Oceans of Wisdom

**Looking up Richard Semler** It seems like the user might be asking about Ricardo Semler, the Brazilian businessman. However, there's also a possibility that Richard Semler is someone else entirely. I’ll search for both "Richard Semler" and "Ricardo Semler" to check for relevant information. I need to figure out who the user is referring to, especially if it's a less well-known person. Let’s search and get the exact info—they might have meant one of these names! **Clarifying "Richard Semler" request** The search results mostly show information on Ricardo Semler, the Brazilian CEO and management thinker, and a possible mention of a "Rich Semler" at Griffith Observatory. It's possible the user meant Ricardo Semler. However, it’s slightly ambiguous. I could ask if they're referring to the Brazilian CEO, but they might prefer just getting the info. To be safe, I’ll share details on Ricardo Semler and note the confusion around the name Richard or Rich Semler. I could follow up by searching for "Richard Semler biography." **Clarifying Richard Semler** It looks like "Richard Semler" could refer to the American founder of Semler Brossy Consulting Group or maybe to a "Rich Semler" linked with the Griffith Observatory. But the user might have meant Ricardo Semler, the Brazilian CEO known for his radical management ideas. I’ll mention both possibilities, but I believe the user is more likely asking about the Brazilian CEO. I'll provide info about him and include an image carousel of Ricardo Semler to help clarify. **Preparing answer with citations** I’ve found some images of Ricardo Semler, so I'll create an image carousel for the user. Now, I’m crafting my answer, making sure to include references. I’ll mention sources from Wikipedia, Co-Intelligence, TED talks, and case studies. I also plan to provide disclaimers, since there’s some ambiguity between "Richard Semler" and "Ricardo Semler." I’ll also clarify the distinction and keep gathering details on Richard Semler, the US consultant, to complete the explanation. Thought for 40 seconds iturn2image0turn2image2turn2image5turn2image6 Below are two people you might be thinking of when you say “Richard Semler.” *(If you had someone else in mind, just let me know and I’ll dig deeper.)* ## 1. Ricardo Semler – the Brazilian “radical‑democracy” CEO (often mis‑rendered as **Richard**) SnapshotDetails**Born**1959, São Paulo, Brazil**Best known for**Transforming his family’s industrial‑equipment firm **Semco** into a laboratory for “industrial democracy”—employees set their own hours, choose their bosses, see all financials, and vote on major decisions.**Books***Maverick!* (1993) and *The Seven‑Day Weekend* (2003) – both describe the Semco experiment and argue that trust‑based workplaces out‑perform rule‑bound ones.**Current focus**Education (Lumiar Schools), the Semco Style Institute (helping other firms adopt Semco‑like practices), speaking/teaching at Harvard/MIT, and several social‑impact foundations. ### What made Semco famous? - **No fixed hierarchy.** Teams elect their managers, and those managers keep the role only while they have majority confidence. citeturn1search3turn1search5 - **Full transparency.** Every employee—factory floor to finance—sees P&L statements and salary bands. citeturn0search0 - **Freedom over time & place.** Workers design their own schedules and can work from anywhere; Semler himself popularised the idea of a “seven‑day weekend,” meaning genuine work–life integration rather than literal weekends. citeturn1search6 - **Results:** From 1982‑2003 revenue grew ~4 m → US $212 m while head‑count stayed lean; staff turnover plunged and productivity climbed. citeturn0search0 > “If you believe adults can vote and raise children, surely they can choose the colour of the factory walls.” – Ricardo Semler (TEDGlobal 2014) citeturn1search6 ## 2. Rich Semler – U.S. management‑consulting & non‑profit leader - **Co‑founder & Chairman, Semler Brossy Consulting Group** – an executive‑compensation and governance advisory firm serving many Fortune 500 boards. - **Past Citicorp executive** and partner in a mid‑size consulting practice before launching Semler Brossy in 2000. - **Civic roles:** Board Member (and former President) of the **Griffith Observatory Foundation** in Los Angeles, along with other arts, education, and science nonprofits. citeturn7view0 While he shares the surname (and sometimes the first name “Richard”) he is **not related** to Ricardo Semler and has a more traditional consulting background. ### Why people study Ricardo Semler 1. **Proof of concept** for self‑management in a heavy‑industry setting—not just tech start‑ups. 2. **Longevity:** Semco’s democratic structure has endured four decades and several recessions. 3. **Transferability:** Case studies show elements working in schools, hospitals, and government agencies, inspiring “Teal” and “Holacracy” movements worldwide. ### Want to dive deeper? - Read ***Maverick!*** for the early turnaround story. - Watch the 2014 TED talk “How to run a company with (almost) no rules.” - Explore Semco Style Institute’s free resources on self‑managed teams.

you know Richard Semler?

it is not interesting at all

from day 1 had no interest

very explicitly had no interest in making 6529 into another firm

i have been CEO of many of different sizes and it is very lame, very boring structure, very cringe af (the firm)

i am extraordinarily bored with firms as an organizational structure

The line you’re thinking of is essentially Ronald H. Coase’s insight from his classic 1937 paper **“The Nature of the Firm.”** Coase pointed out that while a capitalist economy relies on markets and prices, *inside* every firm the price mechanism is “superseded” and resources are allocated by managerial command—i.e. by a miniature system of central planning rather than by competition. citeturn33view0 Later writers sharpened the image and the rhetoric: - **Herbert A. Simon** (Nobel, 1978) told students that a Martian looking at Earth would see “large green areas [firms] interconnected by red lines [market transactions]” and would probably call ours an **“organizational economy,”** not a market one. - Venture capitalist **Peter Thiel** likes to re‑package the same point as “*inside a company it’s a little communist dictatorship; between companies it’s capitalism*,” but he is paraphrasing the Coase–Simon idea. So, if you want the original “the‑firm‑is‑communist‑on‑the‑inside” argument, name **Ronald Coase**; if you want the vivid modern phrasing, people usually quote **Peter Thiel** (with Herbert Simon sitting in the middle as the theorist who popularised the metaphor).

