No Secrets, No Surprises: Inside a Firm with 15 Years of Open Books

Most leaders assume that transparency around pay and finances will sow discord or fuel envy. Mel Price is living proof that the opposite is possible. As co-founder and CEO of Work Program Architects, she’s spent the last 15 years running a firm with full salary and financial transparency—by design, not by accident. The result? A company where people understand how money moves, why decisions are made, and how their own work ladders up to business outcomes. In this episode, we talk about what it really takes to implement radical transparency—from open books and compensation committees to staff-run hiring and contract signing. Mel shares what she"s learned from building a distributed leadership model where every employee is given the tools and data to think (and act) like an owner. Related Links:Join the People Managing People community forumSubscribe to the newsletter to get our latest articles and podcastsConnect with Mel on LinkedInCheck out Work Program Architects Support the show