The company started with a top-down management strategy with executives dictating every step. That culture has since disappeared. Over the past eight years, GGOB has had a significant impact on Kiolbassa’s financials. This was never so evident as it was in the first part of 2020 before the pandemic. Kiolbassa was down over $5 million in sales. Every huddleseemed to come with more bad news. Working on what they had learned from playing Great Game™, a team of line owners from all over the company started meeting every week and explored ways to reduce their fixed expenses. The results surprised everyone. In the first quarter alone, the team was able to reduce fixed expenses by $850,000 versus their budget. Just as importantly, playing the game has significantly improved the team’s ability to communicate across all departments utilizing MiniGames, Huddles, and employee education. “We want to empowerevery employee to take ownership,” says Kiolbassa. “We exist to enrich lives.”
What it Did For The Employees
“It helps to build a level of trust within the organization that is refreshing. I feel like I can bring my whole authentic self to work every day and that I will be supported.”
~ Anna Williams, Southeast Regional Sales Manager
What it Did For The Company
With the help of their GGOB coach, Jack O’Riley, the 1st Pet team embraced financial literacy training, playing MiniGames™, and huddling weekly and monthly. “The team members are beginning to realize how much of an impact each and every one of them can have on the practice—every day,” says Dr. Spencer. “It is gratifying to hear them talk about, ‘not using too much gauze.’ It will increase our COGs.’ Or, ‘We need to remember to offer a couple more heartworm tests—our MiniGame ends this week!’ They are more engaged than ever before, and it is gratifying to see them embracing new responsibilities and problem solving.” As a result, 1st Pet sales revenue increased by 55% since they began playing GGOB while EBITDA has increased 183% over that same time period. As a result, team members earned A Stake in the Outcome® equal to a $1.5 million bonus in 2020.
What it Did For The Employees
“Engagement has exponentially increased, everyone is accountable and holds themselves to a higher standard with patient care, and the culture has become overall significantly more cohesive.”
~“Michael Schacher, Veterinarian
What it Did For The Company
Since kicking off playing GGOB, Venturity has evolve from a company with a 37% gross margin to a company that has a gross margin of 45% and a bottom line that’s increased 10% every year since. In 2020, they grew 9% to surpass $6 million in revenue for the first time in their history (while generating record level profits) in spite of the economic headwinds caused by the pandemic. “In the past two years of practicing GGOB, we have experienced challenges and successes-both of which have taught us many lessons and brought us closer as a team,” says CEO Chris McKee. “By staying true to the process and trusting in each other, we have found that we can reach our goals and have A Stake in the Outcome. As a result of The Game, I'm much more present with my family as I spend less time worrying about the company. The team is continually improving our operations and striving for more success, and they are the ones who are best positioned to make that a reality and do it every day.”
What it Did For The Employees
“Everyone is more invested in the everyday actions and decisions of the company, and actively engages in helping the company improve its processes. It's given me a level of comfort knowing that I can see how our company is trending. In this case, 2020 was the best year our company has ever had, which sure doesn't create any questions about job stability.”
~ Justin LeBrilla, Staff Accountant
What it Did For The Company
Now four years into playing GGOB, financial metrics at SuperSuds are up across the board. “The results speak for themselves and it’s one of the main reasons why we will ALWAYS play The Game,” says Schwartz. “Our team engagements have also never been higher, which has made a huge positive impact on our customer service at the store level.” Despite the challenges of 2020, the team still grew sales by 1%—without a price increase—and earned $1.2 million in EBITDA. “I attribute this remarkable growth to our engaged team and a mind shift towards a sense of ownership with A Stake in the Outcome®", says Schwartz. “For the first time, our store managers have realized that their impact on the customer experience has translated to higher store sales which means more bonus pay. A true line of sight impact has begun.”
What it Did For The Employees
“GGOB has made it more fun to want to go to work every day with all the extra knowledge and confidence that our team embraces.”
~Chris Manetta, Field Service Tech
What it Did For The Company
“GGOB is not a game we go and play,” says Neihouser, “It’s become part of who we are, part of the fabric of our culture and how we go about running our business every day together.” In the past, for instance, only the management team participated in High-Involvement Planning™. Now a large team, made up from members in the field to those serving in administrative and sales positions, plays a key role in influencing the company’s strategic plan. Perhaps even more inspiring is how associates have taken the lessons of The Game and applied it to their personal lives. “Employees are now going as far as playing MiniGames™ and rewarding themselves with vacations and gifts after reaching their financial goals,” says Neihouser.
