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'That Will Never Work.' Leadership Lessons from Netflix

You have to trust yourself, try things, and be OK with failing.

July 07, 2020

The year 2020 has been rough for most of us, but not for Netflix. In yesterday’s trading, the company’s stock hit an all-time high of $499.50, giving it a market value of nearly $219 billion. Not bad for a company that faced skepticism from the beginning, even from the wife of one of the co-founders.

And in fairness, she had a point. When Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings decided to found Netflix, they were competing with Blockbuster, which controlled the market share of movie rentals. The idea of streaming movies was non-existent.

In their car rides to and from work, Hastings and Randolph exchanged ideas and eventually came up with their plan for Netflix, despite Mrs. Hastings’ lack of enthusiasm for the project. In his book titled “That Will Never Work,” Randolph lays out the strategy for Netflix, how they were highly adaptable, consumer considerate, and above all, reminded themselves that “Nobody knows anything.” This isn’t an indictment — it’s just a reminder. You have to trust yourself, try things, and be OK with failing.

In the book, Randolph lays out 8 simple rules for his success:

  1. Do at least 10% more than you’re asked to do anytime. This is excellent advice for everyone. Always give more.

  2. Never state as fact something that you don’t know. We all need to remind ourselves of the difference between thinking we know and actually to know.

  3. Be courteous always, up and down. Be kind to those around you. It does not cost extra.

  4. Never complain — about anything. We can overcome it.

  5. Don’t be afraid to make decisions when you have the facts. Once you collect the data, be firm and robust.

  6. Be open-minded but skeptical — ask questions and listen to the answers. Then challenge the answers.

  7. Quantify whenever possible — we work best when we understand the risk and reward.

  8. Be prompt. Don’t make people wait.

These are eight strong qualities we need to adopt. And don’t ever be deterred when you hear, “That will never work.” Hastings and Randolph are proof it can.

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