As a piece of corporate propaganda the book succeeds in being one that aspiring and corporate managers will love to recommend to one another satisfied that they are lapping up the latest in employee empowerment and HR best practices.  Anyone else not at that level realizes this for what it is: C-level pabulum with examples such as the rule that “employees here have unlimited vacation”, when the reality for the worker bees is that if you’re gone more than 2 weeks a year you’re viewed as a slacker...

I was sold on the concept of this book, where a hard-hitting biz author/professor tells the gory behind-the-scenes reality that conflicts with the rosy hindsight bias of the founder/CEO... but sadly no gloves came off whatsoever. And to think I was excited to learn about the inner workings of the streaming darling, only instead to be inundated with a non-buffering stream of vanilla HR policies. I'm probably jaded, having worked in tech for 15 years... but unlimited vacation, freedom & responsibi...

I was hoping "No Rules Rules" would provide more unique insights into how Netflix scaled to become the global leader in streaming. This book is more focused on the managerial techniques that Hastings and his team applied through Netflix's history. While interesting at times, many of these ideas were not unique to Netflix, although little credit is given to other innovative companies that originated these approaches. At times, I wanted to just hit the "escape button" with this book for various re...

Unsurprisingly, it was worth waiting for.First hand message, culture focused, very straightforward - even for values/principles that are controversial and unobvious.To be honest: this is NOT a hand-book. Many of concepts here did apply in Netflix, but for serveral reasons won't apply in other companies. So the main advantage of reading this book is to learn how Netflix (& its values) have evolved - how executives have learned, how they came up to particular conclusions. Why they've picked this p...

"Above all you have to be humble, you have to be curious, and you have to remember to listen before you speak and to learn before you teach. With this approach, you can’t help but become more effective every day in this ever-fascinating multicultural world.”

Why do great colleagues leave?That’s a question that has been on my mind for quite a while. Every case is different, but if you zoom out a bit it often boils down to one or more of the following:- lacking creative freedom and / or autonomy to do the job in the desired way- inability to improve the direct work environment- lack of improvement of the company as a whole- feeling gagged or stifled by processes or hierarchy - decisions that make no sense on operational level- being tired of company p...

YMMV.If you have previously read (as I have) both Radical Candor and The Culture Map (both of which are excellent books which I would highly recommend) as well as Powerful (which I would not recommend) then you will find very few new insights in this book. If you have not, I would recommend that you read those first two books instead of this one.I found the two-author approach, providing an "outsider perspective" to counter Reed's views, novel and appealing, but I feel Erin could have been much

This is a great read for managers and leaders of contemporary midsize to large companies in creative industries. Reed Hastings is the cofounder, CEO and chairman of Netflix. No rules: Netflix and the culture of reinvention introduces the Netflix management system; throughout it is juxtaposed to the classic leadership by control in traditional businesses. It’s helpful to think of the leadership and management system as the operating system and software for the company. Back in the early days of c...

A masterpiece & MUST read.Netflix is a UNIQUE company with a unique business model & philosophy. It's obvious that its overpowering leader Reed Hastings runs & scales his business HIS way. Read this book to learn:- How a business book should be written :) The co-author Erin Meyer adds so much value to the entire narrative.- Insights on how 'no rules policies' (take vacations, spend company money etc) though so hard to swallow seems to work so well for Netflix. (I say ‘seems’ coz I still can't di...

Struggled to read this and wanted to put it down constantly. A self-congratulatory primer on the 'unique' tenets of Netflix culture of 'Freedom & Responsibility' which include:- anyone who isn't an amazing performer will just be fired to preserve 'talent density'- no expense/travel policy, KPIs, bonuses- you have to participate in live feedback about yourself with 10-12 people over dinner.. no thanks.There are some ok insights about candor and feedback in there but it'll be largely repetitive if...

One of the best books I've read this year. I love the concept of this book about how to make Netflix succeed, which includes increasing talents density, building up candor, and removing control. This concept can be applied into any organization if you consider it carefully.

Very inspirational but also highly contextual.

“No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention” by Reed Hastings gives readers a unique and amazing look into the world of how Netflix became a juggernaut. In this book I was asked to read for my job, the one theme I took away from this was the power of candor.Being honest with your co-workers, bosses, managers, etc. regardless of their title and power, is basically one of the main reasons why Netflix is as big and as successful as it is. Having the ability to be candid in interactions

Published in 2020 and written by Hastings (cofounder and co-CEO of Netflix) and Meyer (professor at INSEAD and Netflix consultant).This is therefore obviously from the title and presentation/author a book about Netflix and its company culture and their declared dedication to innovation, generally recommended to Silicon Valley fanboys and start-ups with big dreams. I also personally recommend it for folks who love reading and want to just know more about Netflix as a company.I felt it was a book

I really enjoyed the read, and am still a full supporter of what's in here. The only reason I gave 4 instead of 5 stars is because if you are already familiar with Netflix culture through the culture deck/memo and have given it a lot of thought/reflection, most of the content is just a more digestible re-telling / re-organizing of existing insights and examples for those new to it. The international aspect might be a bit new to those who have followed Netflix culture from the outside.If you're n...

Let me start by saying that Netflix culture is not for me but this book does a great job comparing a culture rules a d processes with a culture of principles and freedom. This was my second time reading this book and I enjoyed it even more the second time. You can read the last chapter first to fully understand what you should look for in this book. In the last chapter (which should have been the intro) you will learn where you can use thé culture of rules and processes and where you should chos...

Just read it! You'll most likely have your perspective enriched, even if you're not part of an organization that can or will adopt the culture. It’s a great book that should be read by literally everyone - from CEOs to managers to individual contributors, no matter the business area, because it speaks to growth and mindset. Whenever you'll say to yourself "No way that can work!", you will be proven that it can work indeed.

This is certainly one of most important books I've read this year ❤️📖💯I'm absolutely fascinated by the company's culture of Netflix and would love to implement majority of its principles in my company/team: - build a team of talented people, which are then constantly developing by learning from each other- establish a strong culture of instant, actionable and honest feedback- once you trust your team 100%, start removing controls and the red-tape from the processes to boost innovation and foster...