Economic Engagement: Beyond Open-Book Management Basics with Bill Fotsch

Big Talk About Small Business · Apr 1, 2026 · 48m · transcript

Big companies can hide behind layers of reports and still survive. Small businesses don’t get that luxury, so we brought on Bill Fotsch to talk about what actually works when you’re trying to grow profitably with a lean team and real constraints. Bill’s an engineer by training, a former Bain consultant, and a long-time advocate of open-book management who’s seen the difference between “finance theater” and true employee engagement.

We get into how open-book management evolves into what Bill calls economic engagement: using the operating metrics your people can influence every day and tying…