Page 109 - The Bible On Leadership

Communication 95

OPEN COMMUNICATION

Recently, there has been much talk about ‘‘open book management,’’
‘‘full disclosure,’’ and other terms that indicate a more thorough sharing
of information throughout the ranks of employees (often referred to
now as partners or associates). In practice, this openness is practiced
to different degrees depending on the industry and the organizational
culture.
But there are companies in which the commitment to free flows of
information between employees and management is more the rule than
the exception. Knowingly or not, these companies continue in the heri-
tage of biblical leaders like Luke, who prefaced the Book of Luke with
a statement that ‘‘since I myself have carefully investigated everything
from the beginning, it seemed good also to write an orderly account for
you . . . so that you may know the certainty of the things you have
been taught.’’ (Luke 1:3–4) Or in modern terms, ‘‘This is the truth, the
whole truth, which I am communicating to you because I trust you to
use it wisely.’’
Hewitt Associates is a benefits consulting firm that has been fre-
quently cited as one of the best companies to work for in America. One
reason for this is the openness of communication that is a linchpin of
their culture. Notes one employee, ‘‘Because the firm tells everyone
what is going on and will answer, literally, any question openly and
honestly . . . people don’t have to spend time tuning in to the rumor
mill, they simply ask.’’ A simple model, but one seldom implemented.
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Jack Stack of Springfield Re, a division of International Harvester,
practically ‘‘wrote the book’’ on open book management. He instituted
it because he literally felt he had no choice. The company was in dire
financial and operational straits and had essentially been ‘‘cut loose’’ by
its parent. Stack could not look to ‘‘corporate’’ to get Springfield out
of the desert. Instead, he decided to trust his employees with key fi-
nancial and operating information, which they had never had access to
before and which many observers doubted they could understand, let
alone act on.
‘‘There was too much on the line for management not to give em-