Open-Book Management
You may have heard talk about open-book management as described in numerous books including “The Great Game of Business” by Jack Stack. The concept is a simple one which at its core, is about an inclusive style of management that allows team members to be involved with the financial results of a business.
Unfortunately, when it comes to the theory of open-book management and its application, there are more incorrect perceptions than correct ones. Some business owners believe open-books require them to share their complete financial picture, including the amount of their personal salary, or draw with their team members and as a result, eliminate the approach from consideration. Other owners have no problem sharing their financial results with little or no explanation and then impose goals on their team. Still, others think they are failing to implement open-book management merely because of the level of detail they are willing to share. Others eliminate open-book management from consideration because they assume it is applicable either to only large companies, or only small companies or to one industry or another. They try to define the theory based on a rigid set of accounts, or financial statements, or business types and miss the point entirely.
Open-book management is a philosophy. It is a way of running a business that:
Values employees for their knowledge and expertise
Matches responsibility with information
Associates measures with management
Involves the people being measured in creating their own methods and metrics in support of business goals
Relies on trust and transparency
If you have employees you want to engage in running your successful business consider these principles and then apply them to the best of your ability. Perfection is not the goal. Take small steps at first and refine them as you go along. Even Jack Stack continually evolved his application of these tools in his business. Perfect or not, by sharing the successes and the failures on the road to achieving clearly defined corporate goals, you will give everyone a stake in the organization’s success and increase your chances of winning the game.