When 21-year-old Ricardo Semler took over the Semco Group from his father, he democratized the company and flipped the old corporate hierarchy on its head.
The growth was from 90 to 5000 employees, annual revenue from $4 million to $212 million, average rate of growth 47% and very low employee turnover rate of just 2%.
Maverick Ricardo Semler co-founded the international Semco Style network. We developed a method to help organizations implement a human-centered workplace. We now go beyond the initial practices of Semco and continually develop new practices and share learnings from an international network in 12 countries.
The Semco Style Framework: Five pivotal principles, 15 pillars and over 100 practices that will provide general orientation and when desired very specific guidance for your journey towards a human-centered workplace.
The Semco Style Roadmap – was created to guide you on your own way to self-management. We can answer the two most commonly asked questions “Where do I begin?” and “What comes next?”. This is not based on theory but the result of documenting the work we have done with large, mid-sized, and small companies all over the world.
We believe that most organizations currently miss out on performing better or even are at risk of going out of business. This happens because they still operate according to the old industrial paradigm, and with an outdated operating system. Even beautiful offices and generous employee perks can not replace a trusting and democratic culture.
We believe that organizations who respect and trust people – whether they’re clients or employees - will do better. The future of work is a more human-centered, self-managed and thus a more agile workplace.
We have been spearheading this transformation since the 1980's.
21-year-old Ricardo Semler took over the Semco Group, a mixer and agitator manufacturer in Brazil, from his father. He democratized the company and turned the old corporate hierarchy on its head.
Over the next two decades, he grew the company from 90 to 5000 employees.
Raised the company’s annual revenue from $4 million to $212 million, growing at an average rate of 47%.
Semco also achieved a phenomenally low employee turnover rate of just 2% under Ricardo Semler’s leadership.
We use the Semco Style Roadmap to orient the change process and give the client an overview of the journey. The Semco Style Framework guides the co-creation of their OWN NEW organization. The 15 pillars of practice offer practice tested tools that clients can make their own and implement immediately.
We consult clients during a transformation to self-management.
We coach owners, leaders, internal change agents and team members during this transformation.
We train online, in person and through immersive events.
We provide clients with online diagnostic tools to analyze yourself, your team, and your organization.
Whether it’s through consulting, coaching or training, we want to help our clients create the future of work.
There’s no place for old-style, boring and ineffective consulting with us. Interested to learn how we can help you? Just reach out to us and explore the options!
Our training programs range from fundamentals, to change makers and expert level. They are all also available online. Just reach out to us and explore the options!
May 04, 2023·4 min read
A remote company should always be trying to optimize for performance and efficiency without compromising on freedom and autonomy. By intentionally focusing on what to control and what not to, companies can open up massive space for people to think…
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May 01, 2023·7 min read
In December 2022, Time magazine announced that 2023 would be the year of the union strikes. And so far, this prediction has proven true. People have been on strike in countries like the USA, Germany, Italy, and France (less surprising there). On…
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April 21, 2023·5 min read
Busting Bureaucracy is how the Semco Style Framework positions "Alternative Controls". I would be hard-pressed to find a better way to describe it. Bureaucracy is the enemy of nimbleness, it’s like trying to swim with a straight-jacket on. Why then…
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February 23, 2023·5 min read
Self-set Salaries How to Introduce Self-Set Salaries to Your Team by Wade Okinaka Is it possible to have employees in a company determine their own pay rate? Like in most companies, the last company I worked for stressed to employees that no one was…
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January 26, 2023·4 min read
One of the principles of Semco Style is Self-Management. It is about allowing smart, capable, and brilliant humans to make their own way toward a shared goal (aka the opposite of micromanaging and boxing in their thinking). Think of it as putting…
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December 15, 2022·4 min read
This article is part of a series of articles exploring how the Semco Style can be used and applied in remote work and remote companies. People are responsible adults at home. Why do we suddenly transform them into adolescents with no freedom when…
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December 05, 2022·7 min read
To track or not to track performance: is that even a question nowadays? Back in the days when computers were not an office norm, most employees would not feel the added pressure to perform. However, with the introduction of new technologies and…
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November 07, 2022·5 min read
