# Book #4 — Al's pick: Maverick by Ricardo Semler

- **Episode:** [07](https://agents.truthliesandwork.com/episodes/07.md) (2022-08-09)
- **Type:** other
- **Tags:** book, maverick, ricardo-semler
- **Time:** 9:25–13:09 (start 565s)
- **Listen:** [https://truthliesandwork.com/07?t=565](https://truthliesandwork.com/07?t=565)

---

[9:25] Al Elliott: Yeah, absolutely. Okay, so my, my book number 3 for me wins several awards, unofficial awards. First of all, the award for the most difficult to get hold of book because it's not on Kindle, it's on hardback. Which currently on Amazon is £1.95. What a bargain. Um, and it's also in paperback. Uh, second award it wins is the most '80s cover. It is fantastic. I'm just going to show Leanne the COVID now
[9:53] Leanne Elliott: Oh, beautiful. Wow
[9:56] Al Elliott: It's fabulous. It's a man in a, in a waistcoat with a tie crouching down. It's just everything you want from an '80s cover, and because it was written in the '80s. And, and the third award it wins is that it is kind of not the kind of book that I would normally pick up, but I got recommended it. Essentially, it's by a guy called Ricardo Semler, who's Brazilian. His family's Brazilian, and they had a company called Semler in Brazil back in the '80s. He took over from his father, and he immediately made quite some substantial changes. He fired almost all of the managers, like the C-suite. He got rid of the receptionists, the secretaries. There was no dress code. The employees could actually set their own salary. And this is back in 1980. So when he took over it, he even said that you can work anywhere you want. I mean, we're talking 40 years ago, and this is remote working. And his company, Semler, I think it went about 600% in period of like 5 or 6 years when back in the time when there was a recession and it was tough and Brazilian economy was even tougher. Um, really, really good book. A little more difficult to read, not quite as simple as some of the others. Um, but oh my God, what, what a man. What a legend. I don't even know whether he's still alive actually. I might have to find out
[11:22] Leanne Elliott: Quite the pioneer. Yeah. To be talking about that kind of people and culture, that level of Sophistication of people and culture practices in, um, in 1980. That's, that's pretty cool. I need to add that to my summer reading list
[11:35] Al Elliott: Well, the good news is that I have it. I ordered it and it came, and it— and the, and the book looks just as '80s in real life as it does on Amazon
[11:43] Leanne Elliott: Excellent
[11:43] Al Elliott: So I'll lend you that
[12:16] Leanne Elliott: The audio destination for business professionals
[12:57] Al Elliott: It can
[13:05] Leanne Elliott: But come back
[13:06] Al Elliott: Yeah, come back. Definitely come back because Nudge isn't as good as this