How Netflix focuses on simple values to build agility
Rebecca Hudson shares her personal take on the power of building a people-centric, innovation focused culture, though the lens of the Netflix values and her own professional experiences.
Last year I read the book ‘Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention’ by Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings and culture expert and author Erin Meyers. It's one of those books you can’t help but keep going back to, lifting quotes from it and being inspired to look for new ways of tackling challenges.
Despite the fresh perspectives in Hastings’ approach to operational agility and organisational culture, I've often wondered about its feasibility and adaptability.
The brilliance of the Netflix approach lies in its simplicity. It is anchored in core values such as:
prioritising people over processes
championing innovation over efficiency
providing employees with context rather than controls
These values permeate through a culture built on freedom and responsibility, ensuring that adaptation and innovation remain central across their business.
Here is my attempt to visually summarise the core principles:
Netflix Values Pathway
“Business Agility is defined as a set of organisational capabilities, behaviours, and ways of working that affords your business the freedom, flexibility, and resilience to achieve its purpose.”
I feel this quote is the Netflix approach in a nutshell!
Netflix values and principles mapped to the Agile Manifesto
The beauty of these values is that they’re simple whilst remaining powerful, easy to communicate but people-centric, with trust at their core to engender empowerment.
I’ve had the privilege of working for a global technology consultancy whose values and principles were similar to those at Netflix. Especially when it came to a focus on people over process.
We had the freedom to engage with anyone at any level across the global operation. Myself and my team had the freedom to champion practices, tools or approaches we were passionate about, which fostered collaboration across the business. This adaptability allowed us to tailor our approaches to the needs of our clients, our internal and external environments, and the unique challenges of operating globally.
Throughout my 3 years with the company we underwent a number of significant organisational shifts, which cemented the importance of adaptability in the face of change, of strong values and principles which focus on a people-centric approach to operations. I believe having this culture in place, helped us to come out the other side of the Covid-19 pandemic relatively unscathed.
However, even organisations like Netflix, known for their egalitarian approach to organisational design, can struggle with change. In my next article I focus on the changes Netflix faced when taking their operations Global.
From leading digital transformations for longstanding institutions in the UK to establishing agile frameworks for cutting-edge ventures in The UAE, I've witnessed the formidable challenges organisations face when navigating change.
Merger and acquisitions activities, shifts in political and environmental factors, and the rapid advancement of technology can all be uncontrollable elements which trigger the need for significant change for businesses.
As an expat in The UAE with over two decades of experience in diverse business landscapes such as London, APAC, MENA, Europe, and the US, I've been privileged to gain insights into a myriad of perspectives, approaches, and cultural nuances. Thus, when I reached the final section of the ‘Netflix No Rules Rules’ book titled ‘Going Global,’ it resonated even more than the previous 237 pages!
In this chapter Erin Meyer’s, the author of ‘The Culture Map’, really brings her insights to the fore. I’ve utilised her online tools, and referenced my dog-eared copy of her book, to support my cross-cultural teams in improving team cohesion, and performance. With distributed teams her insights have been invaluable.
If I had to summarise the key takeaways from this final chapter of Hastings and Meyer’s book it would be -
‘Ideas about candour differ greatly around the world’
‘Learn to adjust your style’
Imagine being a British person, living in the Middle East, employed by a Danish company, who have been acquired by a Japanese company, whilst you build a team of diverse nationalities (both co-located and distributed), to service a South African company with Indian-based technology partners. Now try doing this during a global pandemic. Whilst standing on your head!
This implausible but real-life experience was mine from 2019 - 2022. It was as amazing and rewarding, as it was stressful and character-building! I learnt a lot, especially from my failures.
Hastings’ journey exemplifies the transformative power of embracing failure as a learning opportunity, ultimately shaping Netflix into the global powerhouse it is today.
In my next article I explore how Hasting and his management lead had to steer Netflix in adapting to a globally distributed team, and how they initially struggled to translate their values and principles in different countries and regions.
Conclusion:
Netflix's success is, of course, not solely attributed to Reed Hastings but is a testament to the diverse talent and culture of innovation fostered across all levels of the organisation. The company’s high performing teams are best-in-class. They have the freedom to innovate, collaborate and decision-make, whether the outcome is a potential $5million revenue boost or even a huge loss for the company. Scary…but it’s clearly working!
They can do this because they are internally aligned with the meaningful values which Netflix has fostered. Not paying lip service to them, but permeating them throughout the business, led by the example of a transformative leadership team.
Here's to actioning business values that build diversity, empower decentralised decision-making, and cultivate environments of trust and responsibility.
And, of course, here's to Netflix and chilling!
If you’ve find this article useful, this is the 3rd of 4 articles inspired by Netflix.
References:
No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer