The seven day weekend changing the way work works

THE

SEVEN-DAY

WEEKEND

CHANGING THE WAY WORK WORKS

RICARDO SEMLER


"[Ricardo Semler] is still the leading
iconoclast of real-world business
practices, still asking questions so basic
that they're as difficult and
relevant today as when he started
posing them more than 20 years ago."

—FORTUNE

R

icardo Semler's favorite question

Why do

people routinely bring work

ends but never go

to the

"Why?"

is

home on

the week-

movies on a Monday

Why do we need to sit at the same desk
every day? Why do we have to fill out time sheets or
need an HR department to file them? Why are we
afternoon?

interviewed by our bosses but never get to interview

someone who wants

be our boss?

to

For the last twenty years Semler has been doing

a

more than asking questions

lot

—

he's actually

running a company by breaking every tenet
traditional rule book.

Semler encourages

ees to play hooky. He

tells

them not

his

been
the

in

employ-

to bother with

growth plans. Employees choose their own salaries,
set their

own

hours,

and have no job

Ridiculous? Inefficient?

A

titles.

recipe for chaos? Per-

haps. But Semler's ideas work. They work so well,
fact, that his

company, Semco, has grown from $35

million in revenue to

$212

million in the last six years,

and even with more than 3,000 employees,
tually

no turnover. People

to study Semler's radical
If

you

feel like

petitive,

we

come from around
management

it

is

for you.

It's

has

vir-

the world

practices.

work has taken over your

Seven-Day Weekend
proves

in

life,

The

a manifesto that

don't have to be slaves to the hypercom-

bottom-line-obsessed American worp -^hic that

has spawned the seven-day work\

fconf/nu*d on

b

>'s

suc-

THE SEVEN-DAY WEEKEND



THE SEVEN-DAY

WEEKEND
Changing the Way Work Works

Ricardo Semler

PORTFOLIO


For Rogerio Ottolia,

who
but

will stay in

left

much too

early

Semco's heart forever

PORTFOLIO
Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.
Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England
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Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd, Registered

Offices: 80 Strand,

London

WC2R ORL, England

American edition

First

Published in 2004 by Portfolio,
a

member of Penguin Group (USA)

10

Inc.

987654321

Copyright

© Ricardo Semler, 2003, 2004

All rights reserved

CIP data

ISBN

available

1-59184-026-0

This book

is

printed

on

acid-free paper. @>

Printed in the United States of America

Dante
Designed by Richard Oriolo

Set in

Without limiting the
tion

my be

ted, in

rights

under copyright reserved above, no part of

this publica-

reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmit-

any form or by any means (electroninc, mechanical, photocopying,

recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright

The

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book

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and punishable by
law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or
encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the authors
scanning, uploading, and distribution of this

other means without the permission of the publisher

rights

is

appreciated.

is

via the Internet or via
illegal

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

to those feisty pros without whom

this

book would

never have seen the light of day: foremost Roger Gittines, with
his

my

dry humor, his laser sharp eye, and his cryptic comments;
editors Adrian

fights
lastly

were good
but never

a friend for

all

—where

Zackheim and Stephanie Land

fights

leastly,

all

and enthusiasm never slackened; and

Heather Schroder,

my agent at ICM and

seasons of publishing.

At home, Fernanda, with the warmest factory-built heart
I've seen,

who cheerled when the team was losing and who is in


—

the process of redesigning
that

my own heart.

She's the only e-mail

comes with Un-attachments.

picks

To

my

up

his toy

four-year-old Felipe, an angel of inspiration,

computer and

thought of him makes

To

says

he has to work now. The

me break into a wide smile every time.

Curt, a firm handshake (and a peck

on the cheek)

across space and time for the fifty-year anniversary of

shaped (so

To

H

far) half

who

and half by two Semlers.

my kin at Semco,

THE SEVEN-DAY WEEKEND

a big Brazilian abrago.

