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Netflix has announced just the fifth revision of its company culture playbook since the document was published by co-founder Reed Hastings 15 years ago.
The original document, a 125-page PowerPoint presentation created in 2009, is one of the most influential pieces of HR documentation ever produced, having been viewed over 5 million times after it was made public by Hastings.
On Monday, Sergio Ezama, Chief Talent Officer at Netflix, revealed the latest iteration.
In a statement shared on Netflix’s website, Ezama revealed three key updates to the playbook.
Shortened but just as sweet
Firstly, the playbook which Ezama noted had “gotten a bit long” has been shortened to focus on “what’s most important, and what differentiates Netflix."
Compared to the original 125-page slide deck, the new memo is now condensed into one publicly available webpage on its jobs site.
But despite the condensed memo, Ezama emphasized how important the document is to Netflix.
“We believe that our culture is key to our success and so we want to ensure that anyone applying for a job here knows what motivates Netflix — and all employees are working from a shared understanding of what we value most,” he wrote.
Responsibility and processes re-emphasized
Ezama also stated that Netflix has reintroduced concepts from Hasting’s original deck that previous revisions had “watered down,” including “the emphasis on responsibility” and “the focus on good and bad process versus no process at all.”
Earlier in 2024, a report from the Wall Street Journal suggested that Netflix was considering replacing its memo's freedom and responsibility section, instead focusing on individual ownership.
However, the updated memo has re-emphasized the value of freedom to the business and the responsibility this requires from employees.
Perhaps the most famous example of ‘freedom’ in action is Netflix’s two-word vacation policy, “Take vacation,” and its five-word expenses policy, “Act in Netflix’s best interests.”
The memo also encourages managers to practice “context not control,” to free employees from the constraints of top-down decision-making, adding it “takes an unusually responsible person to thrive on this level of freedom.”
Ezama says the company’s emphasis on individual freedom and responsibility has been important for Netflix’s business success.
“This is because in our industry, the biggest threats are a lack of creativity and innovation,” he wrote. “And we’ve found that giving people the freedom to use their judgment is the best way to succeed long term.”
Restructured to represent Netflix today
The third update highlighted by Ezama is a move to structure the memo around the core principles that represent today’s Netflix and its 13,000 plus employees around the world.
The four core principles are ‘The Dream Team,’ ‘People over Process,’ ‘Uncomfortably Exciting,’ and ‘Great and Always Better.’
The principles push Netflix’s message that it is home to high performers only, who must be prepared to thrive on change and drive the company forward.
The ‘Great and Always Better’ principle, for example, reads: “We often say we suck today by comparison to where we want to be in the future. So we focus on constant improvement, and the resilience needed to get there.”
To ensure the revised culture memo was representative of Netflix’s employees, Ezama confirmed the new document took twelve months to produce, with every employee given the chance to share their feedback.
“We call this “farming for dissent,”” Ezama wrote. “In total, we received over 1,500 comments, many of which are reflected in this update.”
Subtitled ‘The Best Work of Our Lives,’ Netflix’s latest memo says its culture helps it to achieve its goal to entertain the world, thrilling audiences everywhere.
“To do that, we’ve developed an unusual company culture focused on excellence, and creating an environment where talented people can thrive — lifting ourselves, each other and our audiences higher and higher.”
