Podcast Summary: Unemployable with Jeff Dudan

Episode #249: The Great Game of Business: Why This Works When Everything Else Fails

Release Date: February 17, 2026
Host: Jeff Dudan
Guest: Jack Stack, creator of The Great Game of Business and CEO of SRC Holdings

Overview

In this episode, Jeff Dudan speaks with Jack Stack, famed for developing the open-book management methodology known as "The Great Game of Business." Jack shares insights from his journey leading a management buyout of a near-bankrupt International Harvester plant, the transformative power of financial transparency, and how open-book management reshapes both organizations and communities. Rich in practical wisdom and candid storytelling, the conversation dives deeply into teaching financial literacy, building winning teams, and the enduring importance of manufacturing and entrepreneurship.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Origins of Open-Book Management

[00:00-05:00]

• History: Jack recounts how a lack of financial knowledge among employees at Springfield Remanufacturing Company (SRC) was the catalyst for creating open-book management.
  • “Nobody at the Springfield remanufacturing company knew the numbers, leading to the epiphany that created the open book management system.” (Dudan, 00:15)
• Cultural Context: Many private, family-owned businesses keep finances secret, partly due to tradition, partly out of management’s own illiteracy.
  • “To just get right to the point, I think we rely on bookkeepers, we rely on lawyers. The sad part about it is … they are paid to give you safe answers.” (Stack, 01:38)
• Financial Literacy Crisis: Only about a third of workers are financially literate, a figure that’s barely changed in decades.

2. The Underdog Story and Lessons Learned

[03:29–08:00]

• SRC Turnaround: SRC went from 89:1 debt-to-equity, on the cusp of oblivion, to becoming an influential example of participative management.
  • “When you're 89 to 1 debt to equity, you're comatose... There was no capital available at that time...You have to be Frigging naive.” (Stack, 04:31)
• From Making Products to Building Companies: Management realized capital providers ask about the business, not products—so everyone needed to learn “the specifications” of running a company.

3. Translating Open-Book Management to Teams—Sports & Beyond

[08:00–11:16]

• Parallels to Sports: Jeff describes using the “great game of business” approach in coaching youth football, involving parents, sharing goals, and key metrics for alignment and buy-in.
  • “If you didn't include the parents, [what you tried to do] would get undone in the car ride on the way home.” (Dudan, 08:26)
• Application in Business: Bringing everyone into the plan, making scorecards financial, not just on soft measures like quality or safety.

4. Financial Literacy—Barriers and Generational Change

[13:31–14:35]

• Barriers: Initially, management’s reluctance due to fear of accountability; many didn’t want to learn financials.
  • “Why would they want to know the numbers? You’ll be held accountable...” (Stack, 13:44)
• Younger Workers: Newer generations seek engagement, challenge, and financial transparency at work.

5. Scaling & Culture: The SRC Model

[14:35–16:47]

• SRC Holdings has spun off 70 businesses, ultimately converging back to 12 core companies.
• Building a culture where each unit grows its own leadership, leveraging each other’s strengths.

6. The State and Future of U.S. Manufacturing

[18:20–21:14]

• Challenges: U.S. manufacturing is less competitive due to higher costs and lost skillsets.
  • “If you're going to bring the jobs back in, you got a disadvantage in terms of price and ... skill sets.” (Stack, 18:25)
• New opportunities more likely in new products/segments with better margins.

7. Impact on Personal & Community Financial Wellness

[23:01–26:32]

• Family Friendly Financials: SRC trains employees not just for work, but for managing their home finances. Stock valuation and net worth are discussed openly.
• Community Ripple Effect: The discipline spreads to non-profits and local government, improving transparency and financial performance everywhere.
  • “They ... began to open up their books to the public. And so now they have their huddles and their staff meetings on a Wednesday. And you come in there and anybody ... can see where everything is at.” (Stack, 25:29)

8. Implementation Challenges & “Non-Obvious” Impact

[31:19–34:01]

• Obstacles: Family dynamics, accountant resistance, and leadership fears of bad news surfacing.
  • “You're going to have accounting people ... screaming that they are not allowed to ... give people that data...” (Stack, 31:55)
• Attrition/Entrepreneurship: Teaching financials often means employees grow out and start their own businesses—a net positive for the broader economy.

9. Talent, Succession, and Development

[36:11–39:07]

• SRC’s approach is to select the “best athletes” regardless of seniority and run them through intensive development programs focused on curiosity, insight, relationship, and engagement.

10. AI & New Tools

[39:07–39:53]

• Jack actively uses AI for research and writing—clear on both its benefits and security concerns.

11. Wisdom for the Next Generation

[48:04–52:45]

• Jack suggests young people look for sectors with shortages (energy, applied ag-tech), and supports increased immigration for more “direct labor hours.”
  • “Always go where the shortages are because that's where the margins are going to be.” (Stack, 48:49)

12. Principles for Lasting Success

[55:53–61:30]

• The core of open-book management is everyone working together on the “system”—objectivity, collaboration, transparency, and continual small wins.
  • “If you have a disciplined system and you are all working for the system, when you have a variation or deviation to the system, you fix it as a group.” (Stack, 30:05)
• Winning is about recognizing and celebrating consistent small improvements.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On financial literacy:
  “I think this thing on illiteracy is just petrifying on a big scale. We do that literacy test every year. 66% of them fail. We just got a long way to go...” (Stack, 01:47)
• On open-book management:
  “You could sit behind a door here and just look at these calculations, or you can figure out that there is a lot of humanity in those numbers.” (Stack, 11:57)
• On building winning teams:
  “If you didn't include the parents, ... would get undone in the car ride on the way home. So we had a great game of business approach.” (Dudan, 08:26)
• On the role of work in society:
  “If you don't have an answer for it, you can expect a downturn around 20, 30 ... So I'm a big advocate. I said we got to find ways to keep people working.” (Stack, 48:44)
• On leadership:
  “People do not like to be managed or led. ... So the only way we can figure out how to have any rule of order is to create the system.” (Stack, 59:12)
• Advice for impact:
  “If you had one sentence to make an impact in somebody's life, what would that be? … ‘God, teach a kid how to make a buck, okay? Just teach him how to make a buck…’” (Stack, 67:09)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 – Introduction & Jack Stack’s Backstory
• 03:29 – The SRC Turnaround & Lessons from Harvester
• 08:00 – Applying the “Game” Approach to Teams & Families
• 13:41 – Teaching Financials in the Workforce
• 18:20 – The State of U.S. Manufacturing
• 23:01 – Community Impact of Financial Literacy
• 31:19 – Implementation Challenges in Open-Book Management
• 36:11 – Talent Identification & Development at SRC
• 39:07 – AI Adoption and Its Role in Business
• 48:04 – Career Advice for the Next Generation
• 55:53 – Why the Great Game Works & Why Few Adopt It
• 57:03 – How to Get Involved: GGOB Resources
• 61:30 – The Power of Small Wins & Building Champions
• 67:09 – Jack Stack’s One-Sentence Legacy

Conclusion

This episode is packed with practical, principle-driven advice for entrepreneurs, business owners, and community leaders. Jack Stack’s passionate advocacy for transparency, financial literacy, and people-first leadership radiates throughout. Whether you’re scaling a business or coaching a youth football team, the lessons here revolve around investing in people, building shared understanding, and creating systems where everyone learns, wins, and grows together.

Resources Mentioned:

• The Great Game of Business (GGOB)
• SRC Holdings Company

Summary by Podcast Summarizer AI | February 2026