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. As both the story of a company and the autobiography of a unique business leader, it is of interest in various ways.

Semler's account of how he arrived at Semco's democratic organizational culture is a fascinating case of personal growth. Some readers, however, may be less interested in "how I got there" and some of the Brazilian background than in its account what Semco has actually achieved in workplace governance. In this respect, Maverick is a seminal book, because Semco's management style is so unusual. Just reading about it is a liberating experience!

As to practical application, the book has some very readable sections such as the excerpts from the famous Semco operating manual, its glossary (which has "valuably eccentric" ideas), and a test for employees to rate supervisors. These sections give a very good introduction to empowerment and workplace democracy that can be read usefully anybody.

Put Maverick's operating philosophy together with Tom Peter's reinventing work ideas (most particularly in his The Circle of Innovation). Then, add in some Greenleaf servant leadership and combine with some shared vision (a la Chapter 11 of Senge's Fifth Discipline). You then have an excellent recipe for best practice 21st century management. More books like this showing in detail how advanced ideas actually have been successfully implemented in the workplace are very much needed.

As a management consultant I found this book very useful indeed - much of it is directly applicable to shop-floor and pressure-politics situations - the 20-page cartoon "rulebook" at the end is more than worth the price of the book itself - buy it! And if you have the guts, apply what it says, too: It's been known for some time that organizations are designed according to "command and control" principles that very poorly match how humans are really built to behave. More complex self-ordering behavior is always observed when any lack of hierarchy exists, and the hierarchies that do emerge tend to be more effective than those that were designed by managers with experience in previous eras. Semler just chose to trust it more than, say, Tom Peters. Prof. Nicholson, head of London Business School recently wrote (in the Harvard Business Review) that Semler's model was the only one to really respect "stone age nature" of human behavior (the many insights from evolutionary psychology that tell us that we're far more often feeling our way through decisions than thinking our way through).

Workplace democracy is not an "experiment" nor a threat to productivity, it's a working fact in a hundred mature industries in a dozen countries - we have applied Semler's principles to systems integration, software development, finance, etc., and his experience is well worth spending a few hours on.

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!

A wonderful book to read and an insightful journey into the entrepreneurial experience of a man who is not only a good leader but a wonderful human being too - Ricardo Semler. It is really difficult to carry business and personal life on the same track and yet not mix them together. This was exactly what Mr. Semler has done to his business making sure his employees get benefited too.

There are a lot of multinationals working somewhat on the thoughts and ideas of Mr. Semler but no company achieved the status that Semco enjoys. A company where all human values are respected, where workers are not questioned, where there are no set times to enter office, where there are no dress codes, where employees decide there own salaries, where adults are treated like adults and given the respect they deserve - that is what Semco is all about.

There are unions of workers almost in all organizations - and they are in Semco too, but with a difference. The rules set for unions are absolutely humanistic and makes sure that the decisions of Unions are respected too. This we see in action when the union goes on strike. The rules Semco follows are somewhat different from other companies. These are as follows: -

1.Treats everyone as adults 2.Tell the strikers that no one will be punished when they return to work. Then don't punish anyone. 3.Don't keep records of who came to work and who led the walkout. 4.Never call the police or try to break up a picket line. 5.Maintain all benefits. 6.Don't block worker's access to the factory, or the access of union representatives to the workers. But insist that union leaders respect the decision of those who want to work, just as the company respects the decision of those who don't. 7.Don't fire anyone during or after the strike, but make everyone see that a walkout is an act of aggressiveness.

This is just one example - there are a lot of other things, which makes Semco a real Masterpiece. Semco is a smorgasbord that signifies all possible qualities of a successful business with complete humane values incorporated in its decision-making.

I would suggest this book to every senior personnel in any industrial set-up, to every entrepreneur, to every management student, and to all those who love to read real management and successful stories.

This is in deed a great book and I would suggest it as a must read for even those who are not related to business, because it also teaches the humanistic side of any company whatsoever the business conditions are.

A must read for anybody who loves to read.

Happy reading!

Be careful, the copy sent to me was in either Spanish or Portuguese--neither of which can I read. So my star rating is irrelevant.

It was quite difficult for me to assimilate the final purpose of this book. Not because it is badly written or confusing, not at all, but because after reading this book I found out that everything I believed was proper in business turns out to be illogical. Roberto Semler's book challenges every management theory known so far. As a professor told to me during an MBA program "We do not take SEMCO experience as part of our courses because his management approaches are sixthy years ahead of modern management" Every person should take a look on what Roberto Semler has to say, this book is the fairy tale of management, truly an eye opener, and an elightement to change-driven managers.

Don't waste your money on this. It is a reprint from Harvard Business Review, September-October 1989. If Amazon had actually indicated this was the case, I wouldn't have paid for it. Don't make the same mistake I did.