Hypocrisy isn't always a bad thing: When Strategic Shifts Are the Smart Play
Joe Pardavila
Podcaster | Writer | Author of Good Listen | Weiner Dog Dad | NYC ?? Charleston
In any kind of heated debate or conversation, the shit hits the proverbial fan when someone fires back with, “You’re a hypocrite!”
Webster defines a hypocrite as a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.
You probably didn’t need me to google the definition of hypocrisy for you, but I just wanted to take my search history beyond “what to feed a picky dachshund.”
In general, being a hypocrite is terrible. But sometimes ‘acting in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings’ can be impactful in a positive way.
The CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings, used to be cool with password sharing. And I mean, publicly cool about it.?
At the 2016 CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Vegas, he was speaking at a panel and said, “We love people sharing Netflix; that’s a positive thing, not a negative thing.” He even went on to say that people who share someone else’s Netflix often go on to become paying subscribers themselves later.
Later that year, Reed added, “Password sharing is something you have to learn to live with, because there’s so much legitimate password sharing, like you sharing with your spouse, with your kids… so there’s no bright line, and we’re doing fine as is.”
About that ‘doing fine as is.’
After experiencing what some call “The Great Netflix Correction” and nearly a million subscribers canceling their subscriptions in 2022, the company announced that it would go all in on password-sharing crackdowns.
HYPOCRITES!
Well, it worked. Netflix added almost 30 million subscribers in 2023 after cracking down on password sharing earlier that year.
The hypocrisy didn’t stop there with Reed and Netflix.
In 2020, they announced they had no intention of selling ads and would keep their platform commercial-free forever.
During the 2019 earnings call, Reed said, “We want to be the safe respite where you can explore, get stimulated, have fun, and enjoy—and have none of the controversy around exploiting users with advertising.” He praised their model at the time: “We’ve got a much simpler business model; we’re not tied up with all that controversy around advertising.”
Remember “The Great Netflix Correction”?
In 2023, Netflix introduced a cheaper, ad-supported tier. The company saw strong growth in its advertising-based plan and, in no time, eclipsed 23 million global monthly active users.
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HYPOCRITES!
Did people cancel their Netflix accounts after these audacious displays of hypocrisy? Nope.
Netflix had around 260 million paid subscribers worldwide as of the fourth quarter of 2023, which was an increase of over 13 million subs compared to the previous quarter.
A quick political sidebar.
In 2016, Republicans blocked Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court because they said voters should decide in a presidential election year. Fast forward a short 4 years later, and the same Republicans confirmed Donald Trump’s selection of Amy Coney Barrett as the 115th justice to the Supreme Court, even though it was AGAIN a presidential election year.
HYPOCRITES!
You don’t need to explain that impact. Enough has been said. Out of the nine justices, six were appointed by Republican presidents, including three under Trump. The other three were chosen by Democratic presidents, making it the most conservative-leaning Supreme Court in modern U.S. history.
Ok, I know I took a dark turn there, but as much as I live by the golden rule and I hope others do too, when it comes to your business and personal life, you sometimes need to play the hypocrisy card.
It sucks. Yes. But would Netflix have won the so-called “Streaming Wars,” and would conservatives wield as much power as they do if they cared about being called hypocrites?
Author, journalist, and activist Ta-Nehisi Coates once wrote, “Not all of us can always be Jackie Robinson—not even Jackie Robinson was always Jackie Robinson.”
I’m not saying we need to be shameful hypocrites all the time, but sometimes we need to swallow our pride and make the tough decision we might regret now but appreciate later. Tudum.
On my podcast, I really enjoy speaking with folks who have lived completely different lives than I have. This week's guest fits that description: Stacy Lyn Harris, a southern lifestyle guru who has homeschooled 7 children, written cookbooks, and married a dentist.