Whoever wrote the rule that a book about restaurants couldn’t have a positive impact on a tabletop game publisher?
Okay, so that isn’t really a “rule,” but it illuminates one of the core philosophies in Setting the Table by Danny Meyer, creator of Shake Shack. In any line of business there are methodologies, systems, and traditions, and Meyer proposes that they are all worth challenging with the question, “Whoever wrote the rule that…?”
Meyer provides a number of examples of how asking this question led to a variety of ways to better serve his customers. Also, by asking the question and experimenting, he realized that some of those well-established methodologies, systems, and traditions were there for a reason.
I love this question, and I want to ask it more at Stonemaier Games. Here are a few examples of how this question has already shaped Stonemaier Games:
Whoever wrote the rule that…
- …worldwide shipping can only happen from the US? This was the standard in 2012 when Viticulture funded on Kickstarter. It may seem obvious now that it’s more cost-effective (for publishers and customers) to ship rewards to fulfillment centers in each major region, but it simply wasn’t done back then. We tried it, and it not only worked well for us–it became the norm for most creators.
- …rulebooks must all be the same material? There are so many different paperstocks available–why do most games use the same glossy, textureless paper? We never questioned this until someone told me about another game that used a special paper for its rulebook, and we asked Panda if we could explore our options. As a result, all of our rulebooks over the last 5+ years use special paper designed to feel extravagant.
- …employees should pay for part of their monthly health care plan? Our overall mission is to serve our customers, and the health of my coworkers is paramount for achieving that mission. My previous jobs included health care coverage, but I paid half of the plan’s monthly costs. At Stonemaier Games, I care about more than just 50% of my coworkers’ health–I care about the full 100%, so that’s what the company covers every month.
- …expansion boxes must be just as nice as game boxes? We’ve put a lot of effort into expansion boxes that use the same materials and composition as game boxes. But if the expansion components fit into the core box, most expansion boxes end up in the recycling bin (where unfortunately many of them don’t even belong due to the microplastic coating on boxes). We’ve started packaging certain expansions in recycled corrugated cardboard boxes with a big printed sticker to seal and identify them, which even allows fulfillment centers to put a shipping label directly on the box instead of putting a box inside the box.
- …publishers can only talk about their own products? I love games (not just our games), and I learn so much from other designers and publishers. I’m always happy to recommend a game I adore if it might be a good fit for you, whether or not it’s a Stonemaier game. Just yesterday I posted my top 10 favorite games of all time, and Stonemaier games aren’t even eligible for that list. And yes, occasionally I talk about our games on YouTube and Instagram, as I do love our games, but I like that I’m not limited to highlighting our games.
- …if your profits aren’t growing, you’re failing? In 2022 when it became clear that inflation wasn’t going anywhere, I wrote a post about how I always increase my coworkers’ salaries each year based on the SSA’s cost-of-living wage increase recommendation, and I increased the minimum we would pay an independent contract for any task from $20/hour to $25/hour (depending on the task, that rate may be much higher). I also mentioned that these increases would not result in an increase in Stonemaier product prices. Someone challenged this by asking, “How can you justify an increase in salary/cost without increasing sales prices?” It was a fair question, and part of my answer was, “There’s no rule that says our profits need to stay the same from year to year.” It’s okay for us to make a little less on Wingspan now than when we originally released it in 2019, just as it was okay for us to earn less revenue in 2022 than we did in 2021. As long as we can provide generously for each other (coworkers and customers), I consider that a success.
I’m definitely not saying that we were the first to ask this question for any of those topics, nor are our answers any more innovative than other publishers. Also, there are many other areas where I hope we’ll ask this question in the future so we can continue to grow and evolve. These are just a few examples, and I’d love to hear yours.
Also read:
- Are You Unreasonably Hospitable?
- Sharing the Love…of Your Competition
- Labor Day: Welcoming Christine and Susannah to Full Time and How I Value My Coworkers
- Eco-Friendly Components and a Great User Experience: Are Both Possible?
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10 Comments on “Whoever Wrote the Rule That…?”
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So glad you were able to read this book! I love Danny Meyer and lots of things he champions. The idea of setting the standard and not getting mad at people when they move the “salt” from the middle of the table was very insightful. I imagine you learned how to do this very well from your experience at Wash U as a production leader.
Bob Chapman asks the question “who wrote the rule that work can’t be fun?” I think you will love his book “Everybody Matters” and their company Barry Wehmiller, a fellow company endorsed by Simon Sinek. For me, I ask, “who wrote the rule that people don’t belong” and it stirred me on to help co-found our popcorn and board game shop in Fulton MO.
We are changing directions on how it is going to focus in the future, but I’m so pumped that you found this idea and shared it with the world. What do you think of Danny Meyer’s 5 steps to dealing with mistakes? Aware, Acknowledge, Apologize, Act, Apply addition generosity, and my 6th one – Accelerate the process?
I like your addition of “accelerate” to that excellent list. Here’s a related article I wrote about mistakes and apologies: https://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-224-apologize-better-united-airlines/
1. I, John Oliver, and hopefully many others refer to this as the “Air Bud Test”…ain’t no rule that says a dog can’t play basketball.
2. One of my business goals is that if/when I employee people, I want to make their medical bills and health insurance fees disappear. I can only imagine how much stress that could alleviate (based on my own fantasies) to hopefully open that brain space for more/better work.
3. My rule of thumb is “We’ve always done it that way” is never an acceptable response. If there’s a good reason behind that, awesome. If not…WHY not?
I love all of this, Allen, and I really like that rule of thumb.
I think that is a wonderful attitude to have for your workers. I think as long as you are making enough each year for the business to be profitable you don’t necessarily have to increase profits each year. I also believe if you look after your employees and their needs, that they will pay you back in doing a great job. I’m sure in the future that you will have more big hit games and therefore your profits will go up again. I honestly wish more people had your policy.
Kieran Henry
I agree 100%, Kieran. I’d much rather put the focus on people than on “number go up”. :)
I also think more and more publishers and designers are realizing that more complex or more stuff doesn’t automatically make for a better game. For me at least, a more complex game means it just doesn’t get played as often.
That’s an interesting point, Michel. I might word this as, “Whoever wrote the rule that complex games are more highly rated?” Looking at the BGG Top 100, that is often the case, but not always. It’s certainly worth challenging–I want to make our games as easy to get to the table as possible.
“…if your profits aren’t growing, you’re failing?”
This. This right here. Western (read: American) businesses often believe that the only measure of success is a continuous ‘line goes up’ approach to profit.
There are companies that exist today that were founded over 1400 years ago. Obviously they have not had an increase in profit every single year over that time. But I would say they are quite successful (and, equally obviously, work to be sustainable as a business).
The West truly needs to look at other ways of measuring success. The fact that Stonemaier Games can care for its people, its customers, the world/environment, and so on while maintaining profitability — even if this waxes and wanes over time — makes you guys one of the companies I admire most. Please keep doing what you are doing: such as continuing to ask those questions.
I very much appreciate that sentiment, and I agree that there are so many ways beyond “number go up” that companies can measure success. More/higher isn’t inherently better.