Open

What do TQM, reengineering, empowerment, teaming, and even six sigma have in common? They all implement parts of open-book management. And that's the reason they all have spotty records- they were successful when they, accidentally, incorporated enough of the rest of open-book management.

The principle here is very simple- instead of your company or division relying on only the handful of minds at the top of the organization to improve the company, it treats all the employees as adults with brains and encourages everyone to work for the company's benefit. This also has the effect of reducing or eliminating office politics since everyone's pulling in the same direction.

How? Fortunately the process is pretty simple, though it needs to be tailored to each business. The pieces are:
1. Giving employees all relevant financial information,
2. Giving employees training to understand the financial information,
3. Giving employees appropriate responsibility for the numbers under their control, and
4. Giving employees appropriate stakes in the outcomes (through bonuses, stock, options, etc.).

When Open-Book Management was first in 1995, its subtitle suggested "The Coming Business Revolution." Well, that "revolution" has arrived and author John Case deserves much of the credit. In the Introduction, however, he makes it crystal clear that open-book management is NOT a panacea, is NOT a substitute for TQM or reengineering or any other operational overhaul, and is NOT a single system. In essence, open-book management helps companies to create a shared environment in which everyone understands that they are competing in a marketplace, trying to make money. But for whom? Frequently, effective ownership has been limited to relatively few people. In privately-held companies, usually to a single person and/or to a family. Presumably Case agrees with Al Ehrbar (author of EVA) that the traditional concept of "ownership" must be re-defined so that everyone involved in a given enterprise assumes personal responsibility for adding value. Hence the importance of recognition of peak performance but also the importance of financial incentives. "What's in it for me?" is a quite legitimate question. Given the increasingly greater impact of globalization, the information revolution, and what Case calls "entrepreneuralization", companies must find new and better ways to answer that question. For Case, each company needs a mission, a strategy. "But more than anything else it needs eager, willing employees, people who have a reason to care about their employer's prosperity and who know how to help it succeed."

Ultimately, the measurable value of open-book principles will be determined by several factors: The extent to which a company modifies them to accommodate its own circumstances; the extent to which employees in that company (top to bottom) commit to the program, once devised; and the extent to which everyone involved shares equitably (NOT equally) in the rewards.

Those who admire this book as much as I do will presumably want to read (if they have not already read) The Open-Book Field Book and The Open-Book Experience. These two books develop in much greater detail the material first introduced in Open-Book Management. Also, they provide an absolutely essential guide to deriving maximum benefit from John Case's wisdom and experience.

Case shows, with many examples from open book companies, that companies' performance really takes off (or pulls out of jeopardy) when they organize to: 1. Give all their financial information to all employees; 2. Teach employees to understand it; and 3. Give employees a financial stake in how the company performs. In summary, experience shows that employees at open book companies act like owners. Case shows exactly how to do it. Give this book to your boss!

This is a really good book to introduce SGML. Also, especially now that SoftQuad is out of the SGML web browser business, and no longer provides its Panorama SGML Netscape browser plug-in, the copy of Panorama Pro included on the CD that comes with the book is worth more than the price of the book.

Are you frustrated trying to get started learning about SGML, and how to do things with it? Do you feel like SGML is something out of a Kafka story? This book really can help you make that first big leap from helpless confusion, to being able to do things with SGML, and to be oriented so that you *can* become your own guide in going farther. Buy it: It works if you work it!

This book is an excellent introduction to SGML and XML. Its well written and covers the topic in a reasonable amount of detail. It includes an evaluation version of an SGML browser from Softquad that is worth the price of the book itself.

I read this book, and it was very worthwhile. I learned valuable information about how to enrich my computer usage. GrandmaBetty's story inspired me to do better things in life. This book was a great read.

I thoroughly enjoyed When One Door Closes, Another Opens. I initially bought the book as a fun read on my vacation. What I found was an inspirational story of this amazing lady who started with nothing at the age of 68 after she was laid off from her job and like a geriatric Jerry Yang (Yahoo) built one of the most popular Senior Web Sites. I remembered seeing her in People Magazine.

She has an easy going writing style but conveys a ton of information. The first half of the book tells step-by-step how she built her GrandmaBetty.com web site which
was ultimately bought out by a bigger company from nothing. She didn't even spend any money on her marketing campaign. The second half of the book instructs on important subjects such as finding anything on the Internet, Avoiding Spam and Viruses, Instant Messaging and Buying a Computer Without Getting ... by a Commission Hungry Salesperson. All of this info seems so funny coming from this lady but it is so useful. I am giving it as a gift to my parents.

Beside anyone wanting to learn more about the Internet and wanting to read an incredibly instirational success story I recommend the book (as a web professional I can't believe I am saying this) to marketing professionals or anyone wanting to use guerilla marketing principles to their fullest. I learned a lot. Like she says in the book - if she can do it anyone can.

If you are a computer fan or just need a book to read this is the one for you.

After reading this book, I went out and bought a sketch book. Now, I'm daydreaming about spending the summer in the English countryside, or perhaps in Italy somewhere. Olin inspires the reader to draw. More importantly, he explains how drawing can help us understand places and the forces that shape landscapes. One learns a greater appreciation of ordinary places and the people who create them.

Laurie Olin immerses the novice and intellectual landscape observer in the experience of the British countryside. He reveals perceptions through drawings and writings, engaging the reader in historic as well as contemporary investigations. As an architect as well as a renowned landscape architect, Olin adds his unique slant in a beautifully told story. I particularly thought the pensive recanting of the English landscape experience important enough to require it as reading for my college design class who will travel to England next year.

