That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea

by Marc Randolph

A culture of freedom and responsibility, coupled with radical honesty, worked like a charm. Not only did we get great results, but employees loved it. People who have the judgment to make decisions responsibly love having the freedom to do so. They love being trusted. But that just makes sense, right? If you fill your company with people who lack good judgment, then you have to build all kinds of guardrails to keep them in line. You have to define everything for them: how much they can spend on office supplies, how many vacation days they take, when they are expected to be at their desk. Most companies end up building a system to protect themselves from people who lack judgment. And that only ends up frustrating the people who have it. Remember the engineers in the hot tub? If you treat people like children, it doesn’t matter how many beanbag chairs and beer parties you throw at them. They will resent you.