No Rules Rules

Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention

By: Reed Hastings, Erin Meyer

Narrated by: Jason Culp, Allyson Ryan

Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings reveals for the first time the unorthodox culture behind one of the world's most innovative, imaginative, and successful companies.

There has never before been a company like Netflix. It has led nothing short of a revolution in the entertainment industries, generating billions of dollars in annual revenue while capturing the imaginations of hundreds of millions of people in more than 190 countries. But to reach these great heights, Netflix, which launched in 1998 as an online DVD rental service, has had to reinvent itself over and over again. 

This type of unprecedented flexibility would have been impossible without the counterintuitive and radical management principles that cofounder Reed Hastings established from the very beginning. Hastings rejected the conventional wisdom under which other companies operate and defied tradition to instead build a culture focused on freedom and responsibility, one that has allowed Netflix to adapt and innovate as the needs of its members and the world have simultaneously transformed. Hastings set new standards, valuing people over process, emphasizing innovation over efficiency, and giving employees context, not controls. At Netflix, there are no vacation or expense policies. At Netflix, adequate performance gets a generous severance, and hard work is irrelevant. At Netflix, you don’t try to please your boss, you give candid feedback instead. At Netflix, employees don’t need approval, and the company pays top of market. When Hastings and his team first devised these unorthodox principles, the implications were unknown and untested. But in just a short period, their methods led to unparalleled speed and boldness, as Netflix quickly became one of the most loved brands in the world. 

Here for the first time, Hastings and Erin Meyer, best-selling author of The Culture Map and one of the world’s most influential business thinkers, dive deep into the controversial ideologies at the heart of the Netflix psyche, which have generated results that are the envy of the business world. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with current and past Netflix employees from around the globe and never-before-told stories of trial and error from Hastings’s own career, No Rules Rules is the fascinating and untold account of the philosophy behind one of the world’s most innovative, imaginative, and successful companies.

*Includes a PDF containing examples of Netflix Culture Maps from the book.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Given the current hostility to the technology sector, the rejection of established H.R. wisdom and intensity of the organizational upheaval promoted by No Rules Rules may generate controversy. Mr. Hastings could have remained under the radar during the Silicon Valley’s cultural maelstrom. Instead, he has entered the fray with an important contribution that provides the beginnings of a road map for the sector to regain trust.... No Rules Rules demonstrates that it is not only possible to pursue both freedom and responsibility at the same time, but that for Silicon Valley and the rest of us to thrive together, it is essential.” (The New York Times)

“Hastings, CEO and cofounder of Netflix, and Meyer, a business professor at INSEAD, team up to explore the organizational cultures, successes, and lessons learned within Netflix...taking turns throughout the book to explain a situation or practice. This format feels conversational, and makes the book very easy to follow.... Informative, thought provoking, and down-to-earth.” (Booklist)

"In alternating sections with Meyer, who provides elaboration based on more than 200 Netflix interviews, Hastings details the making of the Netflix way, from hiring the best creative talent at high pay to increasing candor through frequent feedback and gradually removing controls that stifle innovation.... Fascinating story of a counterintuitive approach that apparently works." (Kirkus Reviews)

Infomercial for Netflix

Mostly an infomercial for Netflix. Too early to celebrate for va 15 year old company. it is unfortunate they had to drag Erin Meyer to co-author this self advertisement. There was only a half a chapter at the end of the book on how this so called Netflix culture would be adaptable globally.

I'd Rather Binge-Watch This as a Netflix Series

"Fast Recovery is the Best Medicine," is my favorite quote from the book. I feel like it is applicable to both technical systems and people sunshining unfortunate moments.

I'm inspired to enhance, improve and kickstart many of the Netflixian techniques listed in the book at my own workplace, w00t! So naturally, I'm sure my coworkers are going to hate me 🤣🤣

Btw, when offline content works, I like it. Recently, my partner had a bad incident with it and now I understand that it was never a fully embraced feature (probably why it is still crapola today). Reed--your nuts wrt Data Caps. Somebody please sunshine the offline cognitive bias out of his brain. We're a good 15 years away from truly unlimited and streaming data (why would profitable IP companies or SpaceX give up control of the pipe/satellite). Free us from the pipe!!!!!

An Interesting Approach to Corporate Culture

This is a great overview of a very unique way to approach corporate culture in the creative industries of the 21st century. Highly recommended read for all managers and business students.

Good at first

Starts strong but ends meh. Listen at 1.5x and it’s worth it. At least it’s not a huge time commitment.

Not what I expected

"We're Netflix, look at how breaking conventional wisdom made us successful." I have 5 hours left but there seems to be no information about the shows, the creative influences, the artists involved with various Netflix studios shows. The author just toots his own horn and offers mostly empty revelations about Netflix's corporate culture and policies as if this is the very thing that made them successful. I argue that there is way more to Netflix. Sure the book might be counterintuitive to some people and reveals how Netflix dealt with the drawbacks of their decicions but it's really just not a great book imo. I'm currently listening to Creativity Inc and it's a much better balance of explaining work culture and talking about creative decisions than this book. This book is not terrible, but there are better books for people wanting to know possible answers to what makes creative success.

This is the future of corporate culture

I highly recommend reading this book to study the future of corporate culture . culture becomes the most important differentiator and factor for success, attractiveness and innovation.
its narrated very well and the voices are nice to listen to.

Not the story of Netflix… a dull book about their “culture”

It’s awful… I was expecting a book with the amazing story of how they started the company… this isn’t it…

Fascinating book

This book gave me a lot to think about. I don't know that I believe Netflix got everything right, or that I would even want to work there, but the Netflix way challenges the assumptions of Corporate America and I found it very interesting to reach about.

Worth It

Really enjoyed this book! The last 25% got a little stale – but it’s still great and I would redo end it to any business owner.

Phenomenal book about a phenomenal culture

Id you’re like me, after reading this, you’ll desperately want to work at Netflix. The book’s format where Reed Hastings describes his theoretical strategy behind Netflix’s culture and Erin Meyer testing that against actual experiences of Netflix employees is a unique approach that keeps this book fresh and fact-based. Having two narrators for their two voices brings this dynamic to life.