No Rules Rules Summary

How did the small company adapt so much better than the rental giant Blockbuster? It all came down to the culture of Netflix. It is a company that emphasises people and innovation and isn’t overly controlling. This has allowed it to grow at unprecedented rates, and a 2018 survey rated it as the best place in Silicon Valley to work.

Hastings says this is because, at Netflix, his employees are allowed much more freedom than other companies. When they are given this freedom, they are inspired to work harder, be more innovative, and make better decisions.

Netflix sees employees differently than a lot of other companies. Rather than view them as a family that you have for life, regardless of good and bad times, a job at Netflix is something you do only when you are the best person for the job, and it is the best position for you. So instead of viewing employees as a family, Netflix views employees mo

Feedback follows four rules: feedback should be given to help, feedback should be actionable, you should appreciate any feedback you get, and you should think carefully about if you should accept feedback or not.

A company with a smaller group of great talent will always outperform a large one with so-so employees. That’s because high performance is contagious. When you have multiple high performers together, they hold themselves to a higher standard and have more fun. When everyone is good at their job, performance spirals upward.

It is perfectly normal for employees to contradict their supervisor in a meeting if they disagree directly. Telling people when you disagree with them isn’t just normal; it is expected. They see it to help the business better, so not speaking up is considered disloyal.

Netflix doesn’t track hours or days people work, and now it doesn’t even have a vacation policy. The authors strongly believe this leads to greater accountability. The reason freedom leads to accountability is simple: it shows them you trust them.