Think of it - the corporate world is bogged by so many diplomatic levels that by the time a vision reaches to the top , an objective becomes a subjective debate whose real benefit gets lost
Semco is one such company which does not have this structure.The company has an open policy and the employees are all a real stakeholder in decision making
Including the decision to have how much of salary they deserve !!!! The transparency and the good intention is what makes the company a flagship corporation which has withstood the economic crisis of Brazil
Its only when people feel connected with the company and its only when they feel part of the business decision would be able to value add to work .
without this , its just a diplomatic way of handling things and getting the work done....Sort this - At any time the productivity of any company is just 20% ...that means , only 20% of them are effective and rest 80% are dilly dallying and sticking around the company for a different reason and if you can do something to make the other "80%" of them to be effective , you are not just building a company , you are building a brand and semco had all the ingredients to make such a "brand" in a country where lot of economic turmoil happened !!!
Semco has unions and they can fight for their rights including filing cases and dragging the corporation to the court. But none of those would be sacked for (mis) deeds !!!!
Rather the matter would be settled legally and fairly.But guess what , here is the twist - these guys continue to work for the same company irrespective of what ever happened between the corporation and the workers !
Semco doesn't have receptionists, secretaries or personal assistants, regarding them as unnecessary. The top boss has to walk into the printer/fax and get the things done !!
Its just not these policies which make semco a great company to work for...The workers can shift their base from engineering to accounting to any other department of their choice.But they have to perform and they have to fight for their place
Not because their performance would be impacted but for the reason that they own the company and have decided what level of salary they deserve to be in that place.
The inherent nature of the system is such that employees always feel connected and responsible for what ever they do inside the company and run it as though it is their own
Semco allowed its workers to set their own production quotas and found that employees would voluntarily work overtime to meet them. Profit sharing is practiced right down to factory floor level, instead of large bonuses only for senior management. Semler eventually retired from all executive positions at age 33.
Its hard to imagine such a company exists - it did , it thrived and it did make lot of money...But it does not mean they made blunders .They did. But the sheer power of people inside the company made it a formidable force to recon with,.....Semco's CEO , ricardo semler was just 24 year old when he took over from his father and he ensured the success belongs really to the people and not to the company... Check this excerpt from the book .... makes me think , A company cannot be a bureaucratic nerve center but the one which binds people to a single goal...
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---> How rules snowball:
In their quest for law, order, stability, and predictability, corporations make rules for every conceivable contingency. Policy manuals are created with the idea that, if a company puts everything in writing, management will be more rational and objective. Standardizing methods and conduct will guide new employees and insure that the entire company has a single, cohesive image. And so it became accepted that large organizations could not function without hundreds or thousands or tens of thousands of rules.
Sounds sensible, right? And it works fine for an army or a prison system. But not, I believe, for a business. And certainly not for a business that wants people to think, innovate, and act as human beings whenever possible. All those rules cause employees to forget that a company needs to be creative and adaptive to survive. Rules slow it down.
With few exceptions, rules and regulations only serve to:
1. Divert attention from the company's objective.
2. Provide a false sense of security for the executives.
3. Create work for bean counters.
4. Teach men to stone dinosaurs and start fire with sticks.
The desire for rules and the need for innovation are, I believe, incompatible.Rules freeze companies inside a glacier; innovation lets them ride sleighs over it.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.
----> What's wrong with bosses:
That's what's wrong with bosses. So many of them are better prepared to find error and to criticize than to add to the effort. To be the boss is what counts to most bosses. They confuse authority with authoritarianism. They don't trust their subordinates.
----> Why bureaucracies get built:
Bureaucracies are built by and for people who busy themselves proving they are necessary, especially when they suspect they aren't. All these bosses have to keep themselves occupied, and so they constantly complicate everything.I wanted our people to have more contact with one another. I wanted less clutter. I wanted fewer levels. I wanted more flexibility. I wanted a new shape for our organization.
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It is this vision which makes a corporation a great place to work for - its free , fair and Unconventional
Whats your company look like - do you feel , you have a role to play , do you feel connected and most importantly do every one follow one principle which leads to trust each other ?
