The Seven-Day Weekend - Softcover

Ricardo Semler

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0099425238 ISBN 13: 9780099425236

Publisher: Random House, 2004

Synopsis

Email and paperwork have invaded homes. Most people know how to work on Sunday evening. But no one yet knows how to go to the cinema on Monday afternoon. A new way to work is needed. Since "Maverick!" was published, the growth and success of Semco have been explosive: it's now five times bigger than it was four years ago. It has embraced the internet world, expanded in services, and employs 2,300 people, compared to 350 when "Maverick!" was written. A new way of working has emerged at Semco of which the tell-tale signs are: hammocks where people rest during the day, Retire-a-Little Plans, the end of the head office, the abolition of control and boarding school mentality. The results: inordinate success for 20 years, practically non-existent staff turnover, and an organization that covers an enormous range of business activity, from machinery to environmental consulting, and from real estate advisory services to new business start-ups, smoothly and coherently. It's time for a new way to work to be created, and Semco is leading the way. "The Seven Day Weekend" tells the fascinating and unlikely story of how this can be achieved.

About this title

About the Author:

Ricardo Semler has won international fame for creating the world's most unusual workplace and lectures all over the world.

From Publishers Weekly:

Semler, the Brazil-based CEO of Semco, believes corporations and employees can become successful by bucking tradition and thinking wildly outside the box. He attempts to explain Semco’s success (a company with $212 million in annual revenue and "no official structure... no organizational chart... no business plan or company strategy") and how its principles can be applied in other companies to make working environments more appealing and opportunities for growth and achievement limitless. Nine chapters (one for each day of the week, as well as one for "Any Day" and one for "Every Day") explore the ways in which the traditional workweek stifles creativity and fosters distaste for working days. But Semler also looks at how to shake things up. The Wednesday chapter leads off with the following to-do list: attend a board of director’s meeting; dump a deal rather than pay a bribe; tell the company it sucks. While Semler’s ideas often seem counter-intuitive, the idea is not to provide specific guidelines but rather to encourage readers to view their organization and professional lives in a new way. The book’s premise is promising, but the actual steps to achieving a seven-day weekend still seem unattainable.
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About this edition

• Publisher: Random House
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0099425238
• ISBN 13: 9780099425236
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352