of radical steps.
He canned most executives, eliminated job titles, let the company’s three thousand employees set their own hours, gave everyone
a vote in big decisions, and even let some workers determine their own salaries. The result Under Semler’s (non)command, Semco has grown 20 percent a year for the past two decades. This book, along with Semler’s more recent
The Seven-Day Weekend, shows how to put his iconoclastic and effective philosophy into action.
Type I Insight: I want everyone at Semco to be self-sufficient. The company is organized—well, maybe that’s not quite the right word for us—not to depend too much on any individual, especially me. I take it as a point of pride that twice on my return from long trips my office had been moved—and each time it got smaller.”
The Fifth Discipline The Art and Practice of the Learning OrganizationBY PETER M. SENGE
In
his management classic, Senge introduces readers to learning organizations”—where autonomous thinking and shared visions for the future are not only encouraged, but are considered vital to the health of the organization. Senge’s five disciplines offer a smart organizational companion to Type I
behavior.
Type I Insight: People with a high level of personal mastery are able to consistently realize the results that matter most deeply to them—in effect, they approach their life as an artist would approach a work of art. They do that by becoming committed to their own lifelong learning.”