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January 30, 2012
I consider myself a student of business. I love to learn and to push myself to understand every nuance that distinguishes success from failure. That’s why I was so drawn to Bo Burlingham almost 30 years ago. Bo, who was then a young writer for Inc. magazine (www.inc.com), and I struck up what has become a 30-year friendship based on a simple idea: we wanted to dig as deeply as we could into every idea, decision or best practice involved in running a successful business. That’s how Bo and I came to write two books together as well as, for a while at least, a column for Inc. I’ll admit that it wasn’t always easy. In fact, it was downright frustrating at times. Bo is relentless in asking questions and it can drive you crazy. But he was asking those questions because he, too, has this desire to learn and understand. And I deeply respect that.
I can look back now and see how much I also got out of the countless hours we spent in bars, on planes and on my fishing boat dissecting the topic of business. It was almost like Bo was my therapist; a sounding board for me to reflect on the personal and professional situations that were evolving around me. Talking to Bo drove me to seek better answers because he challenged me about what it meant to do, as the Golden Rule says, the right thing. The idea that those conversations might have contributed something to a wider audience than just us is hugely rewarding.
After a while, though, Bo and I took a break. But I didn’t get to hide for long. That’s because Steve Baker of the Great Game of Business and Loren Feldman of the New York Times hatched this idea for me to write a blog for the Times. They then put me in touch with Darren Dahl, another writer from Inc. who, for some reason, wanted to help me write the darn thing on a regular basis (he also has a happens to love learning about business, for what it’s worth). That experience, too, was both exhilarating and exhausting. Not that talking about business tires me out. It was the process of writing for an audience that I wasn’t sure really understood what we were trying to get at. Don’t get me wrong: I love to hear dissenting opinions and to have people challenge me. But I just couldn’t seem to connect with the audience. The comments we received on our pieces seemed to attack the fundamentals of capitalism more than they stoked an actual debate about how to run a business. That’s why, after about a year, we took a break from that as well.
Well, maybe you can guess what happened next since you’re reading this now. I’ll admit it: I missed it. The Monday-morning therapy sessions where you get to step out of your day-to-day thoughts to focus on maybe what you don’t know or what you want to know more about. That’s what this new blog, which I pulled Darren back in to help me with, is going to be all about. I’m never going to pretend to be a guy like Michael Porter or Steven Covey who can neatly package ideas for mass consumption. Really, I’m doing this just as much for myself as I am for the members of what I hope can grow into a community of ideas. That means I want to hear from all of you. Send us feedback, ideas and the challenges you’re working through. We can then look for opportunities where we can learn from each other. I’ll share some of my thoughts and observations both inside and outside of SRC in return. Maybe we’ll even pull Bo back into the mix from time to time. Perhaps, by all of us doing this together, we really can find a way to save the world through business.
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19 Comments
Betsi Bixby says:
On January 30, 2012 at 10:47 am
Looking forward to your words of wisdom Jack. Welcome back!!
Linc says:
On January 30, 2012 at 10:51 am
I can’t wait to read your thoughts Jack. You honesly are a sage. You have thought through so many aspects of business that GGOB/SRC has become far more than just a place to learn about open book managment.
Mavis Moon says:
On January 30, 2012 at 11:19 am
Hello Jack, I would like to follow your blog – sounds interesting. Does/can your site give a way for me to add your blog to my Google Reader account?
Dean E. Tucker says:
On January 30, 2012 at 11:57 am
Jack, I am anxiously looking forward to your blog and improving if not saving the world through business. We have not met but we have mutual friends (Rich Armstrong and Ari Weinzweig). I will do my best to contribute in any way I can. Glad you are back. Dean Tucker
Joy Waring says:
On January 30, 2012 at 12:23 pm
Embracing your common sense approach, experiences, wisdom and The Great Game of Business has positively transformed our company and the people in it. I’ll be anxiously awaiting all of your posts.
Curt says:
On January 30, 2012 at 12:36 pm
I think the NYT comments you referred to have hit upon an intersting point – Why is it that so many people question the value of Capitalism/Free Enterprise? – Possibly a blog in it’s own……
Sean Finter says:
On January 30, 2012 at 1:03 pm
Welcome back Jack! We have been waiting for you!
