(2004-05-18) Semler Profile

Profile/interview of Ricardo Semler. The more freedom he gave his staff to set their own schedules, the more versatile, productive and loyal they became, and the better Semco performed. Nor did he stop with flextime. He did away with dedicated receptionists, org charts, even the central office - it now resembles an airlines' VIP lounge, with people working in different areas each day. He encouraged employees to suggest what they should be paid, to evaluate their bosses, to learn each other's jobs, and to tolerate dissent - even when divisive... "The desire for Uniformity is a major problem with IT," he says. "But it is a subproduct of the same problems that plague management, which is the need to feel in control, that we're all on the Same Page (Mission), and everyone is being treated equally. But what I want to ask is, Why do we all need to be on the Same Page? And you realize, of course, that no two people are equal in any respect."