Andreas Audi Kemal Setiawan

29320112
GM-11
RICARDO SEMLER WAYS OF WISDOM

Ricardo Semler is a revolutionary leader who redesigns his father’s company Semler &
Company into success, he took control in 1982 at the age of 24. Upon taking office, the younger
Semler began dramatic organizational restructuring. Among other things, he immediately
renamed the company Semco, eliminated all secretarial positions, and implemented an
aggressive product diversification strategy. Most observers predicted that these actions would
destroy the company. Under his leadership, Semco became one of the most sought-after
employers in Brazil, manufacturing over two thousand different products, including marine
pumps, commercial dishwashers, digital scanners, filters, and mixing equipment, and
diversified into banking and environmental services.

Ricardo Semler’s accomplishments were all the more remarkable when considered
against the backdrop of the erratic economy that all of Brazil operated under as the country
weathered four currency devaluations, record unemployment, hyperinflation, and a virtual
cessation of all industrial production. Semco’s transformation from an autocracy to an
entrepreneurial democracy took fifteen years. In the words of Semler, the change proves “that
worker involvement doesn’t mean that bosses lose power;” it merely strips away “the blind
irrational authoritarianism that diminishes productivity.”

There are some ideas that can be applied and learned from Ricardo Semler's leadership
style at SEMCO. The first thing is on how to balance between organizational goals and
individual goals, I am sure that when employees feel challenged, excited, and productive, their
efforts will naturally pour into profit and growth for the organization where they work. I’ve
learned that democracy at work and “balance of privacy and profession" are the keywords that
can be formulated to achieve mutual prosperity. Another lesson that can be learned from the
hands-off leadership is how leadership can be defined as a catalyst, idea formation, and
selection of the right people. He also puts leadership on three pillars, namely freedom, respect,
and trust. I believe that advancing the organization should be done with confidence in the values
that exist in individual employees who are integral to the organization.

In order to increase the company’s performance and achieve the goal, we can approach
the stop-controlling method, which means letting employees organize themselves, trusting
workers implicitly, sharing power and information, encouraging debate, and practicing true
democracy. Thus, will create values because values grow in organizations like “moss that
grows on rocks”. In my opinion, I agree with Ricardo’s strategy to lead his company, he
understands that despite the fact that this type of leadership might have advantages and
disadvantages, motivating and trusting the employees are the key in order to achieve the goals
both efficiently and effectively.

On his video, Ricardo started off by talking about his own life, where he explained that
people only start to take days off when they are old and do not have money or when they are
told that they have some type of terminal illness. Semler used this idea for his company, where
he started off by selling workers back their Wednesdays for 10% of their salary, and then
eventually created a different type of contract where his workers should stop working for the
week or month once they have done a specific type of task for the company.

Ricardo understood that changing the way that people think only once they enter the
workforce is too late in people’s lives, and as a result, he started a school program that brings
in his ideals of democracy and enjoying life. Ricardo let anyone teach based on expertise and
passion and most of his employees were the elderly that take up 25% of the population and that
have the most wisdom. He said, a violinist could teach math, and a soccer player could teach
philosophy. Ricardo also believed that there was too much education in what is known and too
little in what is not, so he created classes based on both classical and contemporary philosophy.

When we talk about wisdom, Ricardo always says that we should always think "outside
the box", he argues that humans today are always bound by rules that make them unable to
unleash their full potential. especially in today's world, there is such a thing as artificial
intelligence which can make it easier for humans to solve problems and help humans work.
But Ricardo said that we must not lose to artificial intelligence, because they do have the
knowledge, but they do not have wisdom and intuition like humans. Ricardo said one thing that
stole my attention, he said that "We're getting smarter but we're not getting wiser". this made
me realize that we must not sink into the ego and still have to always control our emotions in
doing anything. Die also argues that we should have equality or do not discriminate both in
organizations and within the family.

To remedy this, he stated that he burned all his books, DVDs, and magazine articles
regarding his work. He goes as far as to say his kids do not know what his profession is. This
is so that they can lead happy lives without the worry that people are secretly comparing them
to their father, who accomplished a great amount. The spirit of this action shows the core values
that Ricardo has carried into his workplace. Ideas of equality among employees, the importance
of wisdom, and shared opportunity are the foundation of his motivation. My opinion is a leader
both in business or corporation should use Ricardo and his ideas as an example of how an
organic corporate structure can be a good fit for some organizations. If the leaders of said
organizations think that this type of structure may be a positive change for them, then they
should make the leap of faith with no second thoughts. Many might fear the loss of control that
comes with giving more power to your employees, but once the transfer of power is made the
benefits clear. Employees are not only more motivated to work but because of this, they will
have a better life outside their work too.