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September 29 - October 14, 2024
First build up talent density . . . 1 ▶ A Great Workplace Is Stunning Colleagues Then increase candor . . . 2 ▶ Say What You Really Think (with Positive Intent)
“stunning colleagues”—highly talented people, of diverse backgrounds and perspectives, who are exceptionally creative, accomplish significant amounts of important work, and collaborate effectively.
“Only say about someone what you will say to their face.”
candid feedback in a company is a lot more difficult than putting up traffic signs. To foster an atmosphere of candor requires getting your employees to abandon years of conditioning and firmly held beliefs such as, “Only give feedback when someone asks you for it” and “Praise in public, criticize in private.”
foolish man in power so convinced he was wearing the finest costume ever made that he paraded naked in front of his subjects. No one dared point out the obvious—except for a child with no understanding of hierarchy, power, or consequences. The higher you get in an organization, the less feedback you receive, and the more likely you are to “come to work naked”
As part of the audience in the room yesterday, your comments to Patty came across to me as dismissive and disrespectful. I bring this up because at last year’s retreat, you talked about the importance of creating an environment where people are encouraged to speak up and contribute to the conversation (whether in dissent or to augment). In the room yesterday, we had a mix of folks—directors and VPs—and some who don’t know you well. The tone you used with Patty would prevent me, if I didn’t know you as well, from voicing my opinion publicly in front of you in the future, for fear you might shut
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AIM TO ASSIST: Feedback must be given with positive intent. Giving feedback in order to get frustration off your chest, intentionally hurting the other person, or furthering your political agenda is not tolerated. Clearly explain how a specific behavior change will help the individual or the company, not how it will help you. “The way you pick your teeth in meetings with external partners is irritating” is wrong feedback. Right feedback would be, “If you stop picking your teeth in external partner meetings, the partners are more likely to see you as professional, and we’re more likely to build
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“When I saw how senior management spends their time, I lost confidence in the company,”
SPEND COMPANY MONEY AS IF IT WERE YOUR OWN
ACT IN NETFLIX’S BEST INTEREST
Organizations are full of SOS. Every day, managers grapple with the questions: “Should I tell my people? And if so, at what risk?” But keeping quiet brings risks too, as Reed’s fear and falling productivity at Coherent Software demonstrated all those years ago.
continue sharing quarterly financial data with employees before announcing it publicly—while also warning them about the dire potential consequences of leaks.
I don’t want my employees to feel like they’re working for Netflix;
We also created a strategy document that was filled with information we wouldn’t want our competitors to know, and posted it on the bulletin board next to the coffee machine.
leave the spin in the gym
the pratfall effect. The pratfall effect is the tendency for someone’s appeal to increase or decrease after making a mistake, depending on his or her perceived ability to perform well in general.
we emphasize that it’s fine to disagree with your manager and to implement an idea she dislikes.
“Don’t seek to please the boss,”
Our mantra is that employees don’t need the boss’s approval to move forward (but they should let the boss know what’s going on).
OR SOCIALIZE THE IDEA
Farm for dissent. Socialize the idea. Test it out.
complexity kills consumer engagement.
On a pro baseball team, the players have great relationships. These players are really close. They support one another. They celebrate together, console one another, and know each other’s plays so well that they can move as one without speaking. But they are not a family. The coach swaps and trades players in and out throughout the year in order to make sure they always have the best player in every position. Patty was right. At Netflix, I want each
Would the company be better off if you let go of Samuel and looked for someone more effective? If they say “yes,” that’s a clear sign that it’s time to look for another player.
IF A PERSON ON YOUR TEAM WERE TO QUIT TOMORROW, WOULD YOU TRY TO CHANGE THEIR MIND? OR WOULD YOU ACCEPT THEIR RESIGNATION, PERHAPS WITH A LITTLE RELIEF? IF THE LATTER, YOU SHOULD GIVE THEM A SEVERANCE PACKAGE NOW, AND LOOK FOR A STAR, SOMEONE YOU WOULD FIGHT TO KEEP.
“IF I WERE THINKING OF LEAVING, HOW HARD WOULD YOU WORK TO CHANGE MY MIND?”
In order to encourage your managers to be tough on performance, teach them to use the Keeper Test: “Which of my people, if they told me they were leaving for a similar job at another company, would I fight hard to keep?”
“Only say about someone what you will say to their face.”
The first problem is that the feedback goes only one way—downward. The second difficulty is that with a performance review you get feedback from only one person—your boss. This is in direct opposition to our “don’t seek to please your boss” vibe. I want people to receive feedback not just from their direct managers but from anyone who has feedback to provide. The third issue is that companies usually base performance reviews on annual goals. But employees and their managers don’t set annual goals or KPIs
put the feedback in writing and signed my name.”
The goal is to help everyone get better, not to categorize them into boxes.
Then he proceeded line by line to read through the feedback
read these items just like he was reading a list of food to buy
Positive actionable feedback (continue to . . .) is fine, but keep it in check. A good mix is 25 percent positive and 75 percent developmental (start doing . . . and stop doing . . .). Any nonactionable fluff (“I
If someone moves out of the 4A feedback guidelines to speak in a way that is sarcastic, aggressive, or generally unhelpful during the live 360, the leader needs to step in and correct the comment
“Hey—that’s not helpful!”
lead with context or control, the second key question to ask is whether your goal is error prevention or innovation.
WHEN ONE OF YOUR PEOPLE DOES SOMETHING DUMB DON’T BLAME THEM. INSTEAD ASK YOURSELF WHAT CONTEXT YOU FAILED TO SET. ARE YOU ARTICULATE AND INSPIRING ENOUGH IN EXPRESSING YOUR GOALS AND STRATEGY? HAVE YOU CLEARLY EXPLAINED ALL THE ASSUMPTIONS AND RISKS THAT WILL HELP YOUR TEAM TO MAKE GOOD DECISIONS? ARE YOU AND YOUR EMPLOYEES HIGHLY ALIGNED ON VISION AND OBJECTIVES?
When one of your people does something dumb, don’t blame that person. Instead, ask yourself what context you failed to
“We are a team, not a family” is about insisting on high performance; it’s not about investing every minute in the work, avoiding getting to know one another deeply, or not caring about the people you work with.
The 4As are as follows: Aim to assist Actionable Appreciate Accept or decline Plus one makes 5: Adapt—your delivery and your reaction to the culture you’re working with to get the results that you need.
IT’S JAZZ, NOT A SYMPHONY
