Reed Hastings

360 written report is a good mechanism for annual feedback. But avoid anonymity and numeric ratings, don’t link results to raises or promotions, and open up comments to anyone who is ready to give them.

use the Start, Stop, Continue method with roughly 25 percent positive, 75 percent developmental—all actionable and no fluff.

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?

For top performers, a great workplace isn’t about a lavish office, a beautiful gym, or a free sushi lunch. It’s about the joy of being surrounded by people who are both talented and collaborative. People who can help you be better. When every member is excellent, performance spirals upward as employees learn from and motivate one another.

The brain is a survival machine, and one of our most successful survival techniques is the desire to find safety in numbers. O

Today, in the information age, what matters is what you achieve, not how many hours you clock, especially for the employees of creative companies like Netflix.

One study showed people spend twice as much time thinking about their secrets as they do actively concealing them.

When you offer freedom, even if you set context and clarify the ramifications of abuse, a small percentage of people will cheat the system. When this happens, don’t overreact and create more rules.

Netflix has had its cheaters. The most talked-about case concerned an employee in Taiwan who traveled a lot for business and was slipping in numerous luxurious vacations on the company’s dime. His manager didn’t check his receipts and finance didn’t audit him for three full years. By the time he was caught he had spent over $100,000 on personal travel. Needless to say, he was fired.

After a few weeks at Netflix, I was preparing for my first customer dinner. I asked my boss, Tanya, “What’s the policy for expensing meals with customers?” Her response was infuriating: “There’s no policy. Use your best judgment. Act in Netflix’s best interest.”