What it Did For The Employees
“GGOB has impacted everyone in such a positive way. I know employees that take what they have learned in our GGOB meetings and use it in their daily life. For example, their own financials. MiniGames bring all the employees together. Everyone is interactive and works as a team to accomplish these goals we set for our company. In return, it's making our company better in multiple ways - culture, cash flow, teamwork, sops (standard operating procedures), etc... It's fun and there's a little bit of competition, but healthy competition. We keep stats and you can see how much these Minigames and open-book management have really helped our company.”
~Rachel Butler, Inside Project Manager
What it Did For The Company
Despite beginning their GGOB journey in May 2020 in the middle of the pandemic, the Caliber team has fully embraced the principles and practices of GGOB. “It’s been a game changer for the organization,” says Bontkes. “Employees are engaged at a new level and are beginning to truly understand the financial metrics behind what makes us as a business financially successful. I am no longer the only one taking responsibility for the company’s success.” By developing line of sight and an “Own It” mindset throughout the business, the team has already improved their net margin by 25%.
What it Did For The Employees
“GGOB has allowed my wife and I to purchase our first home, because it equipped us to think DIFFERENTLY about our finances and the concepts of assets and liabilities, revenue, costs and cashflow, and the $1 exercise has changed our perspective forever!”
~ Jerry Pol, Business Development Manager
What it Did For The Company
Since the implementation of GGOB, Reeburgh says that he’s seen much stronger engagement from all team members and departments—even as the pandemic hit at the tail-end of their peak ski season in 2020. “If the current pandemic had happened to us two years ago, we would have been in big trouble,” he says, predicting they would have been borrowing from advance reservations because they would have lacked the cash to cover payroll. That would have inevitably led to furloughs and layoffs. Thanks to playing GGOB, Reeburgh is proud that they not only avoided any layoffs—they’ve been actively hiring in 2021. “GGOB has brought our teams and employees closer together during the pandemic,” says Reeburgh. “I see more people taking charge and ownership than ever before.”
What it Did For The Employees
“This year I was very grateful we were playing The Game. When our business was shut down in the middle of spring break and we had to ask over $1 million worth of reservations to leave and cancel their stays, the only reason I was not a total emotional disaster was that my team all saw what happened, we all came together and came up with our strategy for keeping everyone employed. We never cut hours, we never laid anyone off, we worked our way out of the hole and our team stepped up to help out, we also stepped up to help out our community members with donations and that let me sleep at night. I am very grateful for The Great Game of Business.”
~ Tyson Horner, General Manager
What it Did For The Company
GGOB has helped CASA positively impact both its financial and program goals. They’ve seen a 46% increase in revenue and a 98% net increase in the number of their volunteers. In three years, they have gone from serving 200 foster children to over 350 foster children—with plans to serve 400 in 2021. “GGOB has led to deeper discussions within our organization regarding how we can all make a difference and impact our organization,” says Farmer. “Everyone has a role to play, and we each understand that. We are accountable to each other and the goals we set. Each employee is plugged in and bought in to the work we are doing.”
What it Did For The Employees
“The culture of the workplace has completely changed for the better since we started The Great Game of Business. It has been great to have complete transparency with our finances, so everyone is on the same page. The MiniGames have also increased everyone's stake in the agency and has pushed up to meet goals and celebrate our successes. I also believe it has brought us all closer as a team and has made the workplace a much more positive environment to work in.”
~ Anna Martin, Advocate Supervisor
What it Did For The Company
Since implementing GGOB in 2010, the Jenner team has seen significant improvement in their forecasting accuracy—especially when it comes to their expenses. “We are consistently within 4-5% accuracy year over year on predicting expenses,” says CEO Steve Jones. “What has really taken us by surprise is the level of interest and enthusiasm from front line associates. The more we play The Game the more the associates want and believe they should know.” By working and playing The Game together, Jenner has truly created a culture where everyone is, “Working Together as One” (WTAO).
What it Did For The Employees
“This is the first company I have worked for that plays Great Game™ and it just makes sense. I think now that I can see the money, it makes me conscientious of my actions; using less paper, turning the lights off, ordering supplies, etc. It makes employees think like owners.”
~ Emily Rohrer, Office Coordinator
What it Did For The Company
The Great Game of Business® (GGOB) has had a huge impact on the financial side of Willoway’s business—the company paid out maximum bonuses to all employees in 2019—but it’s also changed the company’s culture in a positive way. “We have created a positive culture with more people understanding the Why!,” says CEO Tom Demaline
What it Did For The Employees
“GGOB has allowed us to collectively know the condition of the company on a weekly basis and shown our employees how each and every one of us can affect the critical number. We've shown that collectively we can drive this number through our actions.”
