Episode 01: That Will Never Work
Welcome to Metamorphosis, and the first blog post featuring That will never work by Marc Randolph.
Well, as some of you may already know, Marc is the first CEO and co-founder of Netflix. He is a reason why today, several times throughout the day, we can sit back and search for an escape from our hemmed lifestyles. To be fair, Netflix has allowed us to endure more than a year, of living within the boundaries of our houses, radically changing the way we consume entertainment. The book captures what Netflix was up against from the get-go, from near capsizing moments, like falling prey to being bought by Amazon and Blockbuster to logistical issues it faced all along. It provides an accurate expression of the mood of the time, more than 20 years ago.
The title 'That will never work' has got a nice ring to it! Certainly, makes you think of instances, hearing naysayers deplore your idea, or of moments, when the fear of failing inhibits action. Surely, encouragement and support for an idea may be a long way off, but Marc encourages that crossing the chasm of doubts is within our grasp. He says, "Nobody Knows Anything, There is power, extreme power in starting. One learns more in one hour of doing something than in a lifetime of thinking about it." "It takes a lot of hard work and thought, some people call it luck, some just call it, 'Nobody Knows Anything'. This narrative acts as a silver lining throughout the book.
My first takeaway is purely based on the rhetoric of having a story. A story that builds on your dreams. Marc hits the nail on the head with this profound statement, "The great thing about having a dream is that you get to write your own story. You're both the protagonist and the writer of your movie. And your idea is the inciting event that sets the wheels spinning."
Now this concept of an idea can be literally anything. While at large it applies to business ideas, I believe it can impact other areas of life. Say, you decide to build a new habit. Notice how it improvises your preferences and moods over a few weeks. These changes may be facile but they simply bring the essence of 'taking that step' and learning for yourself if your idea was a good one.
Taking it a notch further, when the dream cascades into reality, Marc says, "It doesn't just belong to you. It belongs to the people who helped you - your family, your friends, your co-workers. It belongs to the world. Thereby it continues to seek accountability and reassurance.
My second takeaway alludes to treating people working with you on a team and a caveat around codifying culture. Marc stresses on identifying what the other side wants. When wearing your leadership hat, treat people like adults. Know that what they really want is freedom and responsibility. Drawing a culture of freedom and responsibility, coupled with honesty worked like a charm at Netflix. He observed that people who have the judgement to make decisions responsibly love having the freedom to do so. Personally, I find that applicable across the wide spectrum of organisations and cohorts.
The last takeaway, is on opportunities. Marc, says, "When an opportunity comes knocking, you don't necessarily have to open your door. But you owe it to yourself to at least look through the keyhole”. To provide some context, this is when, in the summer of 1998, two months after launch, Netflix gets a phone call from Amazon. Amazon had just gone public and was aggressively looking to enter a new business area. Their offer came in at low eight figures, meaning if Netflix didn't sell to them, they would soon be competing with them. Which surely, wasn't the best outcome for Netflix. So Netflix had to focus on what made them different and unique. They had to choose between DVD rentals and sales. Kind of like "Putting all your eggs in one basket; that's the only way to make sure they don't break". Eventually, after figuring out a way to get people renting from them, they let Amazon down lightly - and politely. Although selling to Amazon would have paid a handsome reward, they couldn't forfeit their position as the best source on the internet for DVDs.
This must act as a key reminder for anyone reading, to commit to addressing and making informed decisions towards any sort of opportunity or challenge. Segueing into the final bits of this post, I’d like to share some words to live by:
"Everyone who has taken a shower has had an idea. But it’s the people who get out of the shower, towel off, and do something about it that make the difference." - Marc Randolph