Semco


CONTENTS

1

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

v

FOREWARNING

viii

Any Day

I

2

Sunday

21

3

Monday

39

4

Tuesday

65

5

Wednesday

87

6

Thursday

7

Friday

141

8

Saturday

173

9

Every Day

203

INDEX

239

1

1


FOREWARNING
"Sometimes

—SATCHEL

I

sits

and thinks, sometimes

I'm serious.

Where

Sunday formed an

did

Welcome

got a

road testing

workweek

much

now

is

it

go?

One minute

for

is

phone

Saturday and

and rejuvenation.

ringing, e-mail

is pil-

vomiting paper onto the

floor.

the cell

ing up, and the fax machine

I've

—who moved my weekend?

oasis for rest, relaxation,

The next thing we know

lost.

just sits.'

PAIGE

never mind the cheese

Paradise

I

to the seven-day

is

workweek.

better idea, though, one that I've been

many

years: the seven-day

weekend.

going to slop over into the weekend

If

the

— and there's


—why can't the week-

no hope of stopping that from happening
end, with

precious restorative

its

time, and our time,

can and,

It

weekend
that

1*11

I

moments of

over into the workweek?

spill

believe,

must happen.

In fact, the seven-day

already happening at Semco, an unusual

is

introduce you to in the pages ahead.

about to read

a

is

combination of a

company

What you

shudder, groan, and heave the

add that

We

it's

also a

road

workweek is shaping up

book across

the room,

I'll

you

hasten

map to personal and business success.

way

have to find a better

are

political manifesto, a busi-

ness case history, and an anthropological study. Before

to

my

playtime,

for

work

to work.

as a personal, societal,

The seven-day

and business

dis-

robs people of passion and pleasure, destroys family and

aster. It

community

stability,

and

sets

up business organizations

to ulti-

mately fail once they've burned out their employees and burned

through ever more manipulative and oppressive

The seven-day weekend approach

is

strategies.

an alternative that

bridges the gap between the airy theories of workplace democ-

racy and the nitty-gritty practice of running a profitable business.
I've

I

warn you,

it's

messy, inefficient, and hugely rewarding.

chosen the metaphor of the seven-day weekend

anchor. You're

ishing work.

—

it

A

to take the turn of phrase literally or

seven-day weekend, however pleasant a fantasy

strolls

sonal time in

though

an

But don't kid yourself: I'm not talking about abol-

figuratively.

of endless

welcome

as

on the beach,

will

mix work time with

per-

new and possibly disconcerting ways. Don't worry,

also doesn't

imply that you'll be forever tethered to

FOREWARNING

ix


your laptop. Your

first

may be dismay

reaction

your conventional weekend;

after

we

all,

at the loss

naively define week-

ends as free time, personal days, idleness. But that definition

outdated.

The

ago. This

book

work more

is

weekend and workweeks ended long

traditional

fun,

of

faces that fact

and of finding

and explores ways of making

a balance

between work and pri-

vate passions, so both can be significantly gratifying.

To do
ically

and

doing just

do

things.

that,

we must reorganize

At Semco, we've spent twenty-five years

culturally.

that, primarily

When we

Now Semco

the workplace, both phys-

by constantly questioning the way we

started,

everyone said

we

wouldn't

employs three thousand people working

last.

in three

countries in manufacturing, professional services, and high-tech
software. But even now,

could never

continue to hear that our experiments

work anywhere

redistributing the

weekend

ees find balance and

we

I

else.

Yet

we go on

across the

proving that in

workweek, our employ-

Semco makes money.

are an excellent business case study.

In that regard alone,

We

fit

neatly into any

MBA examination of success.
It's

very simple

tion that too

—the

many people

repetition,

boredom, and aggrava-

accept as an inherent part of working

can be replaced with joy, inspiration, and freedom.
That's

what wish
I

for

everyone

who

reads this book.

Ricardo Semler

(Lying in a

hammock with

a laptop and

having fed the ducks at a nearby pond)

On

a

Monday

in

May

THE SEVEN-DAY WEEKEND

my

little

boy,


ONE

ANY DAY

Ask why?
Give up control.

