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Ricardo Semler

Ricardo Semler Quotes

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Ricardo Semler (born 1959) is a Brazilian businessman, author, and renowned management innovator. As former CEO of Semco, a Brazilian conglomerate, he became famous for his radical approach to workplace democracy and employee empowerment. His book "Maverick!" (1993) became a global bestseller, documenting his unconventional management philosophy. Semler is recognized worldwide as a pioneer in transforming traditional corporate culture through practices like flexible work hours, employee-elected managers, and open-book management.

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Famous Ricardo Semler Quotes

“We could write a completely new manual incorporating all our new policies and spelling out the emerging philosophy behind them. Or we could do away with the old manual and not just replace it. That way we would force people to make decisions based on common sense…We tried to write new rules. We really did. But at every turn we found ourselves wading into a swamp of minutiae.”

Policy Management Policy Making

Book:Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World's Most Unusual Workplace

Source: Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World's Most Unusual Workplace

“Over the next three or four months we simply collected all our procedures manuals…People would ask us from time to time when the new manuals would be ready. Eventually, some began to suspect that an update wasn’t going to appear and asked us why. Only then did we say aloud what we had been thinking: that we were trading written rules for common sense. And that is the system we have today, which is barely a system at all.”

Policy Management Policy Making

Book:Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World's Most Unusual Workplace

Source: Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World's Most Unusual Workplace

“People are too keen to follow standard preconceptions of how organisations should work. All too often, we feel that we are unable to make changes and so hope that someone, somewhere in your organisation knows what we are doing and what the overall aim is.”

People Knows Feels Should Standards Aim Making Changes Organisation Preconceptions

Author:Ricardo Semler

“Bill Gore from Goretex was a very strong influence because he was one of the first larger companies to experiment with freedom in the workplace.”

Firsts Strong Company Influence Bills Experiments Very Strong Workplace Gore

Author:Ricardo Semler

“People are responsible adults at home. Why do we suddenly transform them into adolescents with no freedom when they reach the workplace?”

People Home Adults Responsible Workplace Personnel Immature People

Author:Ricardo Semler

“Once employees feel challenged, invigorated and productive, their efforts will naturally translate into profit and growth for the organisation.”

Feels Growth Effort Profit Employee Productive Translate Organisation

Author:Ricardo Semler

“The key to getting work done on time is to stop wearing a watch.”

Done Watches Keys Work Done

Author:Ricardo Semler

“The best way to invest corporate profits is to give them to the employees.”

Way Giving Profit Best Way Corporate Employee

Author:Ricardo Semler

“No-one works for money alone and tapping into what people want from their careers and what they have to offer is essential.”

People Want Careers Offers Essentials Tapping

Author:Ricardo Semler

“If you are giving back, you took too much.”

Ifs Giving Too Much Giving Back

Author:Ricardo Semler

“I once worked it out - after $12 million, all millionaires are the same. That's because we're all humans, confined to human scale. How many homes can you live in? How many meals can you eat? You can have a living room the size of a cathedral, but you won't live in it. It's too big.”

Humans Home Bigs Rooms Millions Size Scales Meals Confined Millionaire Living Room Cathedrals Many Homes

Author:Ricardo Semler

“The key to management is to get rid of the managers.”

Keys Management Managers

Author:Ricardo Semler

“For a company to excel, employees must be reassured that self-interest, not the company's, is their foremost priority. We believe an employee who puts himself first will be motivated to perform.”

Firsts Believe Self Interest Company Priorities Employee Motivated Self Interest

Book:The Seven-Day Weekend: Changing the Way Work Works

Source: The Seven-Day Weekend: Changing the Way Work Works

“To survive in modern times, a company must have an organizational structure that accepts change as its basic premise, lets tribal customs thrive, and fosters a power that is derived from respect, not rules. In other words, the successful companies will be the ones that put quality of life first. Do this and the rest - quality of product, productivity of workers, profits for all - will follow.”

“It is not socialist, as some of our critics contend. It isn't purely capitalist, either. It is a new way. A third way. A more humane, trusting, productive, exhilarating, and, in every sense, rewarding way.”

Way Wisdom Politics Economy Thirds Critics Liberalism Productive Capitalist New Ways Socialist Humane Exhilarating

Author:Ricardo Semler

“Growth and profit are a product of how people work together.”

