Tom Strong

Workshop Title: A Stake in the Outcome: Implementing Open-Book Management in Co-op Enterprises- Tom Strong, The Great Game of Business, ATL, GA – Cooperative games, in which teams win or lose together, are fundamental to open-book management and are a significant part of how I teach this workshop. In particular, with sufficient time I can take participants through a Minigames workshop, in which they’ll identify key drivers for their co-op’s success and co-create a fun, interactive game to improve on those drivers as a team.

Bio – Tom Strong helps for-profit and non-profit enterprises improve their business planning and performance through a process known as open-book management. Open-book companies are highly participatory and highly transparent. They teach every employee the financial skills needed to understand their business model, and they provide every employee with a stake in the outcome. He is a certified practitioner in this method through The Great Game of Business®, an approach to business coaching based on the classic book by Jack Stack and Bo Burlingham.

Tom is on the steering committee to launch the Georgia Employee Ownership Center, a new social enterprise aimed at increasing the number of employee-owned companies in the state. He also serves on the board of the Georgia Cooperative Development Center. He has previously worked as a foundation program officer, server, customer service trainer, and retail tea buyer. The launching pad for his career was Atlanta’s own Sevananda Natural Foods Cooperative, which gave him a life-long love of social entrepreneurship and shared ownership.