Change the way work works.

i»m

a catalyst,

flight

and

from Sao Paulo to

making sure the

that's

New

tray table

why

I

was on

York, fastening

a ten-hour Varig

my

seat belt

and

was in an upright and locked position

for landing.

You read

that correctly the

tion a catalyst, usually an
I

handle the role

is

first

enzyme,

time

—

catalyst.

initiates a reaction.

Enzyme

defini-

The way

by broaching weird ideas and asking

questions. Strictly speaking, I'm a highly evolved

"Chief

By

Officer."

CEO,

dumb
as in


As such,
ally said to

was

fated to

my Semco

number of
must be

I

even offered to
front edge of

don't

the trip the

colleagues, "I bet

Group by

the Rockefeller

listed,

make

you

dial the

my desk,

think?"

number,

It

we

moment

I

casu-

can get the phone

calling information.

was. Like a good enzyme,

too, since

I

It

I

was perched on the

me

a favorite spot that allows

to get to

my feet quickly to end meetings that start to drag.
"Oh, Mr. Mirante, you mean," the company operator said

when I blandly asked the name of Cushman & Wakefield's president, pretending that

I

had just suffered a

Would you

"Yes, Mr. Mirante.

Cushman

dC

Wakefield

Rockefeller Group.

the phone,

I

slight

ring his office please?"

the commercial real estate

is

told her that

was

I

calling

from

Brazil.

I

dent Mirante himself was on the

Presi-

line.

took about three minutes; record time, considering he

It

didn't have a clue

we

me

about

—leaving out the

tion.

For some

—maybe she had a secret fantasy
Rio —the next thing knew

about attending Carnival in

that

arm of the

When Arthur Mirante's secretary picked up

reason that worked magic

was

memory lapse.

bit

or

my

agenda.

I

about being a catalyst

explained

who

I

—and suggested

get together face-to-face to discuss a business proposi-

My new friend, Arthur, agreed without pressing for details.
Now, standing

in the

cab rank at JFK Airport, having been

stranded by a no-show limo driver,

of misgivings: "Cushman

I

experienced

& Wakefield

is

my latest pang

going to agree to part-

ner with an obscure Brazilian company? Get serious, Ricardo.
This

is

one weird idea

A cacophony

H

that's

about to

of Indian

THE SEVEN-DAY WEEKEND

sitar

fizzle."

music provided the sound


track for

my

trip

through Queens to midtown Manhattan.

asked the cabbie to turn
the noise. Ears ringing,

way

past the

tion),

famous

it

I

got out on Fifth Avenue,

over

wended my

ice-skating rink (in springtime hiberna-

noted the facade of Radio City Music Hall with

neon marquee, and entered the
world's largest real estate
I

me

down, but he couldn't hear

I

high-rise

flashy

its

domain of one of the

management firms.

whisked through the revolving door and

sailed straight

past the security desk without stopping, affecting the bearing of
a Rockefeller scion

prior to 9/

1 1. I

(Rocky Ricardo?), a

was

was going; guards

pretty

good

little

looking

at

rarely stopped

me

for

game I used to play
like

I

knew where

ID or destination

The

checks. (Alas, those days are over in the United States.)

vator ride to the thirty-sixth floor gave

review

I

ele-

me just enough time

to

my predicament without triggering full-fledged qualms.

Surrounded by hundreds of engineers, brokers, and high-end
property managers,

I

was about

pany with zero experience

to propose that

Semco, a com-

in real estate, join forces

with the

Rockefeller family to handle the nitty-gritty business of facility

management
I

was

and the

rest

of Latin America.

introduced myself to the receptionist and

sitting

been wise
tire

in Brazil

on an opulent

to

silk-covered sofa

wear jeans and

were almost

a blazer.

instantly reinforced

strode Arthur Mir ante

II, tall

and

wondering

if

The doubts about

when

stylishly

Italian-designer suit that reeked of

moments later
I

had

my at-

into the office suite

draped in an elegant,

many fittings by cadres of at-

tentive artisans.