People Together Growth Products Profit Working Together

Author:Ricardo Semler

“If you look at any kind of modern organization and you think, 'What are the foremost tools of power?' You will find that it is information.”

Ifs Thinking Looks Kind Modern Information Tools Organization

Author:Ricardo Semler

“Every one of us has learned how to send emails on Sunday night. But how many of us know how to go a movie on Monday afternoon. You've unbalanced your life without balancing it with someone else.”

Knows Night Know How Sunday Afternoon Email Monday Unbalanced Sunday Night

Author:Ricardo Semler

“There are companies which are prepared to change the way they work. They realize that nothing can be based on what used to be, that there is a better way. But, 99 percent of companies are not ready, [they are] caught in an industrial Jurassic Park.”

Way Used Realizing Company Ready Percent Prepared Caught Used To Be Parks Better Ways Not Ready Jurassic Park

Author:Ricardo Semler

“Forget socialism, capitalism, just-in-time deliveries, salary surveys, and the rest ... concentrate on building organizations that accomplish that most difficult of all challenges: to make people look forward to coming to work in the morning.”

People Looks Difficult Challenges Forget Morning Building Capitalism Organization Accomplish Socialism Salary Delivery Surveys

Author:Ricardo Semler

“A high percentage of organisations develop a military rationale, whereby only a very small number of people make all of the decisions. There is little wonder, then, that people aren't keen to get out of bed and come to work on a Monday morning.”

People Littles Decision Numbers Wonder Morning Military Bed Monday Percentages Organisation Monday Morning Small Numbers Rationale

Author:Ricardo Semler

“Large, centralized organizations foster alienation like stagnant ponds breed algae.”

Organization Alienation Ponds Stagnant Algae

Author:Ricardo Semler

“Man is by nature restless. When left too long in one place he will inevitably grow bored, unmotivated, and unproductive.”

Men Long Left Grows Bored Restless Unproductive Unmotivated

Author:Ricardo Semler

“People have a reservoir of talent worth discovering. They just have to be given the opportunity to discover it in themselves”

People Opportunity Given Leadership Talent Discovering Reservoirs

Author:Ricardo Semler

“The era of using people as production tools is coming to an end. Participation is infinitely more complex to practice than conventional corporate unilateralism, just as democracy is much more cumbersome than dictatorship. But there will be few companies that can afford to ignore either of them.”

People Ends Company Practice Democracy Tools Complexes Productions Eras Corporate Dictatorship Conventional Participation Coming To An End Using People Unilateralism

Author:Ricardo Semler

“There is no contest between the company that buys the grudging compliance of its work force and the company that enjoys the enterprising participation of its employees”

Force Enjoy Leadership Company Employee Participation Contests Compliance Enterprising

Author:Ricardo Semler

“Only two things grow for the sake of growth: businesses and tumors.”

Two Grows Growth Sake Two Things Tumors

Author:Ricardo Semler

“The purpose of work is not to make money. The purpose of work is to make the workers, whether working stiffs or top executives, feel good about life.”

Feels Purpose Workers Feel Good Making Money Executives

Author:Ricardo Semler

“I believe no one can afford, endure or can stomach leaving half a life in the parking lot when she or he goes to work. It's a lousy way to live and a lousy way to work.”

Way Believe I Believe Leadership Half Endure Leaving Working It Stomach Engagement Way To Live Parking Parking Lot

Book:The Seven-Day Weekend: Changing the Way Work Works

Source: The Seven-Day Weekend: Changing the Way Work Works

“If we do not let people do things the way they do, we will never know what they are really capable of and they will just follow our boarding school rules.”

People Ifs Knows Way School Capable

Author:Ricardo Semler

“Human nature demands recognition. Without it, people lose their sense of purpose and become dissatisfied, restless, and unproductive.”

People Humans Purpose Loses Human Nature Demand Management Recognition Restless Dissatisfied Unproductive

Author:Ricardo Semler

“We have absolute trust in our employees. In fact, we are partners with them.”

Facts Leadership Relationship Absolutes Partners Employee Hospitality

Author:Ricardo Semler

About the Author

Born: 1959
Known for: Fictioneer
Quotes: 32

Related Topics

People Company Employee Way Leadership Management Profit Feels Firsts Growth

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People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World's Most Unusual WorkplaceRelated source material

The Seven-Day Weekend: Changing the Way Work WorksRelated source material

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