"The Birth of Netflix by the first CEO and co-founder Marc Randolph"

Here's one that appeared for me in my Kindle recommendations, and quite cheaply I seem to recall, so I jumped in. What does the co-founder and former CEO of Netflix have to say for himself?

That Will Never Work is the autobiographical journey of this disruptive company and its founder. Of course, this was great technology that changed the game, altered how we viewed TV and movies, and put some others out of business.

Nowadays, we have gone past this and are entering the next phase. Will Netflix (and others) be relevant going forward? Perhaps they will go the way of Blockbuster. The cycle continues.

But for now, they had an amazing decade or 2 and it's interesting to see how these concepts developed and ultimately took off!

The title was something that was said to the author, so he went ahead and tested the theory. Let's see how he got on…

Great quotes from the book, followed by my additional thoughts…

When you start a company, what you’re really doing is getting other people to latch on to an idea. You have to convince your future employees, investors, business partners, and board members that your idea is worth spending money, reputation, and time on.

It's about getting that vision that's in your head across to the other person/people. It's all well and good it being there and it may be great, but if you can't transmit it, it's going nowhere. You need to get people involved and excited at the idea, and willing to get involved and do what it takes to make it a success.

Who wouldn’t be exuberant about the advent of one of the most revolutionary, game-changing technologies in the history of our species?

Anyone would. But there could be many of these… by which I mean touted as world-changing etc but may or may not be what the Founders are making out or envisioning.

It's about something that exists in an embryonic stage and giving life and impetus to it. As stated, if people can see the potential and want to be part of it (and are able) then they should jump at the chance.

We were on the edge of an open green field – unplowed, unplanted.

Unspoilt, untouched, ready to be moulded. On new ground basically, building something that hasn't been done before.

That meant giving them not only what they thought they wanted, but what they didn’t even know they wanted.

It was Henry Ford who said, if I had asked the people what they wanted, they would have asked for a faster horse.

As in, before mass produced cars, transport was the horse and carriage. People don't know what they don't know so the only real vision they had for improvements was saying, better horse. Ford gave them something much more, but they could not have seen that for themselves.

Yes, ask your customers and potential customers and get feedback for your product or service that gives the people what they want. But also bear in mind that they may not even see what the potential is, so it's about showing them that and then giving it to them.

The only cure, it seemed, was work. I didn’t worry about Netflix’s future when I was deeply engaged in ensuring it. And I didn’t despair about our new house when I was working on it.

We can get a bit stifled with uncertainty and how things might pan out. If you're throwing yourself into a bold business idea which could well not work out, you are taking a risk.

The longer you sit around worrying, the worse it is. At least with action, you're keeping busy plus putting the wheels in motion for success, or at least the best chance of it.

Handpick a dozen brilliant, creative people, give them a set of delicious problems to solve, then give them space to solve them.

Hire great people, teach them what they need to get on with the job… then let them do it! Quality over quantity, and attitude and adaptability over functional box ticking.

Real innovation comes not from top-down pronouncements and narrowly defined tasks. It comes from hiring innovators focused on the big picture who can orient themselves within a problem and solve it without having their hand held the whole time.

Again, this is allowing people to work on their own initiative. Give them direction, but give them the space to solve and come up with their own solutions. They have that compelling vision of the big picture and direction of the company, they can then go about their task(s) with that in mind, but don't need to be micro-managed.

People want to be treated like adults. They want to have a mission they believe in, a problem to solve, and space to solve it. They want to be surrounded by other adults whose abilities they respect.

Exactly, this isn't school. And this isn't about ego. It's about working together to bring a great product/service and influence a huge paradigm shift. Plenty of respect on all sides.

What they really want is freedom and responsibility. They want to be loosely coupled but tightly aligned.

This extends from the previous points. A sense of freedom and personal responsibility for their part in the project. They can then take ownership and pride, and have the space to perhaps create something extraordinary. Or see another angle.

Source

Amazon was originally called Cadabra. Twitter started off as Status.

Interesting. Would it have stuck? Then again, Amazon is a bit random in relation to what they do. I guess 'Cadabra' is like abracadabra… like magic! (The book also details an early meeting of Randolph with Jeff Bezos.)

Status makes sense for Twitter as it's descriptive and is what it is, but not fun.

Our beta name was Kibble. As in dog food.