His firm handshake and warm, open smile put

me at ease.
ANY DAY

H


I

reminded myself that I was supposed to be having fun and

presumably, was he.

I

noticed that he gave

ways glance of appraisal.
usually setting

so,

my jeans a quick side-

We bantered a few moments about not

up meetings based on

a three-minute

phone

call,

or flying ten hours on the same flimsy pretext, and then quickly

got

down to business. I summarized my proposal, emphasizing

Semco's background in manufacturing and maintenance, but
Mirante looked disappointed.

Tm sorry you came

all

the

way

for this, then,"

he

said.

"The problem is we don't make much money in that business.
mainly supports our other
I

real estate interests."

countered that I was confident

out of it in

Brazil.

It

Mirante asked

if

we

could

really

I

make

a business

wouldn't be more

in-

my knowledge of real estate started and ended with buying my home.
terested in the brokerage business.

With
facility

I

confessed that

that the executive shrugged

and took

me

to see his

management people. Afterward, I suggested that each of

us put up $2,000 to cover the legal expenses of establishing the
venture.

We'd be

hands, and off

I

fifty-fifty

went

in a

partners. Arthur agreed,

hurry to pick up

we shook

tickets to the

New

York Philharmonic, have lunch with the writer Peter Carey, and
hit the

legendary Strand bookstore for three hours of browsing

their stock

of used and remaindered books.

That was April of 1993.

A year later,

& Wakefield joint venture employed
lion in business. Today,

it

Semco Cushman

150 people and did $4 mil-

employs 1,300 people and has gross

revenues of more than $65 million.

THE SEVEN-DAY WEEKEND

the


Why am
with

it?

I

telling

you

this story,

Staid, proper,

I

Semco. Talk about an odd couple!

contend the strangeness

flexibility,

ing in a

and

so,

is its

strength. There's resiliency,

my

purpose

business

much more

is

buried the better off

Semco's alliance with
joint ventures that

I

from the old

story.

subversive than
I

believe the old

dying, and the sooner

is

we

all

it's

dead and

will be. Incendiary words, yet

Cushman

&

Wakefield, as well as other

will describe shortly, suggests that the tran-

to the

new

can be hugely profitable and not

nearly as socially disruptive as might be feared at
contrary, the path

lack-

pairing.

merely recounting an unlikely success

way of doing

would be

sustainability to the venture that

more conventional

Even

sition

blue-blooded Cush-

Wakefield united with casual, off-the-wall, planning

averse, nearly anything goes

But

book

less starting a

For one thing, you couldn't concoct a more outrageous

and unlikely combination.

man &

much

first.

On

the

Semco has been blazing for more than twenty

years has led to an unprecedented record of innovation, cus-

tomer

satisfaction,

and-control

growth, and an end to repressive command-

management

practices

that

cause

unrest and personal misery, from the top to the

much

labor

bottom of many

organizations.

One of the

recurring themes of this

absolute necessity

—to give up control

changes that are transforming the
counterintuitive as that sounds,

it

book is

the need

in order to

way we

live

—the

cope with

and work. As

does not contradict the expe-

rience and values at the core of free market, democratic capital-

ANY DAY

H


ism.

I

don t want

excellent friend

something

in

to speak for Arthur

and wonderful partner, but

my

casual, drive-by

entrepreneurial instincts.
give

up

Mir ante,

control. Isn't that

He was

seems to

me

that

approach appealed to

willing to take a chance

what entrepreneurs do? They're

nondogmatic; they take

ble, intuitive,

it

who is indeed an

risks,

his

—to

flexi-

make money, and

have fun.

many

But

small enterprises
bly

entrepreneurs

—

—be

they leaders of great or

can't bring themselves to let go.

me

would have shown

$65 million venture.

I

the door, and turned away from a

believe the obsession with control

delusion and, increasingly, a fatal business error.

grab for

it,

the

more it

away, and ever

slips

sures are applied, spawning Enrons,

lower profile

disasters.

and harsher, what's
any business

and

—

is

a

The more we

more desperate mea-

WorldComs, and hosts of

As the control mechanism grows harsher

lost

the central purpose of the business,

is

a satisfying,

a reasonable

They proba-

worthwhile

life

for those involved

reward for their investment and hard work.

