See how you can borrow from the streaming company’s four culture pillars to build a stronger team and enhance your organization’s morale.

As you likely know, Netflix rules the streaming world, if not the entertainment one. It boasts over 300 million worldwide subscribers and is worth more than $500 billion, numbers that virtually any business would die for. There are many reasons for its epic success, but a particularly notable one is its culture, which cofounder Reed Hastings first described to the world (via PowerPoint, no less) in a massive 2009 missive entitled “Netflix Culture: Freedom & Responsibility.”

In the fifth version, released last year, Netflix fine-tuned its now-iconic “culture memo” into four easily digestible core principles that form the foundation of its “values and performance over rules and controls” mantra: the dream team, people over process, uncomfortably exciting, and great and always better. Dive deep into each to get essential insights about hiring the right people, letting the wrong ones go, and creating a winning culture from one of the twentyfirst century’s biggest success stories.

The dream team

People of a certain age will recall the 1992 US men’s Olympic basketball team, also known as the Dream Team—arguably the greatest collection of sports talent ever. Netflix notes that it strives to create a similarly exceptional all-star squad within its walls, so it must be intentional in choosing its employees. (Perhaps not surprisingly, Hastings also used baseball analogies to make some of his original points.) As its culture memo states, the company’s focus is on “performance and picking the right person for every position, even when that means swapping out someone [we] love for a better player.” The memo also lists several qualities Netflix looks for in each candidate, from candor to curiosity to resilience, to find those who “are great at what they do, and even better at working together.”

To that end, the company continues to apply its renowned “keeper test,” which involves asking the same question about every team member in two different ways: If they wanted to leave, would it fight to keep them, and, with the power of hindsight, would it hire that person again? Every employee knows and accepts this standard, resulting in a surprisingly candid environment even when management has to part ways with someone. It’s all about performance, trusting one another, and going for the gold together—qualities that very well could enhance your business as well.

People over process

Historically, corporate America has valued a heavily structured, top-down approach to business, one in which employees must do what the executive team decrees. Netflix has long gone against this particular tide, however, eschewing the traditional employeremployee culture for one with few rules and greater employee trust and empowerment. In fact, it comes right out and says that it prides itself “on how few, not how many, decisions senior leaders make.”

Such a mindset may send a shudder down some business owners’ spines, yet Netflix claims it works extremely well because top-notch ideas can come from anyone, not just an upper-echelon few. “We expect informed captains to seek out different opinions and listen to people at every level,” its culture memo states. “After a decision is made, we expect everyone, including the people who argued for a different approach, to disagree then commit.”

But perhaps the best example of this “people over process” principle can be found in the company’s vacation and business-expense policies, which are summarized in a mere seven words: “Take vacation” and “Act in Netflix’s best interests.” Do you want every team member to reach their potential so they can help your company flourish? Just consider how you can similarly encourage their perspectives and prioritize morale, fostering greater confidence to inspire greater performance.

Uncomfortably exciting

As entrepreneurs know, change is part and parcel of growing a business, especially if the aim is to be groundbreaking. However, not every worker flourishes in such a reality; given the choice, many understandably choose to ply their trades at stable, safe companies that don’t swing for the fences.

Netflix, though, has never sought that type of person for its team— in contrast, the streaming giant states that its culture “works best if you value experimentation, enjoy the uncomfortable excitement of a new or challenging project and have the resilience to thrive in this environment.” That’s why two key qualities it looks for when hiring are the courage to buck the status quo and the ability to think creatively. Imagine how much this could positively impact your business. The more unflinching your team members are about finding new and unique ways to sell your products and mission to potential clients, the better your odds of finding the “aha” idea that will propel your company to amazing growth.

Great and always better

Of all corporations, Netflix would have ample reason and opportunity to sit back and rest on its accolades and staggering profits—but it doesn’t. In his introduction to the 2024 culture memo, chief talent officer Sergio Ezama went so far as to reveal that “we often say we suck today by comparison to where we want to be in the future.” So how does Netflix work to grow even more? As the company so simply yet eloquently puts it, “We constantly seek to improve our culture, not preserve it. . . . It’s how we entertain the world and build a wildly successful business.” Continue on a constant quest to make your organization a place where people love to work and can thrive both personally and professionally, and you, too, may hold the key to building a wildly successful venture. It’s been said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and in this case, it may just be a boon for your business. Even if you aim to merely imitate rather than duplicate Netflix’s accomplishments by incorporating the four core principles of its culture memo, you might just find greater revenue streaming in.

TAKE ACTION:
Reflect on Netflix’s guiding principles, and determine which of them you can integrate into your hiring practices and culture.