After months of belt-tightening – with more likely to come – many companies are cutting back, freezing hiring, shelving projects, slashing training, and hitting pause on new initiatives. No wonder your team’s flat, and you’re stuck playing head cheerleader. I’ve been there. It sucks, and it’s unsustainable. But there’s a better (and surprisingly practical) way to re-engage your people – without you being the cheerleader, the “morale officer”, or the chief excuse-maker: Open Book Management. Let’s dive in.
🧠 LEARN something.
In 1983, Jack Stack inherited a factory on life support. Springfield Remanufacturing was haemorrhaging money, staff morale was rock bottom, and things needed to change fast if they were to survive. Faced with this challenge, Stack made a radical call: he opened up the company’s financial books. Not just to the Execs, but to everyone. But he didn’t stop there. He helped every employee build their financial literacy, teaching them to understand profit and loss like they were running their own small business. Then he said, “Right. now that you know how this works, help me fix it.” The team responded magnificently. Shop-floor workers found ways to cut waste, admin staff redesigned processes to save time, mechanics figured out how to improve quality and reduce rework. Even the janitor started coming up with ideas to cut costs!
They didn’t do it because they were asked. They did it because they felt trusted, needed, and part of the problem. Jack Stack had effectively replaced apathy with ownership, and the dying factory grew into a multimillion-dollar enterprise. Stack’s open-book approach has since inspired hundreds of businesses. Yet today, we often see the opposite. When budgets are tight, most leaders clamp down. I’d even hazard a guess that in many companies, even the Execs don’t fully understand the financials. No wonder CEOs and CFOs struggle to get buy-in for budget cuts. But when people can see the big picture and have a stake in the outcome, they care more. Instead of feeling like powerless cogs, they become problem-solvers. It’s counterintuitive — most leaders want to shield staff from bad news. But in reality, transparency can be hugely motivating when paired with ownership and a clear call to action.
🤔 REFLECT on an idea.
“People will tolerate the truth. What they won’t tolerate is being left in the dark.”
(Jack Stack)
How often are you choosing comfort over clarity? And what would happen if your team truly saw what was at stake — and knew they could help? People are more resilient and more creative than we give them credit for. We just need to treat them like grown-ups — not mushrooms kept in the dark.
😊 SMILE a little.
“Due to budget cuts, the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off until further notice. We apologise for any inconvenience.”😂
✅ DO IT to get results.
Here’s a simple way to put this into play with your team this month — and you don’t need a finance degree to do it. Run a Mini Open Book Sprint:
- Pick a problem – Be specific (e.g. “We’re $60k over budget on X”).
- Explain why it matters – Share what that means in real terms. Keep it simple.
- Ask for ideas – “If this was your business, what would you try?”
- Pilot one thing – Pick a solution to pilot this month, and give them credit for it.
- Follow up – Revisit the result. What worked? What didn’t? What’s next?
TIP: You don’t have to share every single financial detail to try this.
Because this is not just about the solutions — it’s about creating ownership and engagement.
🌱 How we can support you.
We provide strategic leadership solutions tailored to align with your business strategy, size, and budget. We can support your with:
- 1:1 Leadership and Performance Coaching
- Team Coaching, for high performing teams
- 1:1 Health & Lifestyle Coaching for busy stressed leaders.
- Workshops, offsites and team development.
- Or our flagship individual Leadership Coaching Programs.
Kia pai tō wiki
Kenny Bhosale
CEO & Founder, The Bridge Leaders
