stake in the Outcome. He lives in Springfield, Missouri.