The global economy is in crisis, and there are many businesses struggling to keep up and retain their workforce. Now the sun isn't shining that brightly in Silicon Valley either. Big Tech Layoffs and Back-to-Office Mandates Musk has not only laid off…
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June 30, 2022·6 min read
Creating self-management change from within Article by Wade Okinaka, a Certified Semco Style Expert Many times we believe that we need to be in high-level positions to create a positive impact on our organization. From personal experience, I assure…
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June 16, 2022·5 min read
Based on my academic knowledge and consulting experience in Morning Star, I decided to shape the consulting approach we have with our clients/partners at Semco Style Institute USA differently. After taking Semco's Expert Certification Program (ECP…
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June 04, 2022·3 min read
When Elon Musk commanded everyone back to the office, it did raise some eyebrows. Personally, I was surprised and thought if anyone would be leading by example it would be such an avant-garde organization. Especially because I have been working with…
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May 25, 2022·3 min read
Retaining and locating talent has been one of the key concerns for many banks over the last few years. Banks have been courting their junior bankers, cranking their pay higher, showering them with gifts, and promising better work-life balance. Here…
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May 04, 2022·5 min read
As the founder of the Semco Style Institute USA and former consultant for the Morning Star Self-Management Institute, I am privileged to have worked with two of the teal companies that Frederic Laloux wrote about in the book “Reinventing…
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March 22, 2022·4 min read
Picture yourself as the leader of either one of these two organizations: Company A: Overworked and Overloaded Inc.
In your business, employees: - go to the office every day or every two days - have a fixed schedule - work from 40 to 80 hours a week…
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March 07, 2022·4 min read
As the current technological boom requires both giant companies and successful start-ups to hire more and more skilled workforce, the most talented people in top high tech companies keep being enticed with offers from competitors. In the face of such…
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February 21, 2022·14 min read
The Big Quit is Happening It was only so long that the work-life unbalance and unfair conditions would last. For decades, a great portion of the workforce has been submitted to uninspiring workplaces and meager wage growth. And at some point, the…
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August 16, 2021·3 min read
Are you a leader who fears anarchy? Merriam-Webster defines anarchy as the “absence or denial of any authority or established order” or simply the “absence of order.” This is why many leaders fear anarchy. It supposedly promotes insubordination and…
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August 05, 2021·3 min read
When business maverick Ricardo Semler took over his father’s company, he decided to make several huge and unorthodox changes. The most radical was to fire 60% of the top management and flatten the hierarchy of the organization. Semco increased…
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July 05, 2021·4 min read
In 2006, Guilherme Gusson began work as an intern for Semco. About a year later, his boss wanted to hire him full time. The young man was willing to go to the next level. But before he made the commitment, he wanted an above-average salary. If you…
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June 25, 2021·7 min read
Company culture is the backbone of your business. In order to keep everything and everyone aligned, you need to have a good culture strategy in place. Your company’s core values and goals should reflect the kind of outcomes you wish to achieve and in…
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June 11, 2021·7 min read
Most organizational adversities arise because of a broken company culture. When a company or organization goes through difficulties, such as failure to meet goals or high turnover, many leaders overlook or refuse to acknowledge the source of the…
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April 28, 2021·6 min read
Company culture is fundamental in every organization. It plays a key role in establishing a solid foundation that serves as the driving force behind actions and results. It is important to keep in mind that company culture cannot stay stagnant. As…
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April 07, 2021·5 min read
Self-management is a strategy wherein employees or members of a team have no strongly bound hierarchy. Instead, there are well-placed systems and carefully laid-out processes that are independently executed by individuals working within an…
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September 23, 2020·1 min read
Everyone's a Boss - Getting to work with self-management Countless case studies and books about self-management have been written. However, many organizations are still struggling with the question: how do we get started? We see more and more…
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How can we help you?
Drop us a message or complete the form and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Semco Style Institute USA
contact@semcostyle.us
Or give us a call at
+1 (858) 848-6267
Monday-Friday 8am-8pm PST