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Juanjo Pollreisz
As we all know, a strong presentation starts with a strong Title slide. It's the first impression; the outfit your presentation wears; the "tone setter" for the entire talk...aka a very important part of the equation. Let's see how Netflix did.
We do this by having a more prominent logo displayed, using a bold but modern color palette (we used the exact hex codes for Netflix's primary and secondary reds and grays), a clean, sans serif font, balanced, congruent layout of elements on the slide, and a professional presentation byline at the bottom. All these little things come together to say "this is a professional document." And what's more important to company culture than a strong brand?
The original Netflix presentation then used the next 12 slides (yes, 12!) to communicate their solution to the problems that arise from rapid company growth, with each slide featuring line after line of text. Not one image or attractive graph or anything, just text. Aka the cardinal SIN of great presentations. (You'll also notice lots of random lines going up and to the right in the original version, but let's ignore those for now before we have an aneurysm).
What's more inspiring: a bunch of san serif text on a white background, or a gorgeous ocean scene that illustrates the sentiment of the inspirational quote and gets you excited about contributing to the team? Yeah, we thought so. This one's pretty obvious, so let's move on.
So we have to give Netflix a little credit here. They actually used some color on this slide. Nice! But they could have taken things one step further and chosen supporting imagery to paint a vivid picture of the differences between these three models of corporate teamwork. Our version of slide 90 (yes, it's a long document) offers what none of Netflix's 125 slides do not: context. And because 65% of the population are visual learners, you gotta give 'em visuals if you want them to retain the information you're presenting.
And voila! The Netflix: Culture presentation just went from Blah to Beautiful, in minutes. Check out the finished product below, and download a customizable version to use as inspiration for your own company culture presentation or start from scratch.
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There is a famous Peter Drucker quote which goes, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast". I was younger and more naive when I came across the said quote years ago, and found it quite memorable and quotable. But I couldn't really understand how culture could make a meal out of strategy. Nowadays, with a little more maturity and leadership responsibilities, I think about culture - for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and sometimes in my dreams. I should make it clear that the "Culture" I am referring to is not the one endemic to nations, religious or ethno-linguistic groups, but to Corporate groups. I am talking about the Culture at work. I have been reading about cultures at world class organizations, so when Reed Hastings, along with Erin Meyer, decided to pen down the culture he created at Netflix, the timing couldn't have been better.
No rules rules is a part-biographical and a part how-to-guide of how Mr. Hastings went about creating the culture that seems to be one of the factors for the great success Netflix has enjoyed. Netflix, which is turning 23, is a company that is coming from the era of cassette-tape video rentals, and has survived four major transitions.
Mind boggling, isn't it? Vertical integration in the Entertainment industry, at its best. I am sure that while culture alone couldn't explain all the success, it must account for some part of it. It is worth noting that Mr. Hastings didn't get it right the first time. His approach to creating the culture in his prior venture, Pure Software, was quite traditional. Neither did the thought of creating a ground-breaking culture strike him when he started Netflix. It was only when Netflix had survived the first few years, that included the dot-com-boom and a round of retrenchment, and attained some stability that Mr. Hastings consciously set about creating a culture that would eventually become a competitive advantage. My own takeaway from this is that in the early stages of a startup, where each day is a quest for survival, attempting a Netflix might be impractical, if not impossible. But I suppose, the earlier you start, the better off you might be.
Eleven years before the release of this book, in 2009, Netflix shared its culture in the form of a 125 slide-long presentation to the world. Even if you don't have the time, patience or inclination to plough through this book, it would be a worthwhile investment to flip through the slides at least once, and let your eyes rest at the eye-popping bits, such as:
The aforementioned policies are a part of the radical culture at Netflix. I especially like the analogy of Netflix being a corporate team, and its employees being the players. This makes so much more sense than the use of the "we-are-a-family" analogy. If your daughter or your uncle are not meeting their "KPI's", can you fire them from your "family"? Business is a team sport, and the idea of companies akin to Corporate teams makes so much sense.
Another great thing about the Netflix culture is the emphasis on leading with context and not with control. Whether or not you have the stomach to implement "no vacation policy" policy, the idea of leading with context is a sound one that can and should be implemented from Day one. It is much easier said than done, but, if you are able to achieve even moderate success in leading with context, the people you lead would be so empowered.
The approach to writing this book is quite interesting as well. It was written by Reed Hastings, one of the founders and CEO of Netflix, and Erin Meyers, a professor at INSEAD whose specialty is how to navigate cultural differences in a global environment (I also recommend Erin Meyer's "The Culture Map" if you want to go down the culture rabbit hole). This ensured that the book is much more balanced, and you also get to hear the story from somebody who is not heavily invested in Netflix. The book is replete with examples of how this culture came to be and how various employees have learned to imbibe through trials and tribulations, both successfully and unsuccessfully.
I highly recommend this book for leaders at any level, and in any company throughout the world. You might say that what works for Netflix, a technology company birthed in one of the most advanced Western industrialized nations, will most probably not work anywhere else. Obviously not. Cultural practices cannot be imported from one organization to the other, that goes without a saying. But the ideas in the book and the motivation behind those ideas are very well worth ruminating over. At the end of the day, we all have to come up with our own version of the rules that would work and the culture that we want at our workplaces. All Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer have done is to show us the possibilities.
The original Netflix culture deck shines due to its clarity, emphasis on freedom and responsibility, and its focus on fostering a culture of innovation. It encourages transparency, empowering employees to contribute their best work.
But in today's world, where the battle for the best and brightest is fiercer than ever, having a cool mission statement on your website isn't enough. You've got to show potential team members exactly how your values shape your daily work life and why they matter.
Disclaimer: The observations shared here draw from Netflix's original culture deck, publicly available on this link. It has been recreated by our team solely for illustrative purposes and does not represent the actual deck used by Netflix in their recruitment process.
I'm here to guide you through these updates, sharing tips on how to sprinkle a bit of this magic into your own deck to capture the attention of potential hires and make them want to become a part of your vision.
We've also added a video to the cover slide, featuring clips from various Netflix shows and movies. Our research shows that decks with a video on the first slide engage 32% more viewers than those without.
And to keep things tidy, we've tucked away the longer explanations into expandable text sections. This way, if you're curious and want to dig deeper into any value, you can do so without the slide feeling cluttered.
They're reminiscent of those text-heavy college presentations that were hard to sit through, let alone get excited about. And the simple graphs used to illustrate points? They scream for a modern makeover with interactive data visualization.
What we've done is transform this section into a more digestible format by introducing tabs. Now, each key aspect of how Netflix works has its own tab, complete with the option to embed images or play videos right within the deck.
Our research shows that decks with interactive elements, like tabs, live calculators, and sliders, are not only scrolled to the bottom 41% more often but also keep readers engaged 21% longer on average.
By segmenting the content this way, we've made it easier for everyone to explore what interests them most, turning a potentially dull slide deck into an interactive journey through Netflix's work culture.
To make the ending more impactful and actionable, we've revamped the closing slide into a clear call to action. We've added contact details and a direct statement aimed at the reader, inviting them to take the next step.
For those ready to dive deeper or even join the Netflix journey, you can include a clickable link that leads directly to the company's current job openings or a form for potential hires to express their interest.
No more pinching and zooming to read the content like in the original Netflix deck. Now, whether you're viewing on a phone, tablet, or computer, the layout adjusts seamlessly for an optimal viewing experience.
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