Maverick

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Maverick! : The Success Story Behind the World's Most Unusual Workplace by Ricardo Semler
Maverick! is essentially the autobiography of a business as well as a businessman, Ricardo Semler, Chairman of Semco, one of Brazil’s largest conglomerates. First published in Brazil in 1988 as Turning the Tables which became the all-time best-selling nonfiction book in Brazil's history. Semler is the son of an entrepreneur who entered the family business and transformed it into a multi billion dollar business empire. What is unusual is the way he developed management, labour relations and the work environment to achieve these goals. His radical policies are summed up as cartoons in a 'Semco Lexicon' and a 'Survival Manual' for the employees. Starting out as a manufacturing company, 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. The company seeks to streamline and simplify processes and avoid complicated business regulations.