Kees Pater doubled the size of the Dutch cookie factory he bought in 2004. But a not-so-sweet management lesson really changed things.
Pater's opaque and top-down management approach was stressing everyone out, including himself. His angst finally landed him in rehab for four weeks.
During his time off he worried that, without him there to lead the troops, the cookie business would crumble. But to his surprise, no such thing happened.
People came to work. Product shipped. Revenue was generated. Tick tick tick for an entire month. All without any input from him.
So Kees Pater made a radical decision: he turned his company's org-chart upside-down. The frontline staff would make all the important decisions and he would be a support and resource person.
The first step was teaching business acumen to every baker and mechanic, making clear every cost involved in baking a box of cookies. Everyone learned how to read the company's financial statements and how they themselves impact profitability.
Today, those team members are all happier, healthier and wealthier. And Pater has unwittingly become an advocate of a wonderful movement known as Open Book Management.
凯斯•佩特（Kees Pater）把他在2004年买的荷兰饼干工厂的规模扩大了一倍。但是一个不太好的管理方式让企业的运行并不那么顺利。
佩特的不透明和自上而下的管理方式是使每个人都倍感压力，包括他自己。他终于因此而病倒并花了四个星期进行康复。
在他休假期间，他担心没有他带领团队，饼干业务就会陷入崩溃。但令他惊讶的是，这种情况并没有发生。
人们都在各司其职，产品已发货，收入已经产生。就这样有条不紊的运转了一整个月，没有任何来自于他的指示和意见。
据此，佩特做出了一个大胆的决定：他把公司的组织架构倒转过来。一线人员可以做出所有重要的决定，而他负责在后方给予资源和支持。
第一步是向每一位面包师和技师传授商业头脑（Business Acumen），明确烘烤一盒饼干的每一笔费用。每个人都学会了如何阅读公司的财务报表，以及他们自己如何影响公司盈利能力。
现在，团队中的每人都变得更快乐，更健康，更富有。而且，佩特已经不知不觉地成为了“开放式管理”的积极倡导者。
Peter Frampton
Color Accounting 总裁
