By 1984, Ricardo Semler was 25 and SEMCO was buying yet another company, this time a company called Hobart from Dart & Kraft. Hobart was a struggling manufacturer of scales, food processing equipment, fryers, etc. At first, SEMCO left Hobart to its own devices. All too frequently a company isn?t successful simply due to the fact that there is too much interference from its holding company. Sometimes it is better to just let people get on with their jobs and let things sort themselves out. Although this approach can work, it didn?t this time. The main problem was at Hobart?s Ipiranga plant near S?o Paulo. Fernando Lotamorro was champing at the bit to get a shot at the Iparanga plant. The place needed drastic action - discipline, new systems, better organisation, etc. So, as Ricardo puts it, ?One sunny afternoon we pointed him the direction of Ipiranga, let him off the leash and watched him bound forward, barking all the way.?

Yes, he sorted the place out - by working like a slave and getting everyone else to do the same. Systems were installed and the paper factory kicked in. Numbers were crunched and people were organised. Lines were drawn, controls put in place and soon everybody was marching to the same drum. Come to work early, leave late, fight off the spouse and explain to the kids why you missed the game. Then off you go to work again at the crack of dawn? So, it is probably not surprising that Ricardo collapsed once again from exhaustion. He had a throat infection, which was immune to antibiotics. He couldn?t eat solids before lunch, had a rash on his back, shortness of breath and heart palpitations which all landed him back in hospital. For three days the specialist ran tests on him. The results came and he was shocked to hear what was wrong with him. Nothing! The doctors found him to be in perfect shape, well apart from the fact that he had a very advanced case of stress. Apparently the most advanced case the doctors have seen in a 25 year old.

The doctors threw his very long list of medication in the bin, told him to take 2 aspirins 8 times a day, go home and sort out his life. By the time Ricardo returned home he realised that SEMCO was experiencing the same stress that he was. The place was doing OK but there was huge stress in the system. One of the reasons was Fernando, who was also on SEMCO?s board. The place was marching like an army. That is effective only if you need a lot of people to do things for you without thinking. However, Ricardo also realized that he had to sort out his own life before even attempting to change SEMCO.

So here is what he did. He identified the key problem: his inability to effectively manage time. To solve the problem he had to look very hard and find the causes for his time sickness. This is what he found.

Cause 1: The belief that effort and result are directly proportional. This is so Stone Age, isn?t it? Don?t confuse effort with result. I always ask people this, ?What would happen if your new colleague in sales, who does exactly the same job as you, came in for three hours on a Monday morning and then told you that she was leaving for the beach? She phones in every day for the rest of the week and tells you that she is having such a great time that she won?t be coming into the office. However, she delivers on the sales target for the first month and also for every month thereafter.? The chances are good that she would be reprimanded, fired or, at least, called into somebody?s office at some stage. It is very likely that you would be a touch jealous if she got a promotion. I mean, you are in the office everyday and she? at the beach, right? Why can?t someone lie at the beach all day if they are still able to do the job they were hired for? It is because management thinking is still antiquated. Our management techniques are a hundred years behind our businesses and that?s the reason we have so much stress in our lives. It is self-induced.

Cause 2: The gospel that the quantity of work is more important than the quality of work. I am in the capital allocation business. You know what is the hardest thing to do? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! It has been said that many of man?s woes come from his inability to sit still. In my business the trick is to do the right thing at the right time. Whether you stand on your head or circumnavigate the world in the meantime means absolutely nothing.

Cause 3: Things are a little uncertain at the office right now. I?ll just have to work a little harder until they straighten out. Bollocks! This is simply an excuse and there will always be a reason to spend that extra hour at the coalface. Spending too much time at the office is not a sign of self-discipline but rather an indication of a lack of it.

Cause 4: Fear of delegation and its cousin, fear of replaceability. Yesterday I had a long chat with a good friend who just got offered an MD position by a company in Manchester, England. I reminded him that his job is to be the oil in the engine, not the engine. As MD, CEO or whatever you title you prefer your main role is CHIEF FACILITATOR. You must be the one that ensures that everybody gets what they need in order to do their jobs to the best of their ability. If not that, then you need to be busy smoothing out the wrinkles. For the rest of the time you sit on your butt and think! Phil Fischer said that staring into empty space is not wasted time. Maybe it ?s time we sat on our butts and thought about that. Naturally, you can always carry on being the slave-driving CEO you?ve become so good at. Good luck and don?t be surprised if you have a heart attack one day.

So the message for the week is to look at the four causes detailed above and then to go sit on your butt for at least 20 minutes and think about them. That is, of course, if you ain?t too busy.

Whatever you are up to, I hope it is profitable and ethical!

Mr. B

mail_mrb@yahoo.com

Posted: 2003/05/16 14:19 View Archive