How to Run a Business with (Almost) No Rules

What if your job didn’t control your life?

Brazilian CEO Ricardo Semler practices a radical form of corporate democracy, rethinking everything from board meetings to how workers report their vacation days (they don’t have to). It’s a vision that rewards the wisdom of workers, promotes work-life balance — and leads to some deep insight on what work, and life, is really all about. Bonus question: What if schools were like this too?

I’ve been waiting for someone in power to say these things out loud for my entire working life. Why is work built like a boarding school? Why aren’t businesses more wise, more democratic, less like babysitting? Why are our ideas of education so out of touch? Why aren’t teachers more inspired? Why do we know so little about love, death, and why we’re here?

I chose to be an entrepreneur mostly because the systems of most companies haven’t been analyzed and re-evaluated in 100 years. Here’s hoping Mr. Semler’s ideas catch on!