I grew up in Illinois, but only after I moved away did I learn that the vast midwestern sky is unique. Irving's panoramic photos capture the beauty of the open sky as no others I've seen. Whenever I'm homesick, if I need to see a midwestern thunderstorm, I open Irving's book and I'm there.

If you live in the Midwest or try to photograph it, this may be the best $20.97 you can spend. It is a book of inspiring, panoramic, color photos of rural Illinois. Gary pulls the beauty out of a landscape that most people, including photographers, usually ignore. This book has opened my eyes to the state I live it and given me photographic ideas that I was blind to before.

I have invested in several Bibles, and all are good. But the best, that I have found overall, The Open Bible is the best. The many tools in this Bible make it a essential book for all who are serious about God and learning the basics and beyond. This Bible is the only Bible i recommend to people.

I received my first Open Bible in 1983 from my father who is a minister. He said all preachers need a good study Bible. Well, I am not a preacher but I have wrote a few papers on subjects like; prayer and faith using the outlines in this Bible. It has a very excellent study guide that is in the middle of the Bible. Easy references guides and Bibical Index is so indepth. Will I ever buy another Open Bible? Most certainly YES!!!!!!

This book has it all for the golfer who follows the game. It is written to provide information about British Open winners over the course of history. It is easy to read and is a great coffee table book with outstanding golf photos. P.A.B.

This engaging book gives the history of the British Open since it was first played in 1860 with complete coverage of each event since 1900. Most of the individually covered Open championships receive two pages, including good textual reporting of the event as well as photographs. The coverage is divided into historical periods such as the age of Bobby Locke and Peter Thompsion in the 50s and 60s when the two won eight Opens between them. This book is so up to date that Tiger Woods' monumental victory in 2000 receives full coverage. The great Open champions as well as the obscure Cinderella stories all receive lavish treatment. Additionally, the book has other great features such as a description and illustration of each of the Open courses, including venues that have not been used in decades. So, if you want to relive Arnold Palmer's emotional fairwell or the great duel between Nicklaus and Watson in which Watson prevailed after a gut wretching effort, this is the book for you. Additionally, this is the type of book that makes a great gift for the golf lover on your gift list.

I find I use this book as much for cooking on the backyard barbeque as I do off road. The recipes are fun, very easy to prepare, and help keep my family events very interesting. A great book.

I just bought a copy of "Campers Roasting on an Open Fire." I've been enjoying the humor sections first, and I can hardly wait to try out these recipes.

One of my favorite humor sections is called "More Clues That You're At A Bad Campground." My favorite clue is that "Your cabin is so old that the bed's "magic fingers" have arthritis."

Another favorite humor section is "Your Dog As A Handy Excuse When You'd Rather Be Camping." My favorite excuse is: "My dog's learned to reset my alarm clock from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. so that he can get a couple more hours uninterrupted shut-eye."

I'm looking forward to trying the recipes, especially the ones for chicken, turkey, pasta, side dishes, breakfast, desserts, and trail mixes. But most of all, I want to try out the ones where Spam is one of the ingredients. Mmmmmm, my favorite!

I always love it when a cookbook lays flat, like this one does. I like the funny drawings, and the extra little boxes of interesting facts.

The recipes are clear and simple to read. The book is well organized.

Two thumbs up!

This book is the most comprehensive book I've seen on the A-interface for networking within cellular systems. It's truly evident that the authors have lived and breathed this technology and have boiled it down to the essentials while providing time saving tips along the way. Whether you will touch on this interface from the R&D or Operations side of the business this book is a "must-have"!

This is an excellent comprehensive book on the aspect of the CDMA networks. The contents of the book covered the Protocols(SS7, BSMAP), Supplementary features (OTASP, SMS etc) as well as implementations (call processing) for the Open-A interface standard, which is prevalent adopted in the U.S. PCS wireless systems.

Well illustrated figures and precise descriptions which make it an excellent reference for the CDMA network engineers even to an novice of CDMA.

Besides, G. Heine's (98') "GSM Networks: protocols, terminology and implementation" is also a good reference for the relevant topics.

I recently purchased this book for my daughter, also a mother, for her 30th birthday. The book, like all the other "Chicken Soup" books, is filled with writings that will make you smile, bring a tear to your eye, and cause you to reflect upon your own childhood memories of what you either had or perhaps, for whatever reason, did not have in a mother. If you are a mother, yourself, you will relate to the overwhelming love you feel for your children. You will realize how precious and wonderful they are and always will be throughout all the years to come. The book will make you want to hug them... just one more time while they are still yours to hold.

There is something contained in this book for everyone, and written in the typical fashion of pervious books of this nature, each page is a joy to read and incredibly inspiring and heart-warming. For those who have daughters who are also mothers, this book will rekindle that special bond that, every now and then, one takes for granted once they "take wings and leave the nest" to conquer the world on their own. The book speaks of silent thoughts we often neglect to put into words to the children we love so very much. It is a beautiful book!

Another wonderful chicken soup book!!! Full of beautiful heart warming stories and quotes. I enjoyed this book as much as any other of the Chicken Soup books (which is quite a bit). I love the sad, happy, joyful and beautiful stories. Is this book only for mothers though? The answer is definitely no! Dads, grandmas, grandpas, sisters, brothers, anyone whose ever raised and cared for a life younger than them should read this book.