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Tuesday, April 08, 2008

MAVERICK

Maverick (by Ricardo Semler) - Was it about doing business in the unreal world of Brazil….or was it about a “quirky laboratory” (read the company Semco) run by a few impudent and iconoclastic managers. Its about both, each intertwined within the other.
It is about a distinct way of running a company, Its neither socialist, nor is it purely capitalist, it’s the third way – “ a more humane, trusting, productive, exhilarating and in every sense rewarding way. As Ricardo closes the book – “ To forget socialism, capitalism, just in time deliveries, salary surveys, and the rest of it, and to concentrate on building organizations that accomplish the most difficult of all challenges: to make people look forward to coming to work in the morning.”

The author claims that this is not a business book, nevertheless, I feel this book should be among the must read lists of all business students. It’s to understand the iconoclastic methods of Ricardo Semler, wherein he creates a system within Semco, where the employees choose their bosses as well as their own salaries. The system was strong enough to successfully survive the volatile Brazilian economy and inflation (which often went as high as 400%).

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