No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention
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- Create Date：2021-04-21 09:54:51
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Reed Hastings
- ISBN：1984877860
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Summary
A New York Times Bestseller and Shortlisted for the 2020 Financial Times & McKinsey Business Book of the Year
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's never before been a company like Netflix。 Not only because it has led a revolution in the entertainment industries; or because it generates billions of dollars in annual revenue; or even because it is watched by hundreds of millions of people in nearly 200 countries。 When Reed Hastings co-founded Netflix， he developed a set of counterintuitive and radical management principles， defying all tradition and expectation， which would allow the company to reinvent itself over and over on the way to becoming one of the most loved brands in the world。
Rejecting the conventional wisdom under which other companies operate， Reed set new standards， valuing people over process， emphasizing innovation over efficiency， and giving employees context， not controls。 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 never need approval， and the company always pays top of market。 When Hastings and his team first devised these principles， the implications were unknown and untested， but over just a short period of time they have led to unprecedented flexibility， speed， and boldness。 The culture of freedom and responsibility has allowed the company to constantly grow and change as the world， and its members' needs， have also transformed。
Here for the first time， Hastings and Erin Meyer， bestselling author of The Culture Map and one of the world's most influential business thinkers， dive deep into the controversial philosophies 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 his own career， No Rules Rules is the full， fascinating， and untold story of a unique company making its mark on the world。
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's never before been a company like Netflix。 Not only because it has led a revolution in the entertainment industries; or because it generates billions of dollars in annual revenue; or even because it is watched by hundreds of millions of people in nearly 200 countries。 When Reed Hastings co-founded Netflix， he developed a set of counterintuitive and radical management principles， defying all tradition and expectation， which would allow the company to reinvent itself over and over on the way to becoming one of the most loved brands in the world。
Rejecting the conventional wisdom under which other companies operate， Reed set new standards， valuing people over process， emphasizing innovation over efficiency， and giving employees context， not controls。 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 never need approval， and the company always pays top of market。 When Hastings and his team first devised these principles， the implications were unknown and untested， but over just a short period of time they have led to unprecedented flexibility， speed， and boldness。 The culture of freedom and responsibility has allowed the company to constantly grow and change as the world， and its members' needs， have also transformed。
Here for the first time， Hastings and Erin Meyer， bestselling author of The Culture Map and one of the world's most influential business thinkers， dive deep into the controversial philosophies 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 his own career， No Rules Rules is the full， fascinating， and untold story of a unique company making its mark on the world。
Reviews
Paul
，
Netflix has a very unique way of running their business， but unfortunately their style isn't applicable to the way many other companies can be run。 Netflix has a very unique way of running their business， but unfortunately their style isn't applicable to the way many other companies can be run。 。。。more
Ernest 'Hemingway' Oppetit
，
https://ernest。oppet。it/2021/02/22/no。。。 https://ernest。oppet。it/2021/02/22/no。。。 。。。more
Jitka Müllerová
，
It has been some time I have finished the book and still can't decide how I feel about it。 There are a few things clear to me though:1。 Erin was only invited to observe and was sent a few stories by Netflix employees that she shares throughout the book。 That being very nice， I can't see much of a contribution she had done in the book。 At the end of the book she does write more about the international culture that was basically covering the principles from her previous book with a hidden note "Ne It has been some time I have finished the book and still can't decide how I feel about it。 There are a few things clear to me though:1。 Erin was only invited to observe and was sent a few stories by Netflix employees that she shares throughout the book。 That being very nice， I can't see much of a contribution she had done in the book。 At the end of the book she does write more about the international culture that was basically covering the principles from her previous book with a hidden note "Netflix is trying to overcome different culture and unite it in one" when claiming it is not possible at the same time。2。 Netflix must be a special place to work， but not being employees we can't ever see if everything mentioned in the book really works。 I know that maybe Reed Hastings does believe it， but he may not see in all the departments as I believe even his time is very limited。 It feels like a utopia on paper。3。 If I ever apply for a job at Netflix， I will attach a link of this review to my CV。 4。 If I ever get a job at Netflix， I will re-read the book after first few months in the job and revisit this review。 。。。more
