It's How We Play the Game

Build a Business. Take a Stand. Make a Difference.

By: Ed Stack

Narrated by: Ed Stack

Porchlight’s Best Leadership and Strategy Book of the Year

An inspiring memoir from the CEO of DICK’s Sporting Goods that is “not only entertaining but will be of great value to any entrepreneur” (Phil Knight, New York Times best-selling author of Shoe Dog), this audiobook shows how a trailblazing business was created by giving back to the community and by taking principled, and sometimes controversial, stands - including against the type of weapons that are too often used in mass shootings and other tragedies.

It’s How We Play the Game tells the story of a complicated founder and an ambitious son - one who transformed a business by making it about more than business, conceiving it as a force for good in the communities it serves. In 1948, Ed Stack’s father started Dick’s Bait and Tackle in Binghamton, New York. Ed Stack bought the business from his father in 1984, and grew it into the largest sporting-goods retailer in the country, with 800 locations and close to nine billion dollars in sales. The transformation Ed wrought wasn’t easy: Economic headwinds nearly toppled the chain twice. But DICK’s support for embattled youth sports programs earned the stores surprising loyalty, and the company won even more attention when, in the wake of yet another school shooting - at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida - it chose to become the first major retailer to pull all semi-automatic weapons from its shelves, raise the age of gun purchase to 21, and, most strikingly, destroy the assault-style-type rifles then in its inventory.

With vital lessons for anyone running a business and eye-opening reflections about what a company owes the people it serves, It’s How We Play the Game is “a compelling narrative.... In a genre that can frequently be staid, Mr. Stack’s corporate biography is deeply personal.... [Features] surprising openness [and] interesting and humorous anecdotes” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).

©2019 Ed Stack (P)2019 Simon & Schuster Audio

The struggle and how they overcame it

What a great book to see the evolution of dicks the good the bad and how they made it through

Great story of one’s passion and drive building the foundation for Dicks

Such a great story and enjoyed following The company’s journey. This audio book was well read and easy to follow.

Amazing story

Truly enjoyed learning about the company and rich history! Can't wait to start with this company.

Inspiring determination and fortitude.

Highly recommend as there is a lot of rich culture and lessons learned from a brand that has helped drive this country forward progressively.

Truly inspiring!!

What an amazing journey of Dick’s Sporting Good!! Truly motivational and genuinely heartfelt. Excellent present by Ed Stack. Really personalized the book!

From CEO to Human

Thank you! This book gave me the ability to see you as more than a captain steering the ship but as a human being who lives, breathes, bruises and just like me loves a street fight. Look forward to meeting you someday soon.

R Patrick Huff
SM # 74

How $300 in a cookie jar became the greatest sports company in the world

A captivating story told he the man him self, Ed Stack. His passion for the company that his father started is truly inspiring. He continues to lead Dick’s Sporting Goods towards being a force of good, with the morals and lessons of sport as its mechanism of impact. Sports change lives! Listen to this story about a company who actually cares.

Fascinating

Very interesting life story! Only in America can this happen! A chance for anyone to live the American Dream!

Highly Recommended

Great read for anyone with a passion for sports and businesses that have a moral foundation.

I enjoyed this book,

Everything was like listening to a friend and I truly get bored with the book. I learn something about myself when people come across as authentic it picks my interest and holds my interest. I truly enjoyed it.