Get in the Game

Though technology has evolved at hyper speed over the past hundred years, management styles have mostly stayed the same. The higher-ups make the decisions, and the employees grind it out, often without knowing the endgame. In 1983, Jack Stack created a new game: The Great Game of Business.
Get In The Game further explains the rules of this Game: to win, you must get everyone at all levels of the business as informed, involved, and engaged as the owner. This book offers a step-by-step guide on how to teach employees the numbers, show them the big picture, and let them have a say in the company’s future. The Game has already benefited thousands of companies:
Is yours ready to get in The Game?

RICH ARMSTRONG is the President of The Great Game of Business, Inc. Rich coauthored the update of the #1 bestseller, The Great Game of Business – 20th Anniversary Edition. Rich has nearly thirty years of experience in improving business performance and employee engagement through the practice of open-book management and employee ownership, with service as a business coach and as a senior executive at SRC Holdings Corporation, one of America’s top 100 largest majority employee-owned companies. Rich also serves on the board of the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO).

STEVE BAKER is vice president of The Great Game of Business, Inc. Steve coauthored the update of the #1 bestseller, The Great Game of Business--20th Anniversary Edition. Steve is a top-rated, sought-after speaker and coach on the subjects of open-book management, strategy and execution, leadership, and employee engagement. Steve is a career marketing and branding professional and an award-winning artist.

JOHN P. (JACK) STACK is president and CEO of SRC Holdings Corporation. Stack, a graduate of Elmhurst College, came to SRC in 1979 as the plant manager of International Harvester (IH). In 1983, Stack and the SRC employees bought the company from IH and have turned it into, what Inc. magazine has proclaimed, “one of America’s most competitive small companies.” He is the author of the books The Great Game of Business and A Stake in the Outcome. Jack has been married to his wife, Betsy, for forty-seven years and is the father of five children and grandfather of ten.

FOREWORD PREFACE INTRODUCTION YOU ARE NOT ALONE STEP 1 BEGIN WITH THE RIGHT LEADERSHIP STEP 2 SHARE THE WHY BEFORE THE HOW STEP 3 OPEN THE BOOKS AND TEACH THE NUMBERS STEP 4 FOCUS ON THE CRITICAL NUMBER STEP 5 ACT ON THE RIGHT DRIVERS STEP 6 CREATE AN EARLY WIN WITH MINIGAMES STEP 7 PROVIDE A STAKE IN THE OUTCOME STEP 8 KEEP SCORE STEP 9 FOLLOW THE ACTION— HUDDLES AND FORWARD FORECASTING STEP 10 SUSTAIN WITH HIGH-INVOLVEMENT PLANNING READY, FIRE, AIM ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABOUT THE AUTHORS APPENDIX: THE HIGHER LAWS OF BUSINESS