Lead From the Heart

Lead From the Heart


Patty McCord: Parting Ways With Traditional Leadership Rules Is How Netflix Built Its Hugely Successful Culture

January 25, 2019

If you’d invested $1,000 in Netflix stock just a dozen years ago, you’d have $90,000 today – quite an extraordinary return from a company that fearlessly took on the Goliath, Blockbuster Video, and won – and today has 137 million customers worldwide.


It wasn’t all that long ago that Netflix was shipping out a million DVD envelopes per day to its customers. But in a deft display of risk-taking and innovation, they pivoted away from DVDs and into on-line streaming. On top of that, they launched a production unit that developed the film, “Roma” nominated this year for the Academy Awards’ “Best Picture.”


So how is it that any one company string together so many consistent wins in a row?  What kind of organizational culture could repeatedly evolve to seize every key opportunity they faced?


As you’re about to hear from Netflix’s long-time Chief Talent Officer, Patty McCord, all of these achievements flowed from her company’s decision to implement a set of leadership practices that intentionally defied convention.


In Patty’s new book, “Powerful: Building A Culture Of Freedom & Responsibility” (one of the Business Insider’s best business books of 2018), she describes the key elements of Netflix’s high performance culture.  While admitting that some of her company’s practices might not be a fit for every company, the key take-away from this interview is there are more things you’ll want to adopt than not.


A truly electric and inspiring conversation that will challenge many of your assumptions about effective workplace management.