The Great Game Of Business : The Only Sensible Way To Run A Company
First published in 1992, The Great Game of Business by Jack Stack with Bo Burlingham presents a radical yet simple idea: treat business like a game. Through the lens of open-book management, Stack shares how his company, Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation (SRC), turned around from the brink of failure by teaching every employee to think and act like an owner. This book has become a foundational text for participative management and building financially literate teams.
Who May Benefit from the Book
- Entrepreneurs who want employees to act like partners
- Business owners aiming for sustainable performance
- HR leaders focused on employee engagement
- Managers seeking a practical leadership framework
- Teams interested in learning business through hands-on methods
Top 3 Key Insights
- Transparency builds trust. Sharing financial data with employees helps them understand and impact company performance.
- Focus on the Critical Number. Every business has one number that defines its success at any given time.
- Short-term wins matter. MiniGames turn improvement efforts into engaging challenges that build habits and momentum.
4 More Lessons and Takeaways
- Financial literacy drives better decisions. Teaching employees to read income statements and understand costs leads to smarter daily actions.
- Huddles create rhythm and accountability. Weekly team meetings help forecast results, review progress, and align everyone.
- Reward performance with a stake in the outcome. Bonus plans and equity programs encourage employees to think long-term.
- Involve everyone in planning. High-involvement planning gets input from all levels, improving strategy and commitment.
The Book in 1 Sentence
The Great Game of Business shows how open-book management turns every employee into a responsible, motivated business thinker.
The Book Summary in 1 Minute
Jack Stack’s The Great Game of Business shares how transparency and education can transform any workplace. The book tells the story of SRC’s revival through open-book management—where all employees learn how business works and see real financial numbers. With tools like the Critical Number, MiniGames, Huddles, and Scoreboards, employees don’t just do jobs—they help drive the business. Stack stresses that businesses thrive when everyone understands how to win. The goal? Build a culture of ownership, where everyone contributes, decides, and shares in the results.
The Book Summary in 7 Minutes
At its heart, The Great Game of Business redefines management. It urges leaders to educate their teams, open the books, and treat business like a team sport. The idea is simple but bold: teach employees how business works, give them access to real data, and let them help steer the company.
How the Great Game of Business Started
In 1983, Jack Stack and his colleagues took a bold step by purchasing the Springfield ReManufacturing Corporation (SRC), a struggling division on the brink of closure by International Harvester. With no prior business experience, they had to learn the ropes of building and running a successful business.
Stack viewed business as a game—a competitive endeavor with rules, strategies, scores, winners and losers, and a touch of luck. By treating business as a game, Stack and his co-owners were able to demystify business operations, making it easier for everyone to learn and succeed. From 1983 to 1992, SRC’s revenues skyrocketed from $16 million to $83 million, and the company’s value grew from $100,000 to $25 million. They also implemented an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), aiming to help employees purchase their own homes. By 2013, the ESOP holdings for hourly workers had grown from $35,000 to $400,000, with SRC’s share price surging from $0.10 in 1983 to $348 in 2013.
The success of SRC was not just about financial gains but also about creating a company of educated owners who understood the business and contributed to its growth. Now, let’s explore the key components of open-book management as outlined in GGOB.
The Foundation – Open-Book Management
Transparency is Not Optional
Stack argues that hiding financials creates confusion, fear, and gossip. At SRC, leaders chose openness. Every employee saw profit margins, costs, and goals. But just showing numbers wasn’t enough—they taught employees what the numbers meant.
Why it matters:
When people understand how their work affects revenue and profit, they work smarter.
Financial Literacy is a Must
To make open-book management work, you must teach finance in plain language. Employees at SRC learned terms like cash flow, overhead, and net income. The goal was not to turn them into accountants, but informed team players.
Example terms covered:
| Financial Term | Simple Meaning |
|---|---|
| Gross Margin | What’s left after cost of goods sold |
| Overhead | Operating costs that don’t vary with production |
| Cash Flow | How money moves in and out of the business |
The Critical Number – Focus Drives Progress
Every business has one number that matters more than the rest. At SRC, leaders always defined a “Critical Number” for each phase of growth.
Examples of Critical Numbers:
- Cash flow during a financial crunch
- Quality metrics when customer complaints rise
- Employee retention during rapid scaling
Everyone’s efforts should align with improving that number. This sharpens focus and simplifies communication.
MiniGames – Small Wins Lead to Big Wins
MiniGames are 60- to 90-day focused challenges. Each game targets a specific issue or goal, with clear rules and rewards.
What makes them effective:
- A catchy theme (e.g., “Shrink the Sink” for reducing excess inventory)
- Scoreboards updated weekly
- Team-based rewards that reinforce learning and results
These games make improvement fun and measurable. Employees build habits while hitting targets.