I will look forward to your posts each week. You have got so much to share, and me, so much to learn from you. I am ready for our weekly appointment.
Sean Finter
Bob Rath says:
On January 30, 2012 at 1:31 pm
Jack,
I have always valued your insights and enjoyed working with you team at SRC. I look forward to more.
Kelley Still says:
On January 30, 2012 at 2:10 pm
Looking forward to thinking about the important questions–so easy to get mired in the trees and miss the forest!
Jeff Evenson says:
On January 30, 2012 at 2:54 pm
Jack, As ever, I will hang on every word. I might not agree with all of them, but I will look forward to them! Your insight and ability to distill business into some basic building blocks make us all better.
Martin Staubus says:
On January 30, 2012 at 4:56 pm
Jack,
You’re funny looking, you drink too much, and your mother wears army boots.
Okay, I just didn’t want your head to swell too much with all the flattery being heaped on you – even if it’s well deserved, which it is.
Kent Roper says:
On January 30, 2012 at 8:18 pm
I”ll never forget the learning experience I had with Bill Fotch and Moose Millard during our Great Game sessions at Southwest Airlines. The Great Game is truly Great. I try to figure out each day how I can add to our bottom line. I want to learn more through your blog. This is my third airline and I want it to succeed. It won’t be easy. It is the airline business Give us more ideas. Constant stimulation with new ideas is fun and innovative. Now please load us up!
Carey Kurten says:
On January 30, 2012 at 11:31 pm
It can be very lonely out in the world of business for the visionaries who are trying to implement Open Book Management. Even you, Jack, got exhausted of defending an attack from an audience lacking an understanding of the fundamentals of Open Book Management. I am delighted that this blog will be open to debate and the sharing of challenges where the audience is looking for solutions and focused on making it work. This will be so refreshing! Thank you Jack for the opportunity you are giving those that are passionate about the concept.
Ryszard Stocki says:
On January 31, 2012 at 1:44 am
Dear Jack,
You probably don’t know that a person in Poland is following your every step, analysing what you do and writing about you. You probably realize that you have predecesors not only followers. When you have a closer look at Paraguay Reductions or co-operative movement or even Solon’s reforms they are all about the same thing – human dignity. What you do is successfully conveying the message in contemporary business language and that is your greatest achievement. Do you think the next step could be regular business studies with your philosophy in the center? Have you thought about conquering business schools?
Tan, Jit Khoon says:
On January 31, 2012 at 5:46 am
Hi Jack,
We have just acquired a company 10 months back and together have reached a level that we couldn’t have imagined within 6 months after implementing Great Games! We look forward to learn more from you!
Jit from Singapore
Frank Smith says:
On January 31, 2012 at 4:31 pm
Jack,
Not a week goes by that I dont refer to or tell someone something that you wrote previously. Cant wait to hear your new thoughts.
Tom Bissonnette says:
On February 1, 2012 at 7:40 pm
Jack, I read your book back in the late 90″s and never got to use it as I was not business owner at the time and I had very little say how the company I worked for ran its business. Today I own my own company and I am looking for a way to include my employees in the financial side of the company. A friend recommended that I read your book so I dusted it off and I will refresh my memory. I am glad you are back to help guide people like me to make better business decisions.
Amanda Kuda says:
On February 2, 2012 at 3:58 pm
Hi Mavis! Thanks for the comment. I’ll answer this one for Jack, if you don’t mind! You can use the orange RSS feed button at the bottom of the blog page to set up a feed to your Google Reader (or any other RSS program of choice). Just copy this link into your Google Reader set-up: http://greatgame.com/feed/
We’re glad you are looking forward to Jack’s Blog!
Robert Smith says:
On April 17, 2012 at 8:59 am
Jack,
I cannot tell you how good it was to hear your voice again. You are one of my mentors and someone I use as an example in many of my talks and speeches around the world regarding business integrity and…Doing the next right thing! You made such a deep impact on me 10 years ago when I participated in The Game of Business. Dinner with you was exceptional but more so was our time later with you and John Morris in your boardroom. I think we left about 1:00 am. I never ever forgot the power of your wisdom. Thank you. Robert Smith CEO of Axcelerate Worldwide Inc.