I caught a little big of flack a few months ago when I suggested total transparency around financial information in organizations, which included telling everyone what everyone else made. A few people pointed out to me that it was easy for me to throw this gauntlet down, since I didn't employ anyone, which is true.

But I wanted to let everyone know this is not only my idea. In Gary Hamel's awesome book The Future of Management, he presents Whole Foods as a case study, and according to him they make available to EVERY employee the compensation information of everyone in the company. They also provide bonuses using metrics by team, and they make the performance data for all teams available to everyone as well. And in case you think their just organic-food-loving hippies, Whole Foods has the highest profit per square foot in the entire Grocery industry.

I know there are costs to being transparent. It's not easy. But personally I think the benefits of creating a higher-trust environment are worth it. It's hard to create trust when there are secrets.

Originally posted @ Get Me Jamie Notter