#730: Reed Hastings, Co-Founder of Netflix — How to Cultivate High Performance, The Art of Farming for Dissent, Favorite Failures, and More

Reed Hastings became executive chairman of Netflix in 2023, after 25 years as CEO. He co-founded Netflix in 1997. Reed is also a majority owner of Powder Mountain. He is currently on the board of several educational organizations including KIPP and Pahara.

Timestamps for this episode are available below.

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Timestamps:

[06:34] Alfred Lee Loomis and Tuxedo Park.

[07:53] Risk tolerance: nature or nurture?

[10:56] Cultivating culture that “eats strategy for lunch.”

[15:41] The logic behind generous severance.

[17:02] Adapting to Pure chaos.

[18:44] Reference checking potential hires.

[20:29] Context vs. control.

[22:35] Radical candor.

[24:15] Guardrails for maintaining work/life balance.

[27:04] Farming for dissent.

[28:39] Believing in the green crystals.

[30:54] High-performance team, not family.

[31:59] The keeper test.

[32:49] Fire and replace, or replace and fire?

[33:59] Beyond Entrepreneurship and other recommended reading/viewing.

[37:46] A favorite failure.

[40:32] Outstanding leaders.

[41:10] Reed’s two “religions.”

[42:19] Powder Mountain.

[44:44] How Powder Mountain differs from Reed’s other projects.

[46:24] Powder Mountain’s biggest challenges ahead.

[47:02] Could Reed ever really retire?

[47:19] Best investments of time, energy, or money.

[48:49] How can we improve education in the US?

[52:48] What class would Reed teach?

[53:59] Juggling projects without losing focus.

[55:04] Philanthropy: Why Africa?

[55:32] Being “big-hearted champions who pick up the trash.”

[56:28] Reed’s billboard.

[58:01] Parting thoughts.

*

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