have enough to keep them busy for years lol

i just need a bit of time to dump a bunch of work on architects (physical world) for redacated and I will be back to normal

we are ok on 6529 - the bottleneck is now the dev team not my head (I mean that in a nice way, i dumped a ton of work on them)

also even in market economies, the internal economies of firms are communist with all the attendant weaker outcomes

and this will continue

and have been getting smaller

in principle firms can get smaller now

Thought for a few seconds Here’s a concise overview of Ronald Coase’s key ideas and how they shaped what economists now call “the theory of the firm.” ### 1. Who was Ronald Coase? - **British economist (1910 – 2013)**, Nobel laureate (1991). - Worked at the London School of Economics, University at Buffalo, and most famously the University of Chicago Law School. - Best known for two classic papers: **“The Nature of the Firm” (1937)** and **“The Problem of Social Cost” (1960).** ### 2. “The Nature of the Firm” (1937) Core QuestionCoase’s Answer**Why do firms exist at all?**Because relying on the open market isn’t free; every transaction carries **coordination or “transaction” costs** (searching, bargaining, enforcing contracts).**When does it make sense to use a firm rather than the market?**A firm expands until the **internal costs of organizing** an extra activity equal or exceed the **market costs** of doing it through a contract with someone else.**What sets a firm’s boundaries?**The balance between (a) managerial/administrative costs and (b) market‑contract costs. The “margin” where the two are equal is the optimal firm size and scope. Key implications: 1. **Hierarchy as a cost‑saving device**. Inside a firm, long chains of spot contracts are replaced by authority relationships (“do this” rather than “let’s negotiate a fresh price”). 2. **Make‑or‑buy decisions**. Whether to outsource or integrate vertically depends on comparing those two sets of costs. 3. **Dynamic boundaries**. Technological change or regulation can shift transaction costs, causing firm boundaries to expand (integration) or shrink (outsourcing). ### 3. The Coase Theorem (1960 paper) While not strictly part of the 1937 essay, Coase’s later work completes the picture: - **Idea**: If property rights are well defined and transaction costs are zero, parties can bargain to an efficient allocation regardless of initial rights. - **Connection to the firm**: Real‑world transaction costs are rarely zero; firms arise precisely to economize on them. In effect, the Coase Theorem’s “frictionless” world would wipe out the rationale for most large organizations. ### 4. Influence on Modern “Theory of the Firm” Modern threadHow it builds on Coase**Transaction‑Cost Economics** (Oliver Williamson)Adds specificity—asset specificity, opportunism, and contractual incompleteness explain why hierarchies sometimes dominate markets.**Property‑Rights/Incomplete‑Contracts** (Grossman, Hart, Moore)Formalizes Coase’s intuition: allocation of residual control rights determines incentives and thus firm boundaries.**Agency Theory & Incentives** (Jensen, Meckling; Holmström)Analyzes internal costs Coase left vague—monitoring effort, moral hazard, and optimal compensation.**Empirical IO & Organizational Economics**Uses data—from franchising choices to supply‑chain integration—to test when transaction‑cost considerations predict vertical integration or outsourcing. ### 5. Critiques & Extensions 1. **Vagueness of “transaction costs.”** Coase intentionally kept them broad; later work teased out search, bargaining, enforcement, and hold‑up costs separately. 2. **Power vs. efficiency.** Some sociologists argue firms also exist to exercise control or exploit rents, not only to cut costs. 3. **Behavioral limits.** Bounded rationality and incomplete contracting suggest authority cannot fully substitute for markets; hybrid forms (alliances, networks) fill the gap. 4. **Platform firms & digital markets.** Near‑zero search costs online shift the make‑or‑buy calculus again, but Coase’s framework still guides how platforms choose in‑house vs. third‑party complements. ### 6. Why it still matters - Helps managers evaluate **outsourcing**, **vertical integration**, and **platform governance**. - Guides policymakers thinking about **antitrust** (large conglomerates may be efficient if they genuinely lower transaction costs). - Provides the theoretical bridge between **law & economics**, **corporate strategy**, and **industrial organization**.

:)

it is all Coase type stuff in the end

i don't go work on things that are not important

this is what i do to

he works very hard

he is not on the beach doing other things

well that is management

yeah

that is the general goal of the network

obviously would prefer for markets to solve the issues

which is very lame very boring i hate it

and you rely on command and control mechanisms

someone has a local monopoly on being "VP of HR" or whatever

because in a hierarchy

in principle networks and markets outperform corporate hierarchies

and things that do matter i pick an acceptable level of deterioration

things that don't matter i ignore totally

and so i pick my spots

and the answer is "quality deteriorates a bit" and "clarity" definitely deteriorates a lot

so the real question is 'what happens if i don't manage them"

there managers in place at (redacted) and at 6529

"why does Elon work so hard and not find someone else to manage tesla, spacex, etc"

the toothbrushing is managing it

there are x.xxx people working on it

all that stuff is "outsourced"

i mean

not sure it is possible

daydream about this all the time

like memes decentralized curation was in my head and nobody really understood it and now it is not in my head and everyone understands it just fine

in a way that anyone else can understand

until i get them out of my head

format i mean

those are stuck in a non-scalable parameter

and things that "are only in my head" and I need to turn them into something coherent so other people can work on them