Han-Ching Joyce Chiu
，
Really liked the book。 Oftentimes books like these fall into the 1。 Look how great we are2。 Our company’s culture is the only worthwhile cultureBut this one actually offered competing theories that made the book read more like a discussion。 Rather than a do this， do that， this is the only way to go dogmatic statements。
Alexandre Santos
，
“Liberdade com Responsabilidade”
Lukas Giraldo
，
Una excelente lectura que deja muchas buenas prácticas empresariales。 Muy recomendado。
Akshay Patni
，
This is the best book I have read on modern-day companies。 The format is amazing where Reed mentions the concept behind a practice at Netflix， and then Erin interviews multiple employees on how has been their experiences with it。 It is full of anecdotes from Reed's own and Netflix's other employees。 The book builds dot by dot， where one dot is a necessary condition for the next to build upon。 The book is a summary of "How Netlfix Culture is built" basically "How Netflix work"。 Though， it's almos This is the best book I have read on modern-day companies。 The format is amazing where Reed mentions the concept behind a practice at Netflix， and then Erin interviews multiple employees on how has been their experiences with it。 It is full of anecdotes from Reed's own and Netflix's other employees。 The book builds dot by dot， where one dot is a necessary condition for the next to build upon。 The book is a summary of "How Netlfix Culture is built" basically "How Netflix work"。 Though， it's almost very difficult for any established organization to replicate these things which drive so much freedom and responsibility， and candor at Netflix。 One easily gets a gist that Netflix is only able to do this because of its high talent density and it's top management relentless focus on culture。 They never call themselves as Netflix Family as well， as those are not values they believe in or practice， they rather believe in working as a professional sports team。 Read the book to understand this better。 The book kind of attributes their innovation and success all to their culture， which seems true as well。The book is appropriately titled No Rules Rules。 As someone who has studied HR it was amazing to see how Netflix defies the basic HR practices which every organization adopts like vacation policies， expense policies， PIPs， raise pools， KPIs， MBOs， decision-making approvals， salary bands， pay-for-performance， etc。， as these practices hinder the required dynamism and innovation。 You must wonder how it is possible to have order and direction across without these。 Netflix has amazing ways of maintaining organizational direction and avoiding chaos while having No Rules at all， you must read the book to understand it。 。。。more
Thomas Neil
，
In a corporate/organizational world， I have found that distributed and decentralized organization structures are the norm。 Leaders speak of “flat orgs” and “autonomy” but is it understood why this is desirable and what the goal is with this kind of a structure？ This book reads as a fair assessment of one of the preeminent tech firms ability to keep that decentralized promise。 The principal point is to get the absolute best people， but the book has no discussion of interviewing and talent identif In a corporate/organizational world， I have found that distributed and decentralized organization structures are the norm。 Leaders speak of “flat orgs” and “autonomy” but is it understood why this is desirable and what the goal is with this kind of a structure？ This book reads as a fair assessment of one of the preeminent tech firms ability to keep that decentralized promise。 The principal point is to get the absolute best people， but the book has no discussion of interviewing and talent identification。 In this way， the book provides unactionable suggestions， violating its first principles around feedback。 Hence， I knock off a star。However， the further points made around replacing people who don’t fit and encouraging rapid and candid feedback in all directions appear to land。 Many of the suggested mechanisms and the high level of communication modeled feel like clear improvements over intransparent and centralized orgs。 Additionally， especially in a social democracy with stable unemployment， it does seem that encouraging change and switching for orgs to find a desirable mixture is a good point。 People， and the delicate cocktail that ensues when they are mixed， is a tricky balance which requires flexibility。Whether any org outside of Netflix with its stock explosion and particular industry and product can implement these solutions I believe remains an open question， but certainly the book gave me much to think about。 。。。more
Elena Evgrafova
，
Если что-нибудь и стоит читать по менеджменту， то вот такие книги — написано основателем Netflix （миллиардером） и профессоршей из INSEAD （одна из лучших бизнес-школ в мире）， то бишь практиком и теоретиком из академической среды。 У Netflix интересная модель управления — «дерево» вместо пирамиды。 Повторить такое не получится， но натаскать лайфкаков можно。
Rafa Gomes
，
Um dos melhores livros sobre cultura empresarial。Deveria estar presente nas aulas de graduação e pós （superiores）。Uma verdadeira lição de como conduzir uma empresa dk futuro no presente。
Eliška Vyhnánková
，
