"BY LARS SCHMIDT
5 MINUTE READ
In 2009, Netflix revolutionized corporate culture with its famous 175-slide culture deck, a transparent manifesto that laid the foundation for the company’s vision of work, success, and collaboration.
The memo, developed by Reed Hastings and Patty McCord, was embraced across the tech sector and soon mirrored in different versions by other leading companies, including Zappos, Hubspot, Facebook, Spotify, Hootsuite, and others.
It was cited as a new framework for HR and coined the concept of “brilliant jerks,” and why they should be ferreted out of leadership roles.
When I first read the culture manifesto after its release I was struck by its clarity—particularly as a tool to both attract the right talent and repel the rest.
Over my career, I’ve worked with various companies, CEOs, and chief people officers who leaned on Netflix’s Culture Manifesto as a foundational reference when developing their own culture statements and organizational values. A lot has changed since its release in 2009, so I was curious to see how it would evolve.
Fast-forward to this week, and Netflix has released an updated version of this pivotal document, reaffirming its commitment to an innovative and dynamic workplace ethos.
This reboot, known as the Netflix Culture Memo, encapsulates the evolution of Netflix’s principles while maintaining the core values that have driven its success. Here are some of the key aspects of this refreshed manifesto and how they reflect the current business environment:"
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“We aim only to have high performers at Netflix—people who are great at what they do, and even better at working together.”
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The original manifesto was a public pushback on the notion that employers are families
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People Over Process: Empowerment Through Freedom
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In practice, this means empowering employees to understand what it takes to get the job done and deliver on that promise.
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Uncomfortably Exciting: Embracing Ambition and Risk
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This willingness to embrace risk and discomfort can also create internal conflict in this age of employee advocac
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Great and Always Better: A Commitment to Continuous Improvement
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“We often say Netflix sucks today compared to where we can be tomorrow.”
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By owning and proactively sharing their ways of working (selflessness, candor, being performance-driven), Netflix allows future employees to opt in or out based on self-alignment
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By maintaining a focus on excellence, collaboration, empowerment, ambition, and continuous improvement, Netflix aims to remain a place where talented individuals can do “the best work of their lives.”
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That’s where the partnership between strategic HR (or “Talent” in Netflix’s case) and business operations come into play
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