Semler turned his family's business, the aging Semco corporation of Brazil, into the most revolutionary business success story of our time. By eliminating uneeded layers of management and allowing employees unprecedented democracy in the workplace, he created a company that challenged the old ways and blazed a path to success in an uncertain economy.
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From Library Journal
First published in Brazil in 1988 as Turning the Tables , this book was the all-time best-selling nonfiction book in Brazil's history. Semler, the 34-year-old CEO, or "counselor," of Semco, a Brazilian manufacturing firm, describes how he turned his successful company into a "natural business" in which employees hire and evaluate their bosses, dress however they want, participate in major decisions, and share in 22 percent of the profits. Semler believes that Semco is different from most companies that have participatory management because employees are given the power to make decisions--even ones, with which the CEO wouldn't normally agree. Semler claims, "This is not a business book. It is a book about work, and how it can be changed for the better." Highly recommended.
- Mark McCullough, Heterick Lib. , Ohio Northern Univ. , Ada
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
- Mark McCullough, Heterick Lib. , Ohio Northern Univ. , Ada
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
What makes for a successful company? In a sometimes breathless, often boyish manner, Semler, a counselor of a Brazilian company (Semco), relates the transformation of a traditionally structured business into one quite literally without walls and rules. Semler details his not-so-easy steps in the metamorphosis: abolishing dress codes and regulations; decentralizing plants; getting rid of paperwork and titles (hence, his appellation as counselor, not CEO); and creating a consultative democracy in which employees set their own salaries and work hours and vote on managerial candidates, among other responsibilities. If it sounds too much like utopia, Semler admits that Brazil's economic downturn has impacted Semco and that, yes, being born with a silver spoon certainly colors his vision. Nonetheless, his is a philosophy that merits some serious thought by managers and workers alike. Barbara Jacobs
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By Paulo Branco
Format:Paperback
Very interesting book. Others from my company also read it and all agree that this book is very good. read it!
Format:Paperback
Maverick tells the story of how a company on the brink of going bankrupt became a point of reference for the industry. but the attraction is not the result, but the process. it shows how heart, values, and a sense of fairness and solidarity can be good business advisers. What Semler did is truly admirable. a must read, even for those who have no interest whatsoever in management.
Format:Paperback
From 1992 to 1994, I suffered much to work under a rigid framework of Japanese multinationl. It is this book that change my life. End September 1994, I found out Semler's book in a book store in Tokyo, and I am intuitively sure that it should work. Then,I was assigned to work in Ivory Coast in West Africa. I decided to experiment his model in Africa to see whether his method works. Result. It really works! I delegated all the power to decision making to the staffs who is closest to the environment. Thus, the problem of alignment was easily solved. Not only the organization start working effectively without my hard efforts, but also the motivation of all the staffs skyrocketed. Even some of the staffs who could not read and write, decided to go to school to learn read and write (it is a history in Africa). These staffs also became a proactive staffs by talking on behalf of the language of the organization. The key message of Semler is to freeing everybody from the traditional management by rigid control associated with extrinsic reward system to self control with self ethical value associated with intrinsic reward. In this way he succeeded to skyrocket the motivation of staffs and let them work to search the right direction. Thus, the company could encourage the staffs to continously adapt to the perpertually changing environment. It is an excellent fieldbook to transform a mechanistic organization to an organic and learning organization, which is the key of the success in today's business environment.
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4.8 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating read of a game changing company, but hard to translate in...
Maverick offers a how-to guide to turn your workplace into a shop that puts the decisions right in the hands of the people that it will effect the most. Read more
Published on Dec 30 2009 by Mathieu Yuill
5.0 out of 5 stars
wonderful humanistic approach to business...
I have only reached half-way through this book but am writing this in case I forget later. I have read a few business books and few have touched me as much as Semler's open and... Read more
Published on May 28 2003 by Hamada Kaido
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Visionary and Great Ideas
If you are familiar with Daniel Quinn's books, mainly Ishmael, The Story of B, and My Ishmael, this is clearly a good example of an organization with a new vision. Read more
Published on May 6 2003
4.0 out of 5 stars
In addition to this book
I recommend the new book from Ricardo Semler, just released in Europe, called The Seven-day weekend. ISBN 0712677909 Hardcover, 288 pages. The other title Maverick sold 1. Read more
Published on April 24 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars
Chapter 21, alone, justifies the purchase, and then some...
This book leads where few 'management" books dare not follow; it is a cold, hard truth that most management is mismanagement, and all too many organizational shortfalls derive... Read more
Published on April 1 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars
Towards better management
This is one of the finest gifts I have ever received in my life, and from one of the finest gentlemen I have known so far! Read more
Published on April 29 2001 by Mohammed Faheem Khan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inspiring organization building advice
Semler's comments on how to drive ownership, culture, and integrity apply broadly to any business, and I find them particularly helpful in my work with startups. Read more
Published on Aug 1 2000 by David Stengle
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Must Reading" on the Democratic Workplace Environment
Maverick has a good claim to must read status for those interested in modern management in that it is probably the best exposition of a democratic workplace in successful practice. Read more
Published on Jun 28 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Disorganized Organization- Order in Chaos
Ricardo Semler stumbles on to a secret of effective management ...which is not such a great secret anyway! Read more
Published on Jun 10 2000 by Gautam Ghosh
5.0 out of 5 stars
The accidental visionary
In Maverick, Ricardo Semler has discovered what is the most effective, efficient, fulfilling way to be human not just be an employee or employer. Read more
Published on May 30 2000 by Adrienne Huber
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