At 21,Ricardo Semler became boss of his father's business in Brazil,Semco,which sold parts for ships. Semler Junior worked like a mad man,from 7:30 am,until midnight every day. One afternoon,while touring a factory in New York,he broke down. The doctor who treated him said,"There's nothing wrong with you. But if you continue like this, you'll find a new home in our hospital. "Semler got the message. He changed the way he worked. In fact,he changed the ways his employees worked too. He let his workers take more responsibility so that they would be the ones worrying when things went wrong. He allowed them to set their own salaries,and he cut all the jobs he thought were unnecessary,like receptionists and secretaries. This saved money and brought more equality to the company. "Everyone at Semco,even top managers,meets guests in reception,does the photocopying,sends faxes,types letters and dials the phone." He completely reorganized the office:instead of walls,they have plants at Semco,so bosses can't shut themselves away from everyone else. And the workers are free to decorate their workspace as they want. As for uniforms,some people wear suits and others wear T-shirts. Semco has flexible  working hours:the employees decide when they need to arrive at work. Also,Semco lets its workers use the company's machines for their own projects,and makes them take holidays for at least thirty days a year. It sounds perfect,but does it work? The answer is in the numbers:in the last six years,Semco's revenues  have gone from $35 million to $212 million. The company has grown from eight hundred employees to 3,000. Why? Semler says it's because of "peer pressure". Peer pressure makes employees work hard for everyone else. If someone isn't doing his job well,the other workers will not allow the situation to continue. In other words,Ricardo Semler treats his workers like adults rather than children, and expects them to act like responsible adults. And they do. Why did Semler change the way he and his employees worked?
Because he went crazy because of overwork. Because he had to receive treatment in hospital. Because his father asked him to. Because the doctor warned him of the danger of overwork.