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Founded in 1997, Double O designs, supplies, installs, and services commercial glazing, windows, and doors.
Find a way to connect employees to how the company made a profit and generated cash—while also helping them understand why decisions were made and get them more involved in making the decisions themselves. Founder Michael Otis also wanted to find a way where the entire team could share the rewards from their hard work and success.
While Otis had known about The Great Game of Business® (GGOB) for 25 years, it was reconnecting with The Game at an Inc. 5000 conference, followed by a visit to The Git in the Game Workshop™ in Springfield, MO, that he decided to pull the trigger on implementing The Game with the help of their coach, Kevin Walter.
Otis says that the company was experiencing some financial difficulty throughout their first year of implementation in 2016. “We were in the middle of a crisis when we began Great Game™ so we knew the jump into this would be risky,” he says. That year the company made very little profit and couldn’t pay out bonuses. The next year was better, though still not exceptional. Then this past year, their third year playing The Game, they increased revenue by 50% and increased profits by over 200%— earning more than they had earned in the first 16 years of their existence combined. As a result, the company paid out $139,500 in profit sharing bonuses, something Otis says was the greatest thrill of his career. “I don’t believe that we would even be in business today if it were not for implementing The Great Game of Business in our company,” says Otis. “This is not overstating the case; this has truly been life changing for us. I would encourage any company considering implementing GGOB to just do it, whatever the cost, regardless of their stage of company. This is the future of business and this will change their life as an entrepreneur.”
“Our company is more conscious of what we spend money on. Field crew members who really only wanted to swing a hammer have engaged and asked amazing questions to further their knowledge. We challenge one another to spend wisely and see if it is a necessity or if we can hold off to purchase an item for the company. It has made us aware of what we are spending money on- and it has also helped us have a better understanding of where the budgets need to be enforced to grow our company. I really enjoy getting to see our company thrive and work as a team to accomplish our goals.” ~ Corey Tinker, Accounting Specialist
An example of one MiniGame the team played in 2018 was called “Shoot the Moon,” which had a nine-week goal to bring in more sales and revenue by bidding more and larger projects while maintaining a healthy closing ratio. Winning the challenge would create a lasting change that would increase the company’s revenue $2 million annually with a gross profit of some $500,000. Another MiniGame that had an impact was called “OnSite,” which was designed with a goal to get associates working in the field on the job site sooner each day as a way to maximize hours worked. The goal was to save some $20,000 in lost man hours over a ten-week period. The actual benefit of the MiniGame came out to be $17,250 in savings to the company—less the cost of the prizes and celebrations that cost the company about $2,250—so the net gain to the company was $15,000. “And the improved habits continue to this day for a significant ongoing benefit to the company,” says Otis.
“One of the dynamic impacts that GGOB has had is with our younger field team workers who are learning and experiencing how business fundamentals work and the impact of what they do / don’t do effects specific areas of the business. It has created a sense of team where we are all ‘in this together’ pulling for a better place to work and even realizing bonuses from good performance.” ~ Tom Ralya, Manager, Sales & Client Relations
In the next year, Otis would like to see his team get better at MiniGames by addressing some weak spots. But an even bolder goal is to embrace an organization-wide High-Involvement Planning™ process where the entire team will be involved in creating their annual budget, as well as their five and ten-year targets. “Right now, our budgeting process involves the accounting department too much and not enough of our associates,” says Otis. “I want our entire team to own the numbers.”
“Everything we do is done better thanks to The Game. Before we started GGOB, we were the typical Sell, Perform, Review (hoping for the best), React (overact if it didn’t go well) company. Since doing GGOB, we know where we are on jobs as we go and make course corrects as we go. All of our systems revolve around getting better numbers/data. The Game has created greater accountability and buy-in throughout the organization. The biggest impact has come from bringing the team together around a clear common goal with guidance from a set of values defined by the people who have to live them out. The practice of being together and going through the numbers is important to keep all of us connected.” ~ William Riley, Vice President / Sales & Marketing Director
