3.2.1. Atomic Scaling: Teamwork

Happy 3.2.1 Thursday! 🌟 How creating a Dream Team can transform your company's performance and culture.

At Netflix, they aspire to entertain the world by thrilling audiences everywhere.

To achieve this ambitious goal, they've developed an unusual company culture focused on excellence and creating an environment where talented people can thrive.

Their culture is based on four core principles:

Netflix has always focused on building great teams. They know the value of teamwork over individual performers and it has shown in their ability to pivot and grow their business.

Today, let's explore how we can apply these principles to build our own high-performing teams.

Below, I share 3 ideas, 2 quotes, and 1 question to help you build your Dream Team:

3 Ideas

I. Focus on Talent Density:

Just as Atomic Scaling emphasizes serving more users with fewer employees, Netflix prioritizes having fewer, but more talented individuals. This aligns with our concept of EPIC employees - those who can have an outsized impact.

II. Embrace "People over Process":

Netflix's emphasis on empowering employees to make decisions aligns with the reverse power pyramid.

By giving your team the context to make good decisions, you can move faster and adapt more quickly.

III. Create a Culture of Candor:

A culture of giving and receiving feedback puts a emphasis on trust within teams. This candor allows for faster learning and improvement, essential for Atomic Scaling.

2 Quotes

I.

"We model ourselves on a professional sports team, not a family." - Netflix Culture Memo

II.

"Most companies that are great at something - like AOL dialup or Borders bookstores - do not become great at new things people want (streaming for us) because they are afraid to hurt their initial business." - Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix

1 Question

If you were to implement one aspect of Netflix's Dream Team approach in your company this week, what would it be and how might it transform your team's performance and culture?

Let’s win together!

Ludovic Bodin

More resources:

Check out my post on building EPIC teams on LinkedIn.

You can read the full Netflix Culture meme HERE

Take the High Performance Team Leader Quiz HERE