— Tim Cullinan, Chief of Operations, Shops & Physical Plant
What it Did For The Company
he first year the practice implemented GGOB, it increased its collections by 1% and its profitability by 47%. Cash flow also improved dramatically. “It made a significant difference in how we were able to operate our business,” says Dr. Clarke. “No longer were we behind the 8-ball. We could make decisions based on strategy rather than fear.” After 10 years of playing Great Game™, Clarke EyeCare continues to rely on GGOB as its operating system for their business.
What it Did For The Employees
“What surprised us the most about playing The Game was the improvement in our culture. We already felt like we had a very engaged team that cared about how they performed, but each year after playing GGOB, we’ve continued to grow stronger and break our own records year after year while having fun doing it!”
~ Dr. Danny Clark, Owner
What it Did For The Company
“The most impactful thing GGOB has done to our financials is the simple fact that our financials are now a daily conversation.”
~ Robert Isherwood, CEO.
What it Did For The Employees
“Since implementing GGOB, AMBAC employees have shown tremendous interest in improving the company's bottom line. Employees have become more involved in the overall financial health of the company and now truly act more like owners than employees.”
~ John Smith, Quality Assurance Manager
What it Did For The Company
Since implementing GGOB in 2015, sales and net operating profits have reached record levels. Malco has also become more transparent as a company, says president Mardon Quandt. “GGOB dovetailed well with becoming 75% employee-owned in 2015 and 100% in 2018,” he says.
What it Did For The Employees
“GGOB has been great for Malco as we are in the process of bringing two separate locations together as one company. It allows the employees to have interactions through MiniGames and our company incentive goals.”
~ Tim Peterson, National Sales Leader - HVAC
What it Did For The Company
Within the first 12 months of playing GGOB—what the team calls “The Big Game”—English Tea Shop saw a 31% improvement in productivity, all of which came without any new investments in systems or technology.
What it Did For The Employees
“Since starting GGOB in 2019 I have seen so much growth in our entire team. I have seen leaders born, our culture is much more positive, open, and engaged. Taking some of the responsibilities that usually fall on management and giving them to team members has created more understanding of the business and financial understanding as well. I can't wait to see what our future holds."
~ Darci Hoefer, Hospital Manager
What it Did For The Company
After the first six months as a combined entity, the results at Experity were undeniable. Revenue increased by 15.8% and EBITDA increased by a whopping 174% over the same six months of 2018.
What it Did For The Employees
“GGOB connects us to the company as a whole and not just to our specific department. I feel it makes people care about even the little things as they all add up.”
~ Tracy Bell, Credentialing Specialist
What it Did For The Company
“GGOB without a doubt has had the biggest impact on our financials as any other program we’ve done in the 28-year history of the company,” says CEO Tim Rettig. “We didn’t expect our profitability to be so drastically affected. It has really been a game-changer for our company. We also have much less turnover, and everyone in the company is very engagedwith the profitability of the company.
What it Did For The Employees
“I have noticed that GGOB has helped us hire employees that are engaged and actively present in all aspects of our culture and work-life. Having them read the book, The Great Game of Business, and start learning about financial literacy gets them excited to be a part of our company and gives them a sense of belonging.”
~ Sophack Martinez, Accountant
What it Did For The Company
Goodall Homes has grown from approximately 35 team members in 2008 to 417 team members in 2020 between two companies—which doesn’t count the more than 300 homebuilding and site contracting companies supported by their business operations in four cities across Middle Tennessee, Eastern Tennessee, and Northern Georgia and Alabama.
What it Did For The Employees
“I'm much more open about discussing finances and interested in understanding how our company can budget and save in the proper areas. It's nice to have a transparent workplace that allows you to expand that information outside of the work environment. It's made me much more conscious about how to be a business owner outside of the company as well.”
~ Millie Djurdjevic, Starts Coordinator
What it Did For The Company
Prior to embracing GGOB, HLB had enjoyed constant, double-digit growth for several years—coupled with the strongest backlog of work in company history. But the financial awareness and open communicationtools the team learned prior to the onset of COVID-19 have already helped them navigate the crisis.
What it Did For The Employees
“Prior to GGOB, we had a strong culture and respect for all employees. With the addition of GGOB, we now have a high level of understanding with regard to financials and the inner workings of the firm. Each employee now understands how their daily efforts affect the firm and has respect for the responsibility they hold.”
~ Maura Reinhart, Senior Designer
What it Did For The Company
Within the first 12 months of playing GGOB—what the team calls “The Big Game”—English Tea Shop saw a 31% improvement in productivity, all of which came without any new investments in systems or technology.
What it Did For The Employees
“It's pushed me out of the comfort zone of my desk and into a level of ownership across the entire company. I'm much more engaged with the entire staff on a daily basis. I feel like I'm part of the company and that I'm not just an employee number and it empowers and motivates me to perform at a high standard on a daily basis.”
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