[[blog/video-the-role-of-leadership-in-software-development-mary-poppendieck.md|Video_ The role of leadership in software development - Mary Poppendieck]] Want to Read Rate this book 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World’s Most Unusual Workplace by Ricardo Semler 4.16 · https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32994.Maverick?from_search=true#https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32994.Maverick?from_search=true# https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32994.Maverick?from_search=true# Rating details · 3,339 ratings · 193 reviews The international bestseller that tells how Semler tore up the rule books - and defied inflation running at up to 900% per year! - Workers make decisions previously made by their bosses - Managerial staff set their own salaries and bonuses - Everyone has access to the company books - No formality - a minimum of meetings, memos and approvals - Internal walls torn down - Shopfloor workers set their own productivity targets and schedules Result - Semco is one of Latin America’s fastest-growing companies, acknowledged to be the best in Brazil to work for, and with a waiting list of thousands of applicants waiting to join it. Learn Ricardo’s secrets and let some of the Semco magic rub off on you and your company. (less) Get A Copy AmazonOnline Stores ▾Book Links ▾ Paperback, 336 pages Published September 6th 2001 by Random House (first published 1988) Original Title Maverick! . ISBN 0712678867 (ISBN13: 9780712678865) . Edition Language English . Other Editions (23) All Editions | Add a New Edition | Combine …Less Detail edit details Edit My Activity Review of ISBN 9780712678865 Rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars Shelves to-read edit( 428th ) Format Paperback edit Status June 30, 2019 – Shelved as: to-read June 30, 2019 – Shelved Review Add a review comment . Friend Reviews (1) Nov 23, 2016 Koen Metsu marked it as to-read Like · comment Recommend This Book… . Reader Q&A Ask the Goodreads community a question about Maverick ![[./resources/book-maverick-ricardo-semler.resources/30721486.ux100_cr00100100.jpg]] Be the first to ask a question about Maverick . Lists with This Book Books Mentioned in Drive, Daniel Pink 27 books — 9 voters Best Business Biographies 57 books — 172 voters More lists with this book… . Community Reviews Showing 1-30 4.16 · https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32994.Maverick?from_search=true# Rating details · 3,339 ratings · 193 reviews ![[./resources/book-maverick-ricardo-semler.resources/loading-45f04d682f1e9151cf1e6fb18a1bde21.gif]] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32994.Maverick?from_search=true#More filters | https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32994.Maverick?from_search=true#Sort order . Apr 10, 2013 Oliver Thylmann rated it it was amazing Published first in 1993, this books depicts the changes happening at Semco, the company Ricardo Semler took over from his father in 1980 to turn it in a much studied place to work at. Here is the chronology of what happened and if you want to know more then you should read the book as it is both highly stimulating as well as amusing. * 1980 Ricardo took over the company and fired most of the (old) executive staff * he hired a new CEO who worked at different companies like Sharp and Xerox. The company was transformed in a highly managed entity with tight controls, reports and manuals. * he hired a new sales manager and they spent a lot of time trying to get their hands on cash to save the company. * 1983 they went out to buy a company for $500000 at the end doubling their workforce in comes Clovis Bojikian, ex school teacher and idealist who was to be crucial to the changes about to happen at Semco * more controls come, tougher management and a lot of people start becoming unhappy * Ricardo continuously faints and has other health problems and after a visit to a special clinic is diagnosed with the highest level of stress the doctor has ever seen at a 25 year old. He needed to change. * he starts leaving at 7 no matter what, delegates a lot and tries to remove corporate oppressions. first by removing the security checks with the idea of treating people as adults, which was not easy. * dress codes are removed * factory committes are started (members cannot be sacked while on the committee and one year afterwards) and decisions deferred to workers/committees * weekly meetings are started where decisions are taken that a “manager” does not feel comfortable to do alone * threw the operational manual out in exchange of common sense (if you need a hotel on a business trip, take whichever you think is right) * had workers decide on a new plant location * had top people set their own salaries and have them public * had profit sharing across everyone * started having a rule that memos can only be one page with the conclusion as the subject and this list goes on and on. A very insightful read. “As I tell our people constantly: we’ve all learned how to answer email on Sundays, but none of us has learned to go to the movies on Monday afternoon. Until we learn that, we are email slaves harnessed to the wicked ways of the Profit and Loss Master.” – Ricardo Semler, Maverick (less) flag 8 likes · Like · comment · see review Aug 07, 2007 kareem rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: anybody. one of the most influential books i’ve read. original review posted here: http://www.reemer.com/archives/2004/0… I first heard of Maverick author Ricardo Semler when I came across a blurb for his new book called The Seven-Day Weekend in a copy of Inc Magazine a few months back. Semler’s counter-intuitive approach to running a business immediately intruiged me, because it seemed to solve many of the employee satisfaction problems that plague most North American companies these days. Semler’s company, Semco, has eliminated org charts, made vacation time mandatory, allows employees to set their own salaries, and requires employees to evaluate their bosses. I’m quite excited to dig into this book because I believe most of what Semler preaches makes sense if running a business with a long-term outlook: he encourages employee growth, trusts them to take responsibility and holds them accountable, holds performance above all else when evaluating employees, and treats them like people who are motivated by different different types of incentives. Semler has lectured on his “unorthodox” methods at HBS, and I’ve found a fascinating article on Semco at CIOInsight.com. I think this is going to be a terribly insightful read. (less) flag 8 likes · Like · comment · see review Dec 21, 2012 Bhavya Mehta rated it it was amazing great book..The book should be a part of any B-school’s curriculum. It teaches a great deal. And something phenomenal about the learning is that it can be applied to all walks of life,be it professional or personal.Example: It tells you to do away with the unncessary clutter in the organisation. He goes on to illustrate how effective it turns out.And the extent is mind boggling.And there are other such examples eg. How he does away with the conventional pyramidal structure of an organisation and …more flag 5 likes · Like · comment · see review Dec 30, 2009 Ash Moran rated it it was amazing Shelves: books-i-read-in-2010, change, manufacturing, business, management, leadership This is an engrossing story about how Semler turned his father’s company from an antiquated, authoritarian business to one based on democracy, fairness, transparency and trust, where change is the only constant. It’s full of anecdotes about how conflict and pressure (both internal and external) drove him to abandon most of the received wisdom about how companies should be run. While I was reading the book I made a list of the changes Semler instigated - forty-three altogether. They range from the …more flag 3 likes · Like · comment · see review Jan 04, 2011 Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership rated it it was amazing Shelves: the-top-50-sustainability-books One of Cambridge Sustainability’s Top 50 Books for Sustainability, as voted for by our alumni network of over 3,000 senior leaders from around the world. To find out more, click here. Maverick is essentially Ricardo Semler’s autobiography, about how he transformed the business of Semco, a Brazilian ship-building supplies manufacturer, into a diversified and highly innovative manufacturing and services company. Semler took over as chief execuitve of the company from his father at the beginning of …more flag 3 likes · Like · comment · see review Mar 09, 2015 Rosemary O’donoghue rated it it was amazing I saw a TED talk by Ricardo Semler and I wondered how his ideas really worked in practical terms. It seems they worked because he put so much effort into making them work. He was prepared to take risks and have a consultative workplace and he obviously has a great deal of energy and patience. The book does read like a novel - I found it enthralling. I’ve been very fortunate to have had a series of bosses who, like Ricardo, wouldn’t solve my problems - they’d keep throwing the ball back in my cour …more flag 2 likes · Like · comment · see review May 06, 2011 Johann rated it it was amazing Shelves: business In a very personal, yet profound and serious manner, Ricardo Semler shares principles of a truly democratic workplace. Transparency, flexible structures and a different understanding of “hierarchy” are some of the cornerstones that make Semco a successful living experiment worth following. Of the business books I recently read, it’s probably only Peter Drucker’s books that have the same disruptive quality as Maverick. The only question that’s bugging me: why are there so many people raving it and …more flag 2 likes · Like · comment · see review Oct 11, 2018 Ngee Poo rated it it was amazing One of the best business books I’ve read, on a company I’ve never even heard of before. flag 1 like · Like · 4 comments · see review May 24, 2019 