IMAGINE THIS KIND OF WORKPLACE...

• No fixed working hours• No fixed CEO• No HR department• No five year plan• No job descriptions or permanent positions• No dress code• No written rules or policy statement

Is this a recipe for chaos?

This is just what RICARDO SEMLER is Famous for!

It might sound totally ridiculous, but is has been

proven to WORK!

WHO IS RICARDO SEMLER?Known around the world

for his innovative employee-centric management style.

A leader that advises

businesses on how they can improve

performance by restructuring

relationships with their people

Proposes a way to run a

workplace that leads to

greater productivity and

greater flexibility for

managers and

employees. Developed an innovative

way of How to Lead and

Manage

Selmer has grown a collection of companies from real estate to inventory service to

industrial equipment and document management.

He focuses on less by what business they are in, but how about they go about their

business.

At 46 Semler is a leading proponent and tireless evangelist of what has variously been

called participative management, corporate democracy, and “the company as

village.”

For nearly 25 years, Ricardo Semler, CEO of Brazil-based Semco, has let his

employees set their own hours and wages.

THE RESULT- increased productivity, long-term loyalty and phenomenal growth.

This website profiles Ricardo Semler and provides a good overview and practical examples of his work.

http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Expert-Voices/Ricardo-Semler-Set-Them-Free/

Interview with Ricardo Semler, Chairman of Brazilian Company Semco, a democratic workplace. Aired on Australian ABC television 7:30 Report March 2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=gJkOPxJCN1w

http://www.strategy-business.com/article/05408?pg=0Article from which provides background information on Semler and details the

history of his method of business and his achievements.

Ricardo Semler is a true visionary who advises businesses on how they can significantly improve performance by restructuring relationships with their people.

His presentations invariably spark creative and productive thinking about how to lead and manage.

Ricardo Semler is president of Semco S/A, based in Brazil, and the author of two books: Maverick and The Seven-Day Weekend. Maverick has been published in 16 languages and sold over one million copies. The phenomenal success of the book demonstrates an eager interest in workable alternatives to conventional management wisdom. Hundreds of executives from other companies have visited Ricardo’s firm to study his success.

He has been profiled in more than 200 magazines and newspapers, including a special edition of Time highlighting future world leaders. He was named one of the "Global Leaders of Tomorrow" by the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

Semler’s six principles that guide

his always experimental company:1. Don't increase business size unnecessarily

2. Never stop being a start-up

3. Don't be a nanny to your workers

4. Let talent find its place

5. Make decisions quickly and openly

6. Partner promiscuously, you can't do it all yourself.

GLOBAL CASE STUDY

The MONDRAGON Corporation is a corporation and federation of worker cooperatives based in the Basque region of Spain. Its foundations are based

on the early work of a young Catholic priest José María Arizmendiarrieta.

The MONDRAGON Co-operatives operate in accordance with a business model based on ‘People and the Sovereignty of Labour’, which has made it

possible to develop highly participative companies rooted in solidarity, with a strong social dimension but without neglecting business excellence. The Co-operatives are owned by their worker-members and power is based on the

principle of one person, one vote.

Scholars such as Richard D. Wolff, American professor of economics, have hailed the Mondragon set of enterprises, including the good wages it

provides for employees, the empowerment of ordinary workers in decision making, and the measure of equality for female workers, as a major success and have cited it as a working model of an alternative to the capitalist mode

of production.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondrag%C3%B3n_Cooperative_Corporation

AUSTRALIAN CASE STUDIES

There are a number of organisations within Australia that have adopted principles and structures.

Many credit unions and building societies have a genuine member-based business model where the focus is less on profit and more on

providing better products for their customers (whilst also maintaining a competitive presence in the financial services sector.

One organisation of note is Bendigo Bank. This former building society set out to address what it perceived as a move by the larger

banks to withdraw their services from less populated areas.

Other Australian examples include not for profit employment agencies and worker cooperatives.

Example provided on an employment related cooperative in NSW.

http://labourcooperative.com.au

CRITICISMS OF THE MODELSemler’s business practices appear to contradict those shown in

approaches taken with capitalism and many multi-national organisations.

Detractors of Semler’s employee-centric model have questioned whether Semler’s business practices are simply another clever way of increasing profits and that the employee first approach is not as transparent as it

may appear.

Participative management has inspired a fiercely dedicated following, and many managers find it appealing and compelling in principle, but it is often dismissed as utopian and naive in the real world of conventional

workplaces.

Semler has joint ventures with multinational corporations, most of which are publicly traded. These entities tend to practice a diluted version of the

democratic workplace.

The following article looks at cooperatives like ‘Mondragon’. Some of the follow-up comments generate significant debate. Some readers liken the cooperatives to communism (but perhaps

neglect to mention the key difference is state-owned versus worker-owned enterprises).

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/24/alternative-capitalism-mondragon

SEMLER’S VIEW ON EDUCATION Ricardo Semler believes education needs

to change with the times, and that his innovative approach to business can in

fact work in changing education.

SEMLER SAYS; “Children are born learning to learn”

“Where in our school system do we have a place for intuition?”“What are children retaining?”

DOES HE HAVE A POINT?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yU32Q2vRfiA

IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION

Ricardo Semler and the Mondragon models have set up their own schools and universities that appear to based on educating in the form of making the learners active versus being passive participants.

Educators have discussed the importance of hands-on learning and how it impacts on providing a holistic education that creates a life-long learner.

 The process of education is not about supplying students with lumps of information to be regurgitated on demand.

It is about enabling students to learn how to learn.

It is also about giving them opportunities to hear what others have learnt (knowledge) and to then discuss, argue, and reflect on this knowledge to gain a greater understanding of its truth for them and of how this knowledge will be of use to them.

“If we want our children to apprehend the variety of human experience and learn how they can contribute to it, we must give them -- and their teachers -- the opportunity to do so”.

- -Maurice Holt

- http://www.bluegum.act.edu.au/links/Maurice_Holt_Slow_Schools.pdf

As an educator the impacts could be summarised in the broader curriculum

and how it is delivered

This includes:connection to knowledge, tradition, moral purpose and all that is important in life

• In a sense ‘real- hands on’ learning

• Ecological literacy, enabling students to learn how to learn

• Leading a skilful life, doing no harm and having respect for all living and non living things.

http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2007/s1864738.htm

Interview with Kerry O’Brien. Gives a good overview but also mentions his unique schooling system and the

process of learning the active(doing) Vs passive (being told).

IN OUR SCHOOLS• Discussions on different approaches to business and government.

• Research different occupations/local businesses and their structures/practices.

• Discussion on ethical issues associated with business and government practices. How realistic and workable is Semler’s model?

• Work experience programmes structured with an awareness of employee and employer responsibilities.

• Students could look into some of the stated benefits of Semler’s model and how this can be applied to their lives both now and in the future (more efficient work practices and less time at work could lead to more positive social interactions outside of work.

• Cooperative practices put into practice in the school (Student Representative Councils / other student organisations.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Highlights Semler’s Sucess, message and credentials http://www.leighbureau.com/speaker.asp?id=186

Leading by Omission- Semco Story, Employee motivation and revolutionary model

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ0FQR2gXe0

Inspiring Lecture http://37signals.com/svn/posts/649-inspiring-ricardo-semler-lecture-at-mit

Videoshttp://vimeo.com/14332684

A FINAL THOUGHT TO PONDER....

“It’s a free market as we can make it. People bring their talents and we rely

on their self interest to use the company to develop themselves in

any way they see fit” Ricardo Semler