Netflix Pledges To Spend Subscribers’ Money “Wisely,” Respect “Artistic Expression” In Newly Revised Version Of Its Fabled Culture Deck
deadline.comNetflix’s fabled “culture deck,” which over the years has taken on the importance of the Magna Carta in tech and business circles, has gotten some updates reflecting the streaming giant’s current circumstances.The document, which is based on a PowePoint deck created by Co-Founder and Co-CEO Reed Hastings, lays out precepts guiding employee priorities and the company’s overall approach.
It has been posted publicly for years, revised at various intervals, and viewed more than 20 million times. Its section headings (“Highly Aligned, Loosely Coupled,” “Disagree Then Commit”) echo some of the pillars of the company’s uniquely articulated culture.
Hastings elaborated on many of those tenets in his 2020 book, No Rules Rules.In a section called “Judgment,” a new bullet point is phrased in the imperative tense: “You spend our members’ money wisely.” At a current level estimated at $20 billion in 2022, Netflix’s content spending is under harsh scrutiny after the company posted its first subscriber declines in more than a decade in the first quarter and indicated more losses in the current quarter.
More than two-thirds of its market value has vanished over the past six months. While the company is unlikely to radically slash its spending, management has signaled a new commitment to trimming the fat and some shows and employees have already been cut loose as that process begins.Another newly updated section, “Artistic Expression,” indirectly references recent controversies over titles like Cuties or Dave Chappelle’s comedy special The Closer.
Read more on deadline.com