Thukten Tashi rated it really liked it Shelves: corporate-biographies This is a must read book for all leaders and managers. The management style followed by Ricardo Semler is of complete novelty. The fact that every employee of his company be it CEO or a sweeper has a say on major decisions of the company shows how each employee of the company is being valued. Even a sweeper has a right to evaluate the performance and incentives of the CEO and top level managers. This is in complete contradiction to top-down style of management which is so pervasive. It’s good to …more flag 1 like · Like · comment · see review Jul 13, 2017 Deepak Narang rated it it was amazing This is a must read for every entrepreneur! It describes the end to end story of Semco and how Ricardo revolutionised the entire organisational structure within the company. flag 1 like · Like · comment · see review Apr 22, 2015 D rated it it was amazing I enjoy reading about the empowering Semco philosophy and path to a healthy workplace. Democracy has yet to penetrate the workplace. Directors and despots are alive and well in offices and factories all over the world. Most companies and employees accept this as immutable. But we didn’t believe Semco had to perpetuate a system in which a person is hired who impresses his future boss but does not have the respect of his subordinates. Nor did we understand why we should keep a supervisor who wasn’t …more flag 1 like · Like · comment · see review Nov 26, 2017 Earl Lee rated it really liked it Interesting read that can be applicable to modern day business but is a bit long-winded. The middle-end of the book was a struggle to get through, but it picks back up in the last few chapters. Personal Key Concepts: - Work-life balance doesn’t have to mean lower work output - Viewing companies as family is misleading and terribly flawed; companies are businesses - Working at home can actually work - Ruthlessly delegate and prioritize - Split operating units once it reaches 150 people - Rapid growth is …more flag 1 like · Like · comment · see review May 27, 2017 Rafael Jegundo rated it it was amazing Ricardo Semler is clearly a rebel, and after getting a lot of this book stories and philosophy through some form of intermediary medium and people, I finally read his story from the source. On SemCo, they optimized for common sense over convention. Not all this can be directly and quickly applied to any company, but it’s an important example to know, as an evidence picking the road less travelled makes all the difference. flag 1 like · Like · comment · see review Jul 27, 2017 June Ding rated it really liked it Shelves: 2017-read, personal-growth A refreshing count of how an organisation can be run jointly by the workers and managers. Many ideas are revolutionary and you may wonder whether it works in real life. And you will be amazed to learn that it did! flag 1 like · Like · comment · see review Mar 10, 2015 Pradeep Kaushik rated it really liked it Corporare democracy. A series of bold experiments. An amazing read. A must read for every manager. “A turtle may live for hundreds of years because it is well protected by its shell, but it only moves forward when it sticks out its head”. flag 1 like · Like · comment · see review Feb 07, 2014 Catalina Contoloru rated it really liked it An easy to read book, with good examples on what determined a business man to change his company, to make it a democratic workplace and the impact that had on the business overall. I liked the informal writing style and the small stories about employees. flag 1 like · Like · comment · see review Oct 07, 2010 Elizabeth marked it as to-read Recommended by genius Kareem! flag 1 like · Like · comment · see review Apr 01, 2013 James rated it it was amazing A well told and entertaining story of a company evolving new ways of working with the help of it’s employees. An inspiration for anyone who wants to innovate. flag 1 like · Like · comment · see review Aug 08, 2007 Otis Chandler marked it as to-read · review of another edition Shelves: wishlist Kareems top 10. Similar to delivering happines flag 1 like · Like · comment · see review Oct 04, 2011 Vimal Gasper rated it it was amazing Shelves: management, non-fiction, favorites, mylib A must read for every entrepreneur and business grads. Inspiring and thought provoking. flag 1 like · Like · comment · see review Nov 15, 2018 Charles rated it liked it The premise of this book was intriguing in the beginning, wherein Ricardo inherits his father’s manufacturing company and sets the tone by firing the senior leadership to re-establish a new kind of order. Gradually, as each chapter dives into a specific episode with a radical idea, such as abolishing the pyramidal hierarchy with one with concentric circles, encouraging workers to start their own company and work from home, allowing employees to assess their manager’s performance for routine eval …more flag Like · comment · see review Jan 24, 2018 Prabhu R. rated it it was amazing Shelves: business, inspirational, management I heard about this book and the company from my friend and started reading this book. It became an amazing read about a person who broke from the age old industrial practice and came up with an organization that is self-driven, resilient and adapting to change. All the things mentioned in the book happened during the pre-google era. Ricardo Semler is a visionary of his own kind, a thoughtful leader. I can understand the difficulty that he and his colleagues would have gone through to build such …more flag Like · comment · see review Feb 09, 2017 Subash rated it really liked it Ricardo took his company, turned it upside down, and brought into life an entirely new concept which would be difficult, if not nearly impossible, for most companies to imitate. The journey of the transformation of Semco, in a third-world country under intense economic turmoil, is fascinating and this book captures how it was done. In my personal opinion, the scale of Semco was probably just right enough to execute such a transformation but I am Ricardo might disagree. I’ve read similar stories a …more flag Like · comment · see review Nov 16, 2017 Marcelo Schmidt rated it it was amazing Shelves: business Although he is not a self-made man, as he had inherited a small empire from his father, his courage to embrace change and trust the people that actually makes his company a great company is astonishing. Self-set salaries, who on Earth would allow to do that? And this happened on 80’s, 20th century, not the actual 21st century. More impressive yet, that happened here, in Brazil, a country so often disbelieved from its own citizens. It’s not from a giant japanese company. I myself being brazilian …more flag Like · comment · see review Dec 02, 2017 Manish Khurana rated it really liked it “I value my shares in Semco. But it’s really not my company anymore. I am not Semco. Semco is Semco.” Mr. NR Narayanamurthy must read this book or at least this quote. He should come out of his paternalistic attitude towards Infosys. Coming to the book now… Certainly one of the best business books I’ve read till now. This man proves that democratizing a company can yield amazing results. Highly unlike what they teach you in a business school, this book has management theories of its own, that to …more flag Like · comment · see review Aug 10, 2016 Raj Makaram rated it it was amazing · review of another edition Shelves: economics-business This book is about how young CEO (the author) transformed a family-run company called SEMCO, into “democratic organization”. Semco is a Brazilian manufacturing company, with products such as marine pumps to empty oil tankers, high volume dishwashers, cooling units for air conditioners, and mixers Here workers set there salary, productivity targets and schedule Common sense prevails over rules and procedure at this organization. SEMCO has become the Mecca for executives from the best known compan …more flag Like · comment · see review Nov 25, 2018 Sagnik Mukherjee rated it it was amazing Maverick by Ricardo Semler truly tickled my imagination. Every chapter I read made me think about similar programs I can implement in my workplace. The basic idea of treating your workforce as responsible adults and treating micromanagement as an infection can truly change your perspective on corporate culture. I highly recommend this book for anyone seeking to learn how to lead and motivate people to achieving a greater goal. flag Like · comment · see review Jul 20, 2018 Pedro Almeida rated it it was amazing It’s amazing to reading and imagine how a transformation can impact so deeply people and a comunity. Bearing in mind an organization without people doesn’t exist. Give the purpose for those who share with you the same life path. If you read this book you will understand the meaning of my words. And what is more shocking is the amount of excuses we give to not transform our organization. Thank you Ricardo to share with me your purpose of life! flag Like · comment · see review Jun 03, 2018 Francisca Painhas rated it really liked it Interesting how a book from the 80s predicting the future and describing the obsolete still applies ok the obsolete part and got most of the predictions right. Very informal and laid back book as well as enough humor (reflecting the author itself) it is a very good read. Especially interesting for Portuguese or Brazilian people flag Like · comment · see review Nov 01, 2018 Stas rated it it was amazing · review of another edition Interestingly, for years in our company we’ve been trying out some of Ricardo’s ideas, but not on such an amazing scale as he did in Semco. Indeed, when people come up with the same ideas in different parts of the world, it means the game is changing globally. Always good to be ahead of the crowd :) Great read. flag Like · comment · see review « previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 next » . new topic Discuss This Book There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one » .