The Great Huddle – Weekly Rhythm of Communication
Huddles are weekly, all-hands meetings. They include:
- Review of financial results
- Progress toward the Critical Number
- Team forecasts and goals
- Problem solving and recognition
Forecasting is key. Teams must predict results, then learn from misses. Forecasts are better than reports—they create ownership.
Why it works:
Teams stay aligned and motivated. Mistakes are seen early. Wins are celebrated openly.
Line of Sight – Connecting Daily Work to Big Goals
Employees need to see how their tasks affect company performance. Stack calls this “Line of Sight.” Without it, people work in silos.
Ways to build it:
- Translate company goals into team targets
- Use diagrams and simple visuals
- Talk numbers in team meetings
- Involve employees in solving bottlenecks
When everyone understands their impact, they work with more care and energy.
Stake in the Outcome – Share the Wins
SRC created bonus plans based on real performance. Bonuses weren’t arbitrary—they were tied to profit goals and Critical Numbers.
Good bonus plans have:
- Clear link to company performance
- Levels of achievement
- Frequent payouts (quarterly or even monthly)
- Education to explain how bonuses work
Some companies go further and offer equity. At SRC, an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) gave workers a long-term reason to care.
While bonuses are motivating, real wealth comes from the long-term growth of the company’s stock value. By implementing an employee equity program, you can create a company of educated owners who are invested in the success of the business.
High-Involvement Planning – Strategy is Everyone’s Job
Planning isn’t just for top executives. At SRC, all employees take part in annual strategy sessions. They analyze the business, give input, and help shape goals.
Key steps:
- Assess strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats
- Share financial and market data
- Create a shared vision
- Break big goals into team objectives
This approach taps into the front-line knowledge and builds stronger commitment to the plan.
Scoreboards – Numbers Made Visible
What gets measured gets improved. Stack emphasizes the power of visible, simple scoreboards. These should be updated weekly and easy to understand.
Types of Scoreboards:
- Company-wide financial performance
- Team-level MiniGame progress
- Department KPIs
- Individual scorecards
Good scoreboards show:
- Where you are
- Where you’re going
- How fast you’re moving
Leadership – Trust, Teach, and Let Go
Leaders in Stack’s system don’t give orders. They coach. They educate. They share power.
Traits of great leaders in the Game:
- Transparent with data
- Committed to teaching
- Willing to delegate real decisions
- Always reinforcing purpose and values
This leadership builds trust, creativity, and loyalty.
Implementing the Great Game of Business
GGOB can be distilled into three sets of principles and practices:
- Know and Teach the Game Rules: Educate employees about financials and how their roles impact the company.
- Stay on Top of the Action: Regularly review progress and adjust strategies as needed.
- Offer a Stake in the Outcome: Give employees a share in the company’s success, aligning their interests with the business.
These principles are centered around the “Critical Number,” a key metric that drives the company’s success. In the second edition of GGOB, the authors provide a detailed case study on how to implement these principles in practice.
The Broader Impact of GGOB
Businesses have a significant impact on the economy and society. By adopting GGOB, companies not only improve their own financial performance but also empower employees to understand business, take initiative, set standards, and become self-reliant. This, in turn, creates a positive cycle where successful employees may start new businesses, generating even more jobs and wealth.
GGOB is a detailed guidebook filled with tools, resources, examples, tips, checklists, and templates to help any business implement open-book management. For those looking to dive deeper into the process, the book offers step-by-step instructions and additional resources available through greatgame.com.
About the Author
Jack Stack, the President and CEO of Springfield ReManufacturing Corporation (SRC), authored “The Great Game of Business” to share his insights on open-book management. SRC, founded in 1983 by 13 former employees of International Harvester, has seen tremendous growth under Stack’s leadership. The company’s stock price has risen from $0.10 in 1983 to over $199 by 2015. Co-author Bo Burlingham, an editor-at-large of Inc. magazine, has also contributed to several other business books.
The Great Game of Business Quotes
- “You will always be more successful in business by sharing information with the people you work with than by keeping them in the dark.”
- “Ownership is not a set of legal rights. It’s a state of mind.”
- “If you want to make things happen, you have to get people to raise their sights, not lower them.”
- “Information should not be a power tool—it should be a means of education.”
- “Communicating is one of the most difficult challenges in any business, because people hear what they want to hear.”
- “When you appeal to the highest level of thinking, you get the highest level of performance.”
Conclusion
“The Great Game of Business” is more than just a management philosophy; it’s a transformative approach that can revolutionize how businesses operate. By opening up financials, educating employees, and aligning their interests with the company’s success, businesses can create a culture of ownership and empowerment. The results are not only financial gains but also a more engaged, motivated, and innovative workforce. Whether you’re a business owner, leader, or employee, GGOB offers valuable lessons that can help you achieve higher levels of success and fulfillment.