No Rules Rules

Reed Hastings built Netflix into one of the most valuable companies in the world using a management philosophy that contradicts almost everything you have been taught. No vacation policy. No expense policy. No approval processes. Pay top-of-market salaries and fire anyone who is merely adequate. The 'keeper test' — would you fight to keep this person? If not, give them a generous severance and hire someone you would fight for.

No Rules Rules, co-authored with INSEAD professor Erin Meyer, explains the logic behind Netflix's radical culture. It works because Netflix first builds an extremely high talent density, then removes controls that exist only because organizations assume employees need babysitting. The result is a company that moves faster and adapts more quickly than competitors weighed down by process. The book is not for every company — it requires a level of candor and talent density that most organizations cannot sustain. But the principles will make you question every bureaucratic process in your organization.