Pro mne osobně nesmírně zajímavé čtení。 Jak z úhlu fanouška a diváka Netflixu， tak z úhlu někoho， kdo se vedení lidí záměrně vyhýbá， protože si myslí， že v tom není dobrý :D Firemní kultura Netflixu rozhodně není standardní a zřejmě nemůže （nebo může？） fungovat všude。 Přesto mi při čtení téhle knížky neustále vyskakovalo， že je ideální učebnicí。 Nejen proto， že ukazuje， jak Netflix funguje， ale hlavně proto， že odhaluje chyby a jejich řešení， na kterých současný stav vznikl。 A to je velmi hodnot Pro mne osobně nesmírně zajímavé čtení。 Jak z úhlu fanouška a diváka Netflixu， tak z úhlu někoho， kdo se vedení lidí záměrně vyhýbá， protože si myslí， že v tom není dobrý :D Firemní kultura Netflixu rozhodně není standardní a zřejmě nemůže （nebo může？） fungovat všude。 Přesto mi při čtení téhle knížky neustále vyskakovalo， že je ideální učebnicí。 Nejen proto， že ukazuje， jak Netflix funguje， ale hlavně proto， že odhaluje chyby a jejich řešení， na kterých současný stav vznikl。 A to je velmi hodnotné。 。。。more
Daniiela
，
3，5Muy buen libro pero hasta cierto punto se me ha hecho un tanto repetitivo。 Ha sido muy interesante leer testimonios de múltiples empleados de la empresa de diferentes países。 Leer sus anécdotas y experiencias en Netflix， cómo esta ha impacto en su vida。。。creo que es de lo mejorcito del libro y lo que realmente me enganchó。 Aprendes a ver las empresas de una forma diferente y a valorar el estilo de trabajo de Netflix y de empresas creativas como esta。
K AL-SAMARRAI
，
So different it's brilliant Read a lot of management books this one is so different - what they are doing at NFLX makes me want to go and work there。。。。 if only。 Worth reading for any ceo， entrepreneur， founder， cofounder， COO， ，cfo or anyone that can make a change in their company！ So different it's brilliant Read a lot of management books this one is so different - what they are doing at NFLX makes me want to go and work there。。。。 if only。 Worth reading for any ceo， entrepreneur， founder， cofounder， COO， ，cfo or anyone that can make a change in their company！ 。。。more
Alex
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Libro interessante che introduce sulla metodologia lavorativa di una società incredibilmente all’avanguardia。 Sicuramente offre spunti interessanti sulla gestione ottimale di un’azienda。Molto d’effetto anche il fatto che i due autori si alternassero per interi paragrafi， meno noioso di un classico “botta e risposta”。Consigliato！
Anthony
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A mind-blowing read。 Very interesting to get a deep look inside Netflix company culture and how they approach optimizing for success in a creative and fast pace domain。Enjoyed it immensely。 Definitely many lessons to take away and mull over。
Pavan Palety
，
Had high expectations from the book。 But just like any other mediocre business book， it has 3-4 core points to make but drags these with examples and mundane anecdotes （save a few） for 300 odd pages。 In doing so， it assumes the average reader is a corporate drone and cannot simply fathom a culture of freedom & responsibility or any of the fancy cultural jiu jitsu Netflix is peddling。 Most of the concepts are also made out to be Netflix inventions whereas some of them have existed since time imme Had high expectations from the book。 But just like any other mediocre business book， it has 3-4 core points to make but drags these with examples and mundane anecdotes （save a few） for 300 odd pages。 In doing so， it assumes the average reader is a corporate drone and cannot simply fathom a culture of freedom & responsibility or any of the fancy cultural jiu jitsu Netflix is peddling。 Most of the concepts are also made out to be Netflix inventions whereas some of them have existed since time immemorial。 While I do like to give kudos to Netflix for implementing these in their ecosystem， I felt it was a very presumptuous and premature book to come out of a relatively young company like Netflix。 。。。more
Kristaps Vergins
，
A great behind-the-scenes look into Netflix's famous innovation-driven culture。 Mainly because of the cultural pillars Netflix has risen as an entertainment industry behemoth and looks like it doesn't plan to stop any time soon。 Indeed， you can compare Netflix with a professional sports team - if you don't bring your A-game， you won't last long。 But still， like in sports， being around the best and tasting the sweet victory can give joy， fulfillment， and long-lasting memories。 A great behind-the-scenes look into Netflix's famous innovation-driven culture。 Mainly because of the cultural pillars Netflix has risen as an entertainment industry behemoth and looks like it doesn't plan to stop any time soon。 Indeed， you can compare Netflix with a professional sports team - if you don't bring your A-game， you won't last long。 But still， like in sports， being around the best and tasting the sweet victory can give joy， fulfillment， and long-lasting memories。 。。。more
Suramya
，
The book is very well written。 A non-fiction book is meaningful only when the reader takes away some key learnings。 The authors have taken care of this by not just including Key Takeaways at the end of every chapter but also linking it to previous chapters which makes the reading more effortless。The book is based on Steve Job's quote: "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards"Thus， every time that reader is stuck in a chapter， about why other compan The book is very well written。 A non-fiction book is meaningful only when the reader takes away some key learnings。 The authors have taken care of this by not just including Key Takeaways at the end of every chapter but also linking it to previous chapters which makes the reading more effortless。The book is based on Steve Job's quote: "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards"Thus， every time that reader is stuck in a chapter， about why other companies are not able to emulate what Netflix has， his/her doubt is solved within a few paragraphs as the authors have connected the dots brilliantly。My favourite part from the book was when Reed accepts that yes， our policy gives someone an opportunity to take advantage of us and when someone does that， we'll deal with him on a case-to-case basis but will not change our culture。 This level of honestly and practicality makes me like the book even better。 。。。more
