Reed Hastings

Netflix cofounder, Chairman, and CEO, Reed Hastings reveals for the first time the elite culture of one of the most unorthodox, creative, and successful tech companies in Silicon Valley history There's never before been a company like Netflix. Not just because it leads the media, technology, and entertainment industries alike; or because it generates billions of dollars of annual revenue, from 137 million users in 190 countries. Netflix is a revolutionary company because of a counterintuitive and radical management culture, which defies tradition and expectation. When Reed Hastings founded Netflix, he developed a corporate philosophy and a set of management principles, which would make Netflix the most innovative company in the world. This meant rejecting the conventional wisdom under which other companies operate. At Netflix, adequate performance gets a generous severance and hard work is irrelevant. At Netflix, you don't try to please your boss, you practice radical candor instead. At Netflix, employees never need approval, and the company always pay top of market. When Hastings first devised them, the implications of these principals were unknown, but over time they have inculcated flexibility, speed, and boldness throughout an outrageously successful organization. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with current Netflix employees and never-before-told stories from his own career, Hastings elaborates on these controversial principles at the heart of the Netflix psyche, which have generated results that are the envy of the business world. Just the last month, Netflix announced it had added seven million new users last quarter, and would invest a further three billion dollars in original programming, bringing the total for 2018 to thirteen billion. This is the full, fascinating, and untold story of a unique company taking over the world.

Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention

No Rules Rules

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Jerks, slackers, sweet people with nonstellar performance, or pessimists left on the team will bring down the performance of everyone.

the last thing we want is our employ ees rewarded in December for attaining some goal fixed the previous January. The risk is that employees will focus on a target instead of spot what's best for the company in the present moment.

On the other hand, when you share a secret, it floods the receiver with feelings of confidence and loyalty. IfI tell you some huge mistake I made or share information that could sabotage my success, you think, Well, if she'd tell me that, she'd tell me anything. Your trust in me skyrockets. There is no better way to build trust quickly than to shine a light directly on a would-be secret.

Generally, I believed that if the dilemma is linked to an incident at work, everyone should be informed. But if the dilemma is linked to an employee's personal situation, it's up to that person to share details if he chooses.

When you succeed, speak about it softly or let others mention it for you. But when you make a mistake say it clearly and loudly, so that everyone can learn and profit from your errors. In other words, "Whisper wins and shout mistakes."

WVhen a bet fails, the manager must be careful to express interest in the takeaways but no condemnation.

On management not sharing what’s going on

I resented bitterly that they didn't trust me enough to tell me what was going on, despite the fact that I was working hard and committed to the company's success. They had some big secret that they were keeping from the entire workforce.

 If you're serious about talent density, you have to get in the habit of doing something a lot harder: firing a good employee when you think you can get a great one. One of the reasons this is so difficult in many companies is because business leaders are continually telling their employees, "We are a family." But a high-talent-density work environment is not a family.

 Patty said, "When I'm in meetings with people who more reserved, like Neil, I compensate for that person's quietness by talking more. When I'm with other talkative people, like Leslie, I don't have that problem. On my own team I have many quieter people who don't speak at all in our meetings. I'm going to start leaving the last ten minutes ofevery thirty- minute meeting for others to speak. If no one speaks well sit in silence."

WHEN ONE OF YOUR PEOPLE DOES SOMETHING DUMB DON'T BLAME THEM. INSTEAD ASK YOURSELF WHAT CONTEXT YOU FAILED TO SET. ARE YOU ARTICULATE AND INSPIRING ENOUGH IN EXPRESSING YOUR GOALS AND STRATEGY? HAVE YOU CLEARLY EXPLAINED ALL THE ASSUMPTIONS AND RISKS THAT WILL HELP YOUR TEAM TO MAKE GO0D DECISIONS? ARE YOU AND YOUR EMPLOYEES HIGHLY ALIGNED ON VISION AND 0BJECTIVES?

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