The seven-day weekend

is

Semco's way of getting out of

the control business and back to our central purpose.

SHAPING SEMCO
Nearly twenty years ago a prominent Brazilian politician invited

me

to the far north of Brazil for a conference. Senator Jose

Macedo,

H

a

wonderful self-made man, had begun

THE SEVEN-DAY WEEKEND

his

working life


as a

soap salesman. By the time

spoke

at the

met him, he was

a billionaire

and car dealership businesses.

in the flour, biscuit, beer,
I

I

conference for an hour about

Semco and

its

unusual practices, and then Senator Macedo opened the question-

and-answer session. Sitting in the
his shoulder at the

first

row, he looked back over

hundreds of people

who

filled

the hot, hu-

mid auditorium and asked, "Mr. Semler, before answering other
questions, can

you please

tell

us what planet you're from?"

took several minutes for the room to quiet down, and

I

can

It

still

hear the good-natured laughter.
In case you're

ing a few

tempted to ask the same question

more pages of this book, I suggest that we

after read-

first

pursue

another line of inquiry that might prove more helpful and
inflammatory.

The question that I have in mind is, what is Semco?

The only problem
answer.
terms,
in.

If

I'd

you ask

me

is

I

that

now

to describe

have to admit

For years,

I

I

it

have resisted defining

your employees, you

new

come up with an

have to

in conventional business

have no idea what business Semco

Once you say what business you're

son to ignore

less

restrict their

Semco

in,

you

is

for a simple reason:

create boundaries for

thinking and give

them

a rea-

opportunities. "We're not in that business,"

they'll say.

Instead of dictating Semco's identity,

shape

it

with their individual

You probably don't like
I'll

try again

Semco

does,

from another
I'll

I

let

our employees

efforts, interests,

and

my answer, and

don't blame you.

I

initiatives.

angle. Instead of explaining

take a run at

what

it

what

doesn't do.

ANY DAY


—

Semco has no
chart. There's

official structure. It

has no organizational

no business plan or company

strategy,

no two-

year or five-year plan, no goal or mission statement, no long-

term budget. The company often does not have
There are no vice presidents or chief

a fixed

officers for

CEO.

information

technology or operations. There are no standards or practices.
There's no

human

no job

plans,

resources department. There are

descriptions or

employee contracts.

no career

No

one ap-

proves reports or expense accounts. Supervision or monitoring

of workers

is

rare indeed.

Most important, success is not measured only in profit and
growth.
Strange, eh?

company with an
ceed anywhere
ers

My summary may make Semco
management

offbeat

else.

tick.

like a

wouldn't suc-

Nevertheless, hundreds of corporate lead-

from around the world have

what makes us

style that

sound

The

cause they want what

visited

Sao Paulo to find out

visitors are curious

we

have

—huge growth

about Semco bein spite of a fluc-

tuating economy, unique market niches, rising profits, highly

motivated employees, low turnover, diverse products, and

ser-

vice areas.

Our visitors want to understand how Semco has increased
its

annual revenue between 1994 and 2003 from $35 million a

year to $212 million

when

rarely attend meetings

want
veto

to

—the company's

largest shareholder

and almost never make

know how my

new product

I

They

employees, with a show of hands, can

ideas or scrap

THE SEVEN-DAY WEEKEND

decisions.

whole business ventures.


This book will explain the straightforward philosophies

and practices that make Semco one of the world's most unusual
workplaces. Be warned

—many of our basic tenets

fly in

the face

of even the most progressive business owners or managers.
"architecture"

we

practices

is

really the

sum of all

Our

the conventional business

avoid.

our lack of formal structure, our willingness to

It's

workers follow their interests and their instincts

let

when choosing

jobs or projects.

our insistence that workers seek personal challenges

It's

and

satisfaction before trying to
It's

meet the company's

goals.

our commitment to encouraging employees to ramble

through their day or week so that they will meander into

new

and new business opportunities.

ideas

It's

our philosophy of embracing democracy and open

communication, and inciting questions and dissent in the workplace.