Not sure why you'd go with that. Just as well they went with something else!

The key to these pitches is to read the room, sense what they want to hear, and then give that to them – without lying, obfuscating, or distorting the truth.

Play to your audience. Be truthful and present in the best way, but cater your offer to those in the room, adjusting to the mood and requirements.

The ancient Greeks had a term for this: halcyon days.

A period of calm in the past, and looked at with nostalgia. A sort of longing for those early days before things really kicked off.

Can also be a period of calm during the winter, when storms don't occur but used figuratively here.

If people want what you have, they will break down your door, leap over broken links, and beg you for more. If they don’t want what you’ve got, changing the color palette won’t make a damned bit of difference.

Re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Little tweaks won't matter if no-one wants what you've got anyway. But if they do… they'll be throwing themselves at you.

William Goldman / “Nobody Knows Anything”

This was part of a quote from Goldman, saying exactly that. Here's the full quote:

“Nobody knows anything...... Not one person in the entire motion picture field knows for a certainty what's going to work. Every time out it's a guess and, if you're lucky, an educated one.”

A lot of it comes down to luck. Yes, luck can be helped along its way with smart and consistent action but ultimately a few things going for or against you could make the difference, and they're often out of your hands.

Netflix and Randolph had a few things go their way, as do most who get to this position. That's not an excuse for inaction, we need to be in the game, but also a helping hand doesn't go amiss.

Focus. It’s an entrepreneur’s secret weapon.

Focus is a superpower! We come back to it again and again, but somehow having it and using it wisely are key.

trust your gut, but also test it.

Trust but verify ol' Ronny Reagan used to say (which came from a Russian proverb). Of course, go with it but also verifying before acting.

Blockbuster

We all know the video rental store don't we… or we did. They were killed off my Netflix and others as they didn't move with the times. They were the biggest and dominant in the industry, but as it turns out not too big to fail. Times and tech moved on, but they didn't. Now they are long gone…

the company had been slow – extremely slow – to adapt to new technology like the DVD, and to the internet.

Re-iterating the above. Maybe they were resistant and thought it all a passing fad but tech and the market don't wait around. Perhaps a bit set in their ways and too big for their boots?

when it comes to making your dream a reality, one of the most powerful weapons at your disposal is dogged, bullheaded insistence. It pays to be the person who won’t take no for an answer, since in business, no doesn’t always mean no.

You need to keep pushing. Mostly, it will be an initial 'no' but that can be turned to a yes with persistence and approaching things in new ways.

bounce back quickly

Bouncebackability. How quickly - and how often - you get knocked down and get back up. Taking it on the chin and cracking on, constantly.

But gone, also, were the scrappy underdog days. I missed them. I missed the late nights and early mornings, the lawn chairs and card tables.

We've discussed a few times in these articles a similar concept. That wistful reminiscing of days gone by, the journey and the adventure. Yes, you've now 'made it' but a part of you misses all the struggles and tribulations of starting out and getting things off the ground.

Radical honesty. Freedom and responsibility.

This is a strong way to be and lead. We spoke about freedom and responsibility earlier, and now we add honesty. This includes all types, including integrity and authenticity as well as the more obvious honesty which has everything in the open and can be addressed.

Success is what you accomplish. It’s being in a position to do what you like, do what you do well, and pursue the things that are important to you.

That's one definition, and something worth aiming for.

having a dream, and through your time, your talent, and your perseverance, seeing that dream become a reality.

A dream in itself and what most would strive for (or at least desire on some level). Having a vision, going for it, and seeing it materialise is an amazing thing and this is what happened with Netflix.

Thanks Marc! Anything Else?

We may well be heading to the point where the next iteration of technology is going to diminish the likes of Netflix, or they may well adapt and become part of that new world. We shall see.

The early journey and development that Randolph discusses gives us a valuable insight into their progress as a company, and his outlook as an individual.

An enjoyable yarn, and worth a read if you're into this genre and how these kind of stories unfold.

Netflix plows on and Randolph has left some time ago, but it was he (along with the other founder Reed Hastings) who built this empire to what we know today.

Turns out, it may just work after all! ;)

First image my own, other linked to source

Check out the others in the series…

BookBabble #42: "That Will Never Work" by Marc Randolph

Great quotes from the book, followed by my additional thoughts…

Thanks Marc! Anything Else?