#32 : How to build culture / teams in your org?

No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer | This book is useful for founders, ceos, program and project managers, product leaders building a team or teams!!

One fine day when I was in junior school (11th grade), I was cooly reading "The Day of the Jackal". My dad was fine with me reading fiction to take my mind off but told me to apply the books that I read. On deeper enquiry, he asked me to focus, read non fiction alongside to build skill sets and apply them (high school Physics, Chemistry, Math ?? especially authored by Resnick & Halliday; Seinko & Plane; SL Loney and many more at that time).

"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.?—Richard Steele"        

In my dad's memory and the lessons he taught, I will try to apply "Netflix founder Reed Hastings book on culture". Although there has been a lot of backlash on blogs of Reed's handling of his employees in his early days. Maybe it is a redemption sort of book for Reed Hastings. It doesn't matter to us. What matters to us is to pick the the positive things from his experience in this book "No Rules Rules".

Netflix is OTT (Over The Top) providing any type of video or streaming media that allows a viewer access to movies or TV shows by sending the media directly through the internet.?Here is a self explanatory flywheel/ business model of Netlfix by Nicole Vas / Los Angeles Times :

To drive this business model, Reed Hastings and his management has created the following culture. The book has 3 key lessons for every C level / Founder / Manager:

Step 1: Create and increase talent density - hire top talent (and have them hire talent and create a virtuous talent cycle)

Step 2: Create a platform for increased candor (chat at the fancy Keurig machines or eMeet anyone on Fridays).

Step 3: Remove controls (around process, decision making, approvals around budgets etc to a certain limit). There is a pros and cons example in the book.

Apply the 3 steps and voila you have a culture that streams movies, documentaries and now games across the globe cutting across cultures, languages, price points and internet speeds!!

You can learn more at https://jobs.netflix.com/culture. The summary of the page ends with a poem which goes quote on quote.

"Finally, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the author of?The Little Prince, shows us the way

If you want to build a ship,
don't drum up the people
to gather wood, divide the
work, and give orders.
Instead, teach them to yearn
for the vast and endless sea."        

Giving orders - not sure whether that will work (except customer escalation!!), rest of the advice is good.

If you have built global teams, how do you handle cultural nuances? Pls share your thoughts.

Happy Reading!!

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