The Practice of Open-Book Management in Credit Unions

Following on the heels of the just-released Filene report The Power of Engagement through Open-Book Management, this report explores the big picture of how open-book management is used in credit unions today. Filene conducted a survey of credit union CEOs and managers to assess the extent to which they were using OBM practices in their organizations. Read the report to get the full picture.

Dennis Campbell

Dwight P. Robinson, Jr. Professor of Business Administration

Harvard Business School

Luis Dopico

Economist

Filene Research Institute

John Case

Co-Author of Open-Book Management and Equity

Bill Fotsch

Founder and President of Open-Book Coaching

Report Number 447

From the Center for

Organizational Entrepreneurship

Executive Summary

My friend Larry loves chocolate chip cookies, and especially loves a recipe that I use, and he asked for the recipe, and I obliged. Then recently I got a call from Larry.

“I made your cookies, and they turned out terrible! What did I do wrong?”
“Did you follow the directions?”
“Yes, I used all of the ingredients on the list you gave me.”
“Well, tell me what you did, step by step.”

As Larry reviewed how he put each ingredient in the bowl in the order listed in the recipe, it occurred to me that he hadn’t followed the directions. Now he was left with a bowl of lumpy flour, sugar, butter, and chocolate chips.

When it comes to certain things, it’s important they be done carefully and with close attention to details. For instance, taxes. Assembling IKEA furniture. And, of course, baking. Add to this list: open-book management (OBM).

KEEP READING

In addition to the research report, take our quiz on open-book management to see where your organization falls in terms of its use of open-book management principles.