In 2009 , Netflix published a 125-page document summarizing its culture and vision of work, which at the time caused quite a stir. At the beginning of the summer, an updated version was put online, and this is an opportunity to look back at this rather disruptive document and see what its evolution over time tells us.
A divisive approach to HR marketingEven if the document has since been updated, I can only urge you to read these 125 slides, which are not a digest but, on the contrary, an exhaustive vision of Netflix culture and their vision of work, to understand just how surprising, even shocking, the document was at the time.
We can only give Netflix credit for honesty , even if it means being divisive, as opposed to most businesses which display values that are consensual enough to please everyone, even if they don’t actually hold true in practice.
Let’s not forget that this document was aimed at recruitment and, in a way, rather than saying “why join us”, it said “why not join us”,“if you’re not comfortable with that, don’t apply”.
I admit that I was inspired by this at one point when I was setting up a career site, so as not to waste any more time on irrelevant applications: rather than a pitch that would make as many people as possible want to apply, I preferred a pitch that would appeal to people who looked like us and put off the others.
In 2009, Netflix typically went against the grain of what many businesses, particularly in the tech sector, were saying, that they were one big family. Netflix has always taken the opposite line, comparing itself to a team of professional sportspeople , with its emphasis on collaboration, performance and what binds people together. Indirectly, and unlike many others, its image was not tarnished when it had to lay people off, because it was not orthogonal with the values it was communicating.
Having said that, the least we can say is that this culture hasn’t prevented them from recruiting or succeeding.
Netflix culture in 2024
Netflix released an updated culture manifesto last spring. What has changed? First of all, the size, since everything is condensed to fit on a single page. It’s as if they’d taken the time to step back and simplify things, without changing much in the way of substance.
Basically, I don’t see much change, and that doesn’t surprise me: in 2009, Netflix had a culture that was in step with the direction the world, society and the economy were taking, in stark contrast to businesses that were a little more rooted in the past. And yet, if things have changed since then, it’s in line with Netflix’s perception, confirming that they were right all along.
Nothing new, but a vision refined and improved by time and experience.
Above all, it’s a more synthetic version, making it easier to tackle its four cornerstones.
The Dream Team
We’re back to the notion of the team rather than the family. Here we find a list of values to be shared (Selflessness, judgment, candor, creativity, courage, inclusion, curiosity, resilience), which we’ll see are essential to the implementation of the other dimensions of Netflix culture. When we see the experience of employees of companies who try to substitute themselves for their own families, they’re certainly not wrong (After Working at Google, I’ll Never Let Myself Love a Job Again).
Above all, there’s a constant reference to performance: beyond values, it’s performance and performance alone that makes you worthy of staying on the team or not.
Behind the candor we find the notion of continuous feedback, the willingness to constantly question oneself and accept being questioned by others in a logic of continuous improvement.
People over processes
Netflix recognizes the primacy of the individual over processes, and believes that people are capable of having an impact on their own work if they are allowed to use their judgment, sense of responsibility and constructive criticism.
People have the right to disagree with what is being done or how it is being done, as long as they finally engage once a discussion has taken place on the subject.
This trust given to individuals in the way they organize their work helpsavoid the complications and excessive processes that often accompany business growth (How to Manage Complexity without Getting Complicated).
This is in line with an emerging concern in many businesses that, until now, people have been driven by processes, whereas today the very nature of work and the challenges facing employees demand that they be given the ability to influence processes. There’s a lot of thinking going on about this notion of People Centric Operations (Employees must follow the processe. Are you sure?), but these are just thoughts, as this approach is pushing businesses out of their comfort zones. For Netflix, it’s a reality.
Uncomfortably exciting
Entertaining 2 billion people requires innovation, stepping out of your comfort zone, constantly trying new things. Beyond this obvious fact, which in my opinion applies not only to Netflix and the businesses in its sector, but to virtually everyone (and we all need to be aware of it), it requires employees to accept the discomfort of constant change. (Transformation is not a temporary state of the business, and your employees know it, so don’t lie).
Great and always better
The employees, known here as members of the Dream Team, must constantly improve things and build a future we don’t know what it will be. Remember that Netflix began in 1998 by renting DVDs and sending them through the post, and that it is the perfect example of a business that has not suffered the digital transformation of the economy. In fact, rather than suffering it, the company has transformed its sector.
For Netflix, it’s its culture that is the cause of its success, and it enjoins its employees to constantly improve it, and above all not to preserve it as it is, as too many businesses do, thus losing the ability to seize opportunities and transform themselves.
For me, this echoes a speech made by Ginnie Rometti, then CEO of IBM, more than 10 years ago, when she said that we should never “protect the past”.
Bottom line
It’s surprising to see how the way Netflix formalizes and presents its culture still stands out in today’s world, when nothing seems more relevant if we’re realistic about today’s world and the challenges facing businesses.
Why such a big difference?
First of all, there’s a real desire on the part of businesses to protect the past. A business is a living organism, and its culture needs to evolve with the times and its people, so that it can take charge of its future, rather than suffer from it.
Then there ‘s the fear of displeasing or disturbing. Many businesses try to please as many people as possible and, above all, don’t want to displease anyone, whether in terms of HR marketing or marketing in general. But what Netflix is saying is frightening: many people are not comfortable in such an environment, and what it says about our understanding of the world. Netflix has decided to focus only on those aligned with this vision, even if it means cutting itself off from a great deal of talent. It’s also worth noting that Netflix makes a clear separation between marketing and HR marketingwhere many think there’s a link between the two: its products are for everyone, but not everyone can work on them. Your subscription is welcome, not your CV.
Finally, the difficulty of change. A culture cannot be decreed, it has to be lived and embodied first and foremost by its leaders. It’s not easy to make such a shift if you think you’re likely to be the first victim. This brings to mind the example of CISCO in the late 2000s (Enterprise 2.0 : the CISCO case). Not only did John Chambers, the CEO at the time, say that he had to go against his deepest nature to do what was best for the business , but he also had to let go of half the top management team, who were incapable of embodying the new organization and the culture that went with it.
