With contributions by Bo Burlingham, Stack wrote this book (first published in 1992) partly in response to that question. He introduces "The Higher Laws of Business":
1. You get what you give.
2. Its easy to stop one guy, but it's pretty hard to stop 100.
3. What goes around comes around.
4. You do what you gotta do.
5. You gotta wanna.
6. You can sometimes fool the fans, but you can never fool the players.
7. When you raise the bottom, the top rises.
8. When people set their own targets, they usually hit them.
9. If nobody pays attention, people stop caring.
10. As they say in Missouri: Shit rolls downhill. By which we mean change begins at the top.
To these Stack adds "The Ultimate Higher Law": When you appeal to the highest level of thinking, you get the highest level of performance. These are the eleven laws on which Stack's system of open-book management is based. He explains each in thorough detail. Let's say that you agree that these laws make sense, that they are relevant to your own organization. Now what?
Pretend that you have entered "Stack's Open-Book Management Store." He greets you at the door. For the next several hours, he guides you through an abundance of strategies, tactics, measurement instruments, communication devices, policies, procedures, etc. He answers all of your questions. He offers a number of caveats. He shares his own successes and failures. He directs you to the latest "newer and better" but also to "what still works really well." At the end of your visit, you are fully prepared to pick and choose from among all the options. Then he assists you with formulation of a plan to design and then implement your own open-book management program, one which is specifically appropriate to the needs of your own organization. In effect, this what happens as you read the book. I recommend it highly. Even if an open-book management program is not what your organization currently needs, the issues Stack addresses and the questions he raises are still worthy of your thoughtful consideration.
This book ignited the "Responsible Revolution" in American business.
Historically, American management worked along the lines of the organization that won World War II. This is called "Theory X," and assumes people are not to be trusted.
The Boomer Generation came along, and can be led; it can not be bullied, and ordered about like a PFC before Patton, and does not like being "mananged," at all.
"Open Books" to the rescue.
With "Open Books," everyone can finally understand what The Great Game of Business really is at a level they can understand
The greatest single problem - and there are many, as the sequel, "A Stake In The Outcome" documents - is that most middle management is largely superfluous in an "Open Books" environment, particularly as the people grow in knowledge about the Great Game.
If you decide to implement Great Game ideas, know that (1) they have a website, and (2) it REALLY helps if you have a working knowledge of Economic Value Added accounting.
With the clear understanding EVA allows, and the empowerment an "Open Books" environment provides, a lot of the swamp is drained, and a path to Victory can be clearly defined, and accepted, by all parties.