Rasmus Leichter
，
Awesome book about company culture and structure which has articulated how I've always felt things should be organized in a business （but much more than that）。Netflix is one of those startups that actually generate large profits and don't depend on growth and investment to stay afloat。 Its main strength is adaptibility。 Reed Hastings explains how Netflix has managed to accomplish that。The two main pillars of the Netflix culture are FREEDOM and RESPONSIBILITY。 Nobody has to get approval from thei Awesome book about company culture and structure which has articulated how I've always felt things should be organized in a business （but much more than that）。Netflix is one of those startups that actually generate large profits and don't depend on growth and investment to stay afloat。 Its main strength is adaptibility。 Reed Hastings explains how Netflix has managed to accomplish that。The two main pillars of the Netflix culture are FREEDOM and RESPONSIBILITY。 Nobody has to get approval from their managers to make any decisions。 Leaders in Netflix lead by context， not control。 The context is the "north star" or the ultimate goal where the company needs to go。 Everyone in Netflix is aligned with the context， but the people doing the jobs are the most competent in their area to make decisions， so there are no set ways， rules or controls on how to get there。 The employees are free in almost every decision， including when， how and where to work， when and for how long to take vacations （6-8 weeks is normal， nobody counts your vacation days）， how to spend company money for business travel etc。 The only context for the freedoms is: "Act in Netflix's best interest。"A huge part of the Netflix way is the way of giving and receiving regular， candid feedback。 Feedback is encouraged and not from top-down， but in every direction。 Imagine a situation: a new employee is on a meeting with the management team。 One of the managers says something that the employee does not agree with。 It is ENCOURAGED that he / she speak up and tell the manager feedback then and there。 It is considered irresponsible if you DON'T speak up， because it could harm the company。 They will absolutely not get fired over this。 Don't be a jerk， though - the feedback has to be structured and useful。 The feedback is based on the 4A （AAAA） rule: Aim to assist， Actionable， Appreciate （the feedback you received and thank them）， Accept or discard （you can agree or disagree with feedback given to you）。This sort of culture only works because Netflix has a high talent density。 They pay top-of-the-market wages， and if any employee gets a better offer， Netflix will match that。 It is encouraged to go to other interviews。 If the employee is not a high-achiever， they will get fired with a very generous severance package。Lastly， this style of leadership and culture is in direct opposition to the traditional， pyramid-shaped， rule-based and highly authoritarian decision structure used in most organizations。 The traditional style is great when you need to minimize errors， but the Netflix style is the best when you need to innovate。This book has had a huge influence on me and how I think of company culture and I would recommend it to everybody in business。 。。。more
Angie
，
Read it with the leadership team at work。 Wish it spent more than 1 page at the end recognizing all of the places where there is no other option but process and rules， and also wish there was some sort of guide on getting from where you are to getting here （if that's where you want to go）。 Made it hard for any of this to feel actionable。 Read it with the leadership team at work。 Wish it spent more than 1 page at the end recognizing all of the places where there is no other option but process and rules， and also wish there was some sort of guide on getting from where you are to getting here （if that's where you want to go）。 Made it hard for any of this to feel actionable。 。。。more
Daniel
，
Even with a phone call with a Netflix hiring manager scheduled for next week， I couldn't stomach， or finish， this book。 "No Rules Rules"， presumably a variant and/or sequel of Lazlo Block's similarly punny Work Rules！: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead， is every bit the insipid management book you'd fear it could be。 It essentially is a glorified rehashing of the Netflix Culture Deck that made rounds some years ago， with a lot of personal anecdotes from Reed Even with a phone call with a Netflix hiring manager scheduled for next week， I couldn't stomach， or finish， this book。 "No Rules Rules"， presumably a variant and/or sequel of Lazlo Block's similarly punny Work Rules！: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead， is every bit the insipid management book you'd fear it could be。 It essentially is a glorified rehashing of the Netflix Culture Deck that made rounds some years ago， with a lot of personal anecdotes from Reed and a fawning "critical outsider" for padding。 Empiricism be damned。 Instead you are advised to join the cult based purely on Netflix's success and some cherry-picked examples demonstrating the "No Rules Rules" in action。 As far as scientific support is concerned， it is mostly used as a foil， e。g。 "what we do is the opposite of what the research， for example on psychological safety， indicates - but we were successful， so lol！"Given the wealth the author has already accumulated via the titular venture， it's not clear to me why this book was made， perhaps as a vanity project or Netflix propaganda。 In any case， I absolutely do not recommend it if you're hoping to actually learn anything beyond what Netflix already advertises about its culture。 。。。more
