No Rules Rules — No, I haven’t gone insane. yet.
Quick review, learnings and takeaways
People who know me will think I have been abducted by aliens. Me, who is terrified of chaos, reading about creating a healthy corporate culture with no rules as the main philosophy. I don’t necessarily agree with everything, nor do I believe all; but there is something to be learned here, to be sure.
The book is about the Netflix management and team culture.
founders explain that by removing constraints like limited vacation days and financial permissions Netflix has fast forwarded their growth beyond the dreams of any similar creative company operating in conventional ways.
Many people will see this as corporate propaganda, that’s quite understandable especially since a big player always has many haters. But I think if you read it critically you will find a lot of real benefit. That’s how we should read anything, that’s why we have brains, right?
They actually teach you how (and whether you should) apply the same no-rules philosophy to your own company.
there is a PDF (yes, even with the audio version) showing the steps a person who wishes to explore this method should apply. Because if it is done wrong, this can ruin their business instead of driving growth.
What I thought — (attention! jaded person here)
No Rules is a very nice concept. But to me, it’s just a concept. I don’t believe it is feasible in real life.
I think after finishing this book that tempting as it may be; I would not like to be an employee in a team applying these house rules because:
- I don’t believe it’s possible to get a whole team in all required professions who are: passionate, talented, kind, honest and collaborative. There is no way to be sure that there are 0 jerks.
- Public criticism to me is a HUGE no-no. I never criticize a junior designer in public and do not like it when it happens to me. People love to critique the presenter instead of content being presented. So no, thanks. Presenting to people is nerve racking on its own without giving everyone the chance to rip the presenter’s shaky confidence apart.
The Takeaways in short;
Hire the best, and only the best
This means good at what they do, passionate, responsible, collaborative and not jerks.
Encourage candor as much as possible
always give feedback in the time when it can be applied, very thought out feedback, and again, get rid of jerks.
When that is done; carefully remove rules
Give your people freedom; when employees are responsible and care for the enterprise, they will have a sense of ownership and would not act in a way that could cause any damage.
make sure to set the right context to avoid abuse of given freedom. For example; when you remove the set number of vacation days and allow people to take time off freely, make sure not to allow an entire team to leave at once.
Make sure to pay your people Top of the Market
encourage people to research their own worth and propose it with proof if they believe that their yearly raise is unjust. It reduces time and effort for managers.
Highlight your own mistake and increase transparency
it increases your employees trust in you as a manager and the company as a whole. This will in turn increase their sense of responsibility and encourage them to copy your behavior when they mess up.
No decision making approvals needed
encourage socializing ideas to test their validity. Let your team take gambles, some will succeed and others will fail. Don’t reproach but reflect together and learn.
Keeper test
is the right person in the right position? who would affect the company the most if they left?
Extremely talented team increases competition and therefore the fear of being let go; let your employees speak to you. Encourage them to speak to you and hear them out before they silently decide to leave.
Circle of feedback
a lot of people will still not be 100% candid due to the human ingrained need to please. So you need to actively schedule feedback sessions, no anonymity. Honest feedback is a must.
You should only follow this in companies where initiative and creativity are key
if you run a factory for example; error prevention is topmost priority and therefore process is the way to go. Do not forsake rules in that case.
If you would like to buy the book, you can find it on Amazon. Or check it on Goodreads to see where you can find it in any online bookstore.