On-the-job democracy
ter,

more

profitable

way

to

isn't just a lofty

do

things.

We

concept but a bet-

all

demand democ-

racy in every other aspect of our lives and culture. People are

considered adults in their private
dren's schools, with family

lives, at

the bank, at their chil-

and among friends

—so why are they

Why can't workers
be involved in choosing their own leaders? Why shouldn't they
manage themselves? Why can't they speak up— challenge, quessuddenly treated

tion, share

like adolescents at

work?

information openly?

ANY DAY

H

RELINQUISHING CONTROL
Semco's glass and

steel high-rise

headquarters

the gritty industrial shop floor that

Semler, founded in 1954.

It

my

a far cry

is

Antonio Curt

father,

started not long after he

from Argentina, having emigrated before

Brazil

native Vienna.

He patented a

with that started

name from

his

own

moved

to

from

his

oils,

and

that

centrifuge for separating

small machine shop, choosing

a contraction of

Semler

was

a $2 million a year business.

ther

formed a partnership with two

ufacturers,

from

&

its

Company. Soon Semco

Then,

in the late 1960s,

British

marine

my fa-

pump man-

and Semco quickly became a major supplier to the

Brazilian shipbuilding industry.

For the next twenty-five years, Semco built marine pumps,

and

its

name became synonymous with the

shipping industry.

It

could also have been synonymous with rigidity and tradition.

When was

quite young,

still

I

take over Semco.

many

spent

summer

as

I

I

this?

How

father

assumed

that

I

would

wasn't anywhere near as certain as he was.

I

youthful years in a rock band and one miserable

an intern

wondered,

that,

my

can

I

Semco's purchasing department. After

in

"How

can

I

spend the

rest

of

my

life

doing

stomach years of babysitting people to make

Why is this worth doing?"
When told my father about my qualms, he reassured me

sure they clock in

on time?

I

with

"that'll pass,

course that only
der

new

10

if it

was

young man," or "I,

too,

made matters worse.

Instead,

possible to foster change

kind of organization.

THE SEVEN-DAY WEEKEND

was once
I

like

you."

Of

began to won-

by creating an

entirely


The answer was
principle

but

yes,

—relinquishing

involved a deceptively simple

it

control

order to

in

Semco. And that is very complicated indeed. Con-

democracy

at

vinced that

my family wouldn't let me have free

I

true

institute

rein at

Semco,

spent a year investigating a faltering ladder manufacturer.

I

was

then twenty-one and preferred the prospect of a small, danger-

ous venture before

On

the day

company,

was

I

I

made

a

commitment

to sign the final papers to acquire the ladder

my father called me

After

much

and proposed

would

remake the company

saw

of

Semco took
senior

five

resources guru,
shortly after

I

age.

"I

I

news

the

fit.

I

agreed that

I'd

me

to

back and allow

was so young

that

seriously. Clovis Bojikian,

no one

today one

Semco managers and our venerable human
remembers coming

took

to

Semco

for

an interview

over.

me

"They put
now.

as

step

a deal.

we

debate and negotiation,

take over Semco, and he

at

to family interests.

in a

room, and

a

thought he was a messenger.

boy

arrived," Clovis says

He was

about

my

son's

He sat down and started to ask me questions, and it was Ri-

cardo Semler."
EVEN THOUGH OUR WORK-

Within days of taking

over,

I

ERS

senior managers

my father's most
outright. A risky

move

was necessary

fired two-thirds

CAN VETO A DEAL OR

of

CLOSE A FACTORY WITH A

SHOW OF HANDS. SEMCO
that

I

felt

to

GROWS AN AVERAGE OF

40

quickly implement reforms with-

PERCENT A YEAR AND HAS

out foot dragging from the en-

ANNUAL REVENUE OF MORE

trenched executives.

I

then spent

THAN
the next

$212 MILLION.

two decades questioning,

ANY DAY

H