Reed Hastings: No Rules Rules

Just two weeks ago, when I began reading about Reed Hastings’ and Erin Meyer’s book entitled “No rules rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention”, it had got me real thinking. Though I am yet to read the full version, yet an article written on LinkedIn, by a Netflix employee triggered some thoughts about the existing work culture in the current corporates, and how Netflix has been redefining the same over the years. 

Most of us often wonder and hold the opinion that Netflix is a newly formed company that has been catering to its audience recently, yet in reality, it was formed in 1997 in California, the United States. What’s more interesting and intriguing here is the fact that Netflix's initial business model had included DVD sales and rental by mail, and it was only in 2007 that Netflix’s business operation expanded, at a time when streaming media was being introduced. Guess there was no looking back for them ever since. 

While things were normal, and most of us would be debating whether or not we should be visiting the theatres for a particular movie, someone would invariably come up with the idea of waiting a little more, with the thought that the movie would be streaming soon on Netflix. The thing with these streaming platforms is that they coax the consumer pattern and behaviour to change, almost forcing them to think about the varying options available before them. 

Gone are the days when we had to depend on several movie channels for the streaming of a particular movie, and thus waiting eagerly for the same. Or consider watching serials for that matter. Most of these soap operas would be ending on a suspicious note, inviting sleepless nights for the viewer amid a lot of mystery. Video streaming platforms have an added advantage there as well, where one can just watch a particular Web series any number of times that he wants to, and most importantly watch any number of episodes that he wants to. As for myself, I can boast of watching a whole season of ‘13 Reasons Why’ in a day. 

Consumer preferences have been undergoing a rapid amount of changes, and video streaming platforms play a pivotal role in triggering the emotions. It’s just that everything is so readily available these days that possibly, there is an opportunity of surplus somewhere. In the article that I mentioned about in my previous paragraphs, a lot was being mentioned about the hiring of talent and teamwork as well at Netflix. 

It was mentioned that not only does Netflix ensure and specialise in hiring the best talent, but it also ensures that the best people get the best out of their fellow teammates, and teamwork is what that has been held in very high regard.

Amid all this, what gets me thinking is how many times is the way in which the consumer behavior has been undergoing a rapid amount of changes, and the fact that it’s changing so very dynamically. A mere interpretation and anticipation of mine says that possibly in the future we’d have robots that’ll be deciding on our tastes and preferences, and perhaps that day isn’t too far...