Regimantas Urbanas
，
This is certainly one of most important books I've read this year ❤️📖💯I'm absolutely fascinated by the company's culture of Netflix and would love to implement majority of its principles in my company/team: - build a team of talented people， which are then constantly developing by learning from each other- establish a strong culture of instant， actionable and honest feedback- once you trust your team 100%， start removing controls and the red-tape from the processes to boost innovation and foster This is certainly one of most important books I've read this year ❤️📖💯I'm absolutely fascinated by the company's culture of Netflix and would love to implement majority of its principles in my company/team: - build a team of talented people， which are then constantly developing by learning from each other- establish a strong culture of instant， actionable and honest feedback- once you trust your team 100%， start removing controls and the red-tape from the processes to boost innovation and foster extreme sense of ownershipThese are just a few takeaways， but the whole book is eye-opening and inspiring！ A must read！ 。。。more
Markus Mittler
，
Exceptionally good management book
Steph
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I'm not into the business genre， but as a teacher I thought it might help with running a more creative and successful classroom。 As it is very much directed towards upper management， or in a school setting administration， I didn't pick up many useful tips， but it was interesting。 The interactive elements could make it a very useful business class study。 I will always think of this book now when I log onto my （friend's） Netflix account！ I'm not into the business genre， but as a teacher I thought it might help with running a more creative and successful classroom。 As it is very much directed towards upper management， or in a school setting administration， I didn't pick up many useful tips， but it was interesting。 The interactive elements could make it a very useful business class study。 I will always think of this book now when I log onto my （friend's） Netflix account！ 。。。more
Veta Armonaite
，
That’s a must read for everyone working in modern company that’s striving for innovation！ I enjoyed every piece of it and took plenty of notes that I’m aiming to start applying in my daily job and that I want to preach at my company。 Initially it might seem as a very harsh culture but when you better understand how it works and what are the key foundational elements， everything makes sense。 Leading with context and honest candid feedback with positive intent are probably my main takeaways from m That’s a must read for everyone working in modern company that’s striving for innovation！ I enjoyed every piece of it and took plenty of notes that I’m aiming to start applying in my daily job and that I want to preach at my company。 Initially it might seem as a very harsh culture but when you better understand how it works and what are the key foundational elements， everything makes sense。 Leading with context and honest candid feedback with positive intent are probably my main takeaways from many others。 。。。more
Ramona
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Good insights but a long one。。 Could’ve been a lot more concise。
Joe Carbonaro
，
One of my favorite business books， it’s cool seeing how innovative Netflix was so early。 Much of what they put in place is now common in startups （but not executed well）。 Highly recommend。
Rachel Tan
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Although this was a digestible and well written book， it was a little too prescriptive for me。 I wanted to find out more about netflix’s journey， the past saga with blockbuster and how they innovated， but i might have picked up the wrong book。 Great for company leaders and managers with clear takeaways。
Lorrayne
，
I never thought I would like a management book so much。 Well， it happened。 I am not saying that the Netflix work culture is perfect， but this book has certainly opened my eyes on how used we are to accepting flawed work cultures that do not value autonomy， innovation， candor。 It also makes me think that the first step to change are visionary leaders that are willing to take a chance and share the burden （and excitement） of change with their teams。 Makes me think how we can also build work cultur I never thought I would like a management book so much。 Well， it happened。 I am not saying that the Netflix work culture is perfect， but this book has certainly opened my eyes on how used we are to accepting flawed work cultures that do not value autonomy， innovation， candor。 It also makes me think that the first step to change are visionary leaders that are willing to take a chance and share the burden （and excitement） of change with their teams。 Makes me think how we can also build work cultures that are more empathetic， that foster safe spaces for difficult conversation and that encourage sharing of lessons learned。 I like what it has catalyzed in me in terms of thinking about how organizations and leadership can make a difference。 。。。more
Garima Khandelwal
，