Notes and quotes from Ricardo Semler’s wonderful Seven-Day Weekend
“Rather than constantly talking about passion – serving customers passionately, filling in blue forms passionately – organizations should make it possible for employees to feel exhilaration every once in a while. Let them get involved to the point that they shout ‘yes!’ and give each other High Fives because they did it their way – an it worked.”
“Everyone at Semco, including the cleaning staff, takes part in a monthly meeting that analyses the company numbers. There they learn what our revenues and payroll are, why we are different from out competitors, why profit is rising or falling. Anyone can enroll in a course in reading balance sheets that is administered by the left-wing Metal Workers Union”
“At Semco, 20 years of success has taught us that ignoring growth, avoiding long-range business plans (we don’t have one), and downplaying profits (I’m not sure of the actual figure) are why we thrive. We focus instead on whether the people who work for us are able to balance their aspirations with Semco’s purpose. I know from two decades’ experience that once the balance is achieved and self-interest kicks in, new business, growth, and profit inevitably follow”
“Why does our customized and carefully crafted credo look like everyone else’s? Why do we demand and go to war for democracy as nations yet accept with docility that no one has the right to choose their own boss?”
“Integrity will develop without me, because of the minimum common denominator that we share at Semco. I’m not required to pen some lofty set of values that any idiot can write. Shared values are those that evolve naturally over the years until one day you realize you’re living by them”
“What traditional executives don’t consider is that decisions arising from debate are implemented much more quickly because explanations, alternatives, objections and uncertainties have already been aired. Because of democracy, employees have had their say and projects or ideas have been analysed from every point of view.”
“I often begin workshops of mine by asking people to explain some of the things they do every day. For example, “Why are you all dressed in suits and ties?” Most people reply with something like “@Because we’re a group, or because we look alike this way?
… So then I ask a second question: “Why do you want to look a like?” People ten shift in their seats and begin to look uncomfortable. Some smile. A few might reply that uniformity makes for a comfortable shared standard, others might say it projects an image of seriousness and prestige.
… Each of these replies begs a third why? Why are people comfortable looking like someone else? Or, why do companies want their people to feel comfortable when comfort leads to complacency, or further, why do we need to look serious so that people will believe we truly are?
… u then ask them about their conventions, and strategy or brainstorming sessions, and I learn that on these occasions, they’re asked to come in casual dress. So they can be themselves, and tink freely. So what are they supposed to be doing the rest of the year?
… As I repeatedly ask why, gradually they being to understand the true answer. To coin a phrase – it’s a control issue. Uniformity makes it easier to tame people, their ideas and expectations. Anyone who wants control will prescribe conformity. And outward appearance is a fine place to start. School children are a great example.”
“Business culture is like a long-simmering stew. The right mix of people is essential. As is an understanding that every organization needs its share of indifferent and uninterested workers to balance its leaders, joiners and activists.”
“At Semco we don;t just voice opinions about leaders at meetings – we also evaluate them in a process called Seen From Below. We use a criteria based on 36 unchanging questions. Every six months workers fill out a questionnaire that asks things like: Does your boss treat his subordinates the same way he treats other managers?’ Workers answer each one with a number from a possible 100. We don’t change the template because we’re interested only in relative ratings. A 70 score is good if that’s the range that manager always receives. But that same 70 might be worrisome if the manager had previously always earned a 90.”
“It all comes back to a simple formula: Democracy requires freedom, which requires acceptance of diversity, which cannot happen without respect. And this sequence defines leadership at Semco.”
“Abraham Lincoln said it best when asked how he planned to guide the US after the Civil War: It’s like piloting a riverboat on the Mississippi. You should sit back, relax and plan only as far as the next bend in the river. And then the one after that, and then the one after that. Eventually you’ll get to your destination.”