Newsletter for the Rotary Club of Western Endeavour - Issue No.: 1112 Issue Date: 24 Mar, 2024

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How to Run a Company With (Almost) No Rules

This week we watched a TED talk from Ricardo Semler who is the President and majority owner of Semco Partners, a Brazilian company best known for its radical form of industrial democracy and corporate re-engineering. The Company’s aim is to reward the wisdom of workers and promote a work-life balance.

Semco doesn't have a mission statement, its own rulebook or any written policies. It doesn't have an organisation chart, a human resources department or even a headquarters. Subordinates choose their managers, decide how much they are paid and when they work. Meetings are voluntary, and two seats at board meetings are open to the first employees who turn up. Salaries are made public, and so is all the company's financial information.

Semler’s concern with undoing the brainwashing that makes workplace democracy such hard work has pushed him to turn his attention to education. He has set up the Lumiar School for children aged four and five, which starts from the same democratic principles as the company's.  Whilst initially viewed as too radical, the school is achieving excellent results for the children and slowly gaining acceptance.

Although Semler’s radical approach has achieved excellent results for both his company and school, acceptance by the wider community is difficult because as Semler admits “there needs to be a leap of faith by the people who are presently in control”.

To see the Ted Talk go to: http://www.ted.com/talks/ricardo_semler_radical_wisdom_for_a

_company_a_school_a_life?language=en

Author: Rohan Nagappa

Published: 30 July, 2016

 


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