From cplatz@seatimes.comSat Mar 16 12:05:22 1996 Date: Thu, 29 Feb 1996 09:01:55 -0800 From: Christopher Platz To: Human Resources Net Subject: Summary - Open Book Management THIS IS A LONG POST Thanks to everyone who provided input to my question 'what is open book managment'. This information was most helpful. christopher platz the seattle times http://www.seatimes.com/ cplatz@setimes.com .......... I believe you are describing "Open Space Technology" by Harrison Owen. I will try to look up the exact titles of the books. Good luck! .......... In reply to your question on" Open Book Management". In Business Week Magazine, in one of the April or May 1995 issues, there was an article explaining new operating concepts to increase employee productivity. One section of the article explained the use of "open book management" and the positive impact it had on employee morale. .......... A historical tidbit: During negotiations with the auto industry in the early '50s, Walter Reuther (UAW) called on management to "Open the books!" What he was talking about is pretty much what the 'new' approach recommends: when workers are asked to make sacrifices for the company because of financial exigencies, naturally their attitude will be, "Show us, and maybe we'll believe you. Don't show us, and you can be sure we won't." .......... Book: "Open-Book Management" by John Case .......... Here in Baltimore we have a shining example of open book management in Bob Argabright who is president of Cheaspeake Packaging. Bob's results are also amazing in a company of 150 employees. Open Book Management is truly the ultimate in empowerment. It means training everyone to understand what the big financial picture really means and being open with the company finances, something most organizations aren't ready to do. .......... Training Magazine published a very comprehensive article on Open Book Management in the July, 1994 issue (pp. 21-27). The basic premise of this not so new, but uncommon theory is simple. .......... If you want to dip your toe in the water first, go the library and get a copy of the April 94 (I think) issue of Inc., and read the article "A Company of Business People". It lays the groundwork for the book (which has many more helpful examples and case studies). Their bottom line thesis is that there needs to be a fundamental redefining of the relationship between management and labor in order to truly maximize performance--essentially, the old "wage labor" model that was developed with the advent of the assembly line is now holding us back. I think that they make an extremely strong case, and that their prescriptions strike at the very root of most performance issues. This is a book that anyone who is on the BPR band wagon should especially read--I think that it explains why some companies benefit from a BPR effort better than others. For that matter, it's a "must read" for anyone who truly considers himself to be a "performance technologist" (yuck term), since it addresses the single most fundamental performance intervention--changes to corporate culture and philosophy. .......... New Business Video explores Open-Book Management c/ga announces release of Open-Book Management - Creating a Company of Entrepreneurs cohen/gebler associates, inc., creators of the award-winning Dilbertx Business Video series, announced the release of Open-Book Management - Creating a Company of Entrepreneurs, a new business video based on the book Open-Book Management - the Coming Business Revolution by John Case. The 25 minute video tells the astonishing story of open book companies- business organizations where employees actually learn to understand the financials and use them every day on the job. According to Chris Lee of Training magazine, "companies that practice open-book management seem to have captured some sort of lighting in a bottle." Open-Book Management is a new approach to running a business. Open-book companies teach everyone on the payroll to understand, track, and take responsibility for the numbers that measure a business' performance: the financials. They expect employees to think and act like businesspeople rather than hired hands. And they make sure everyone in the business has a stake in the company's success. The Video focuses on two dramatic cases: Springfield ReManufacturing Corp., an engine remanufacturer whose Great Game of Business has attracted attention world-wide, and Physician Sales & Service, the nation's leading distributor of medical supplies to physicians. Both companies have racked up enviable records of growth and profitability- and have pioneered the technique of opening the books as a tool for building trust and motivation throughout all levels of their organizations. The Video is designed as a business education tool to introduce this key new management trend. According to c/ga creative director Steve Cohen, "We took a very simple approach to this production. The messages we heard while visiting SRC and PSS were so compelling, we wanted to let the words speak for themselves." The Video allows organizational leaders with information to evaluate whether open-book concepts would work in their organization. Some of the Video's key training points are (1) how employees at all levels can contribute to profitability by learning to understand their business unit's financials, and (2) how open-book management motivates everyone in a company by getting everyone on the same team. The video's producers, Steve Cohen and David Gebler, worked closely with John Case in developing this tool for introducing fundamental open-book concepts to a wide audience. John Case, a Senior Writer for Inc. magazine, has been following and writing about the open-book phenomenon since 1986. His Harper Collins book on which the Video was based was released in 1995, and John is currently working on a follow-up volume set for release in 1997. In addition, John is the editor of Open-Book Management Bulletin, a bi-weekly newsletter which tracks the growth of Open-Book Management. According to Case, "together, the Video and the Bulletin provide a complete tool kit for implementing open-book management in an organization." The Video is available for purchase for $395 and for 5-day rental through cohen/gebler associates, inc. For more information call 1-800-208-3535. .......... Book: "The Great Game of Business" by Jack Stack. .......... My understanding of Open Book Management is that it is a managing strategy where the organization opens its financial books to all employees. Everyone gets a picture of debits, credits, salaries, expenses, etc. Problems associated with the organization, inlcuding labor disputes, layoffs, productivity, etc. can be more fully discussed when the finances are on the table rather than controlled by a small group of executives. I think Peter Drucker was the origin of this idea, but I am not sure, since we have been using it in our organization before we learned of Peter Drucker.