Happy Hour is 9 to 5 by Alexander Kjerulf Read Free Book Online

get the $100. This is a great way of stimulating the right behaviour — it’s OK not to meet your deadlines if you take responsibility and ask for help.
    Open books
    Ricardo Semler is my business idol. I’ve read his books and followed his work and I’m a fan. Completely and without reservation, probably in the same way that 14-year old girls are fans of Justin Bieber. If he ever comes to Copenhagen to give a speech, I’ll be in the front row, screaming my little lungs out!
    Ahem. Let me rephrase that...
    I deeply admire Ricardo Semler. His vision of leadership has been the driving force behind an organisation so different, so innovative and so successful that the business world has been forced to sit up and pay attention.
When Ricardo Semler took over leadership of Semco, a small company of 100 employees based in São Paulo, Brazil, he was the quintessential tough, old-school manager. He worked long hours, chewed people out for the smallest mistakes, and focused only on profits.
Then one day, Ricardo collapsed from overwork and was told by doctors that he was heading straight for a heart attack — no mean feat for a 21-year-old. This became a turning point, and since then Ricardo has led Semco on an uncompromising quest to make it the best possible place to work. They now employ 3,000 people in a number of businesses, from internet development to facility management, and are happier than ever 5 .
    One thing Semco practises is openness. They want their employees to know as much as possible about the company, so they publish their financial statements for all employees to read, along with a guide to what the numbers mean. This offers employees deep insight into the company’s present situation. They have also made board meetings public, so any employee who wants to can sit in and see how major decisions in the company are made.
    The result? Employees make better, more responsible decisions because they know how those decisions affect the company’s health, and they feel valued because they are “in the know”.
    Find meaning

A traveller walks down a dusty road. The sun is shining down mercilessly from a clear sky and the heat is almost unbearable. As he pauses for a sip of water, he notices three men sitting by the side of the road, chopping up stones. The first one clearly has the look of a man wishing he was anywhere else. No wonder — it’s hot, hard, unpleasant labour after all. The traveller asks him, “What are you doing?” “Cutting stones,” the man replies.
The second man looks fairly happy with what he’s doing despite the hot weather and hard work. “What are you doing?” the traveller asks him. “I’m cutting stones to make money to support my family,” the man replies.
The third stonecutter has a look that verges on blissful. He’s giving the stones his full attention, precisely and powerfully cutting them into smaller rocks. When he stops for a moment, the traveller asks him, “What are you doing?” In a proud voice he replies, “I’m building a cathedral.”
    There are three levels of meaning you can find at work:
     
No meaning. Your work makes no sense to you.
Your work has meaning because it supports you and your family.
Your work has meaning in itself because you’re contributing to something great or making the world a better place.
    This is not to say that every job has meaning, or even that your job has meaning. Some jobs do, some jobs don’t. What matters is that some people understand the meaning of their work, whereas others don’t.
    It’s much easier to be happy if your job has meaning to you, and you keep that meaning in mind. Knowing how your work contributes to the company’s success, to your local community, or even to making a better world makes you proud of what you do.
    Almost any job has meaning:
     
You clean at a hospital? Without efficient cleaning, hospital patients are at risk of death from serious illnesses like MRSA.
You’re a teacher? You’re shaping