Game Time with Darin Bridges

Biz 417: What excites you about the future of the Great Game of Business (GGOB)?
Darin Bridges: I can’t think of a time where strategy has been more important for companies than our current times. For over 30 years at SRC, we’ve practiced a process for developing strategy called “high involvement planning.” It’s taking a hard look at what your marketplace is doing, as well as a broad view of the economy. And then being able to apply that information, that research from the market—from your competitors, from your customers and the trends—and formulating that into a way that you can win as a company in the future. Then once you figure out what that strategy is, you tie it to a financial plan, your next year’s critical numbers and your bonus programs. We’ve seen a tremendous response from clients on this high involvement planning process, and that’s got me as excited as anything.

Biz 417: How else are you seeing business leaders utilize GGOB in the current tricky economy?
D.B.: There are a lot of issues out there today that have business leaders concerned, whether it’s inflation or retention. We’re making a conscientious effort of building our community so they can share ways that they’re approaching these problems, often in a Great Game way, and be able to pass along the best practices. There’s always something that business leaders can take from one another, regardless of what industry they’re in. I think there’s a lot of education, encouragement and courage that come through developing a community like that.

Biz 417:  How did your 10 years with SRC influence your perspective of GGOB?
D.B.: We didn’t invent financials, the way to interpret financials or the idea of engaging your employees. Essentially all we did when SRC was created from International Harvester was create a system of putting it all in place. The magic of it all is when you get employees to understand what it’s like to be a businessperson and tap into their creativity and experience of what they do in their job every day. That’s when the organization explodes. The vision is just making as many companies aware of this type of system and trying to help them—to reach those leaders that have the courage to show some level of transparency and really see their people as critical to the success for the future of the business.