My Review of Ricardo Semler's "Maverick"

“Maverick”, a rather unusual title for a book on business management, coupled with the rave reviews that I got from a friend, prompted me to lift this book off the shelf from the bookstore and bring it home. I must say that this must be one of the best things that I ever did over the weekend!!

Ricardo Semler’s lucid style of writing spiced up with his outrageously radical thoughts make this book a feast for the mind!

Imagine a workplace where you do not find the pretty woman at the door to smile at you as you walk past (yes, I am referring to the receptionist), imagine a workplace where there are plants in lieu of internal walls, where there is no organization chart, where workers fix their own pay scale and increases, where employees don’t have cubicles designated to them and are free to work from any branch, where the employees recruit their bosses, where workers set their own goals, productivity targets and work timings, where employees are treated as adults and allowed to take important decisions for the company, where protocol is thrown into the winds and common sense is placed on priority.. I could just rattle on and on. We are not talking about a small family business here; rather the company referred to here is Semco one of Latin America’s fastest growing companies, which has been acknowledged as the best places to work in Brazil!

Semler’s honest admission that it has not been an easy transition and the fact that the he had to fight the cynics and go through bad phases makes a positive impact on the reader. I have personally tried to implement bits and pieces of his management technique in managing my own team … believe me, it works!!

Companies may shy away from such drastic changes, but a few of his thoughts are definitely implement able. Here, I must quote Semler, “ A turtle may live for hundreds of years because it is well protected by its shell, but it moves forward only when it sticks out its head”

“Maverick”, is definitely the book for people who are in the management to do some introspection and improve, for the employees to get some great ideas to dream about and for book lovers.. this is just another awesome book that you can’t put down!!

I am trying to get hold of Semler’s second book : Seven day Weekend. So it will not be long before I write about that book!