Each of these companies; Superior Restoration, SuperSuds, Venturity, and Willoway Nurseries are part of a growing community of Great Game™ companies who have reimagined capitalism as a transformational force for good. Each year, the Great Game Community recognizes companies like these who have the courage to do business differently. They are using the power of business to transform their associate's lives and the communities which they serve, for the better. They are part of a movement that's trying to 'Change the Game'.
We can't wait to introduce you to all our All-Star Team companies. Last week we introduced you to 1st Pet Vet, 417 Magazine, AMBAC International, Argent Tape and Label, Cherry's Industrial Equipment, Cisco-Eagle, Clarke EyeCare Center, CM's Outdoor Solutions, Community Partnership of the Ozarks, Pregnancy Care Center, Victory + Mission, Dragon Army, English Tea Shop, Evergreen Cooperatives, Experity, Goodall Homes, HLB Lighting, IntrustIT, Jenner AG, KAAPKE, Kiolbassa Smoked Meats, Lake Havasu Family Eyecare, Laron, Malco Products, and SummitCove Vacation. Now, read the final 4 case studies! We hope you find inspiration in these stories from fellow businesses.
Superior Restoration primarily provides water and fire restoration services—though it has more recently added coronavirus disinfecting and sanitizing services. The company was founded as a mobile carpet cleaning service in 2010 by Skylar Lewis before he later pivoted to offering higher-margin restoration work.
Even when he first started his business, Lewis dreamed of having his employees take over running the business. “I wanted them to have that ‘Own It’ attitude,” he says. To do that, he focused on building a culture that emphasized empowerment and autonomy. But he recognized that the team was missing something: transparency and literacy around the financials. “They were flying blind,” says Lewis.
SuperSuds owns and operates 24 different laundromats, all of which feature highly efficient large-load and high-speed washers and dryers, across four states on the east coast.
Owner Robert Schwartz, who has a background on Wall Street, saw an opportunity back in 1996 to consolidate the widely fragmented laundromat industry. But as he acquired more locations across a greater geographic area, he realized he couldn’t run the entire business on his own. He also realized that many of the stores felt isolated and out of touch. As a result, Schwartz wanted to find a system that would not only tie his business together, but also give a greater sense of leadership and ownership to the associates running each location.
Founded in 2001, Venturity provides outsourced accounting as well as financial and systems consulting services to privately-held companies, with the goal of providing them with peace of mind knowing that their financial information is accurately represented and tells the story of their business.
Find a way to get the entire company aligned around increasing Gross Margin and becoming more profitable, something they had struggled with moving the needle on for years.
Founded in 1954, Willoway Nurseries is a third-generation, family-owned wholesale grower of trees, shrubs, perennials and seasonal color crops that ships to retailers and contractors in 26 states. Willoway is now the largest wholesale grower of nursery products in Ohio and a leading supplier in the United States, with a customer base of more than 1,200 independent garden centers and landscape contractors in the Midwest and east coast.
Margins in the landscape business continue to shrink—and it’s harder than ever to grow the top line as well. To confront these challenges, Willoway needed a way to gain efficiencies and improve quality. They also needed a way to communicate the realities of operating a business to their team and what it takes to be profitable.
Rookie of the Year – This award recognizes those companies that have been practicing open-book management and The Great Game of Business for less than two years and have already achieved some remarkable results.
Social Sector Award – This award honors a social sector organization -a not-for-profit, education, government entity - playing The Great Game of Business at a high level, proving that The Game can be effective and impactful in all types of organizations.
Hall of Fame Inductee – The Hall of Fame honors organizations that have operated using the principles of open-book management for more than a decade with lasting, proven results, and have demonstrated a willingness to spread the word on open-book management in order to help others succeed.
All-Star Champions Award - The cornerstone of the All-Star Awards, the winners of the All-Star Champions Award are the best of the best. They have been playing GGOB at a high level for two or more years, and as a result have seen impressive results in their financial performance and their company culture.
International All-Star Champion (new for 2020!) - To encourage the participation of our international practitioners and recognize the expansion of our global GGOB community, our judges thought it was time to add this category to the awards.
Here is the criteria you will be judged against: