Netflix is a very famous online streaming video service. What few people know, however, is that it gained much of its popularity thanks to innovation management software. This is because the company has created a true culture of innovation, which it is able to maintain as well. According to CEO Reed Hastings, the culture is best described as one of “Freedom and Responsibility”. What this means is that everybody within the company is encouraged to come up with new ideas and to take risks, but that they are trusted to follow all their responsibilities as well.
Uniquely, Reed Hastings even encourages his employees to come up with controversial ideas. He wants to make sure that people feel free to make a decision without having to worry about it too much. He wants his employees to be risk takers. And he also expects them to speak up if they see something that is not consistent with the values of the company. He believes that leaders are those who can create a context for their staff in which they can grow themselves. This is the opposite of the top down approach that so many other companies approach.
Netflix believes that everything starts with their employees. They also expect every employee to embrace nine core values, being:
Netflix is also one of the many modern tech companies that believes in having fun. This is why, when you visit their headquarters, you could have a meeting in the Dark Passage room, or in the King Kong room. Every conference room is named after popular blockbuster movies. This fits in with the overarching values of the company, as it has a focus on movies, but also believes that every breakthrough it has made is as a direct result of its employees and their ideas. These little fun reminders continuously remind and encourage staff members that they can achieve anything.
Innovation is also created within Netflix by a true open door policy. In fact, Hastings doesn’t have his own office at all. He is always on the move through the company, and sits wherever there is a space, with any other employee. He has served as an example for many other companies, and has even created a presentation on how innovation works as part of a culture.
Learning from the Netflix Example
If you want to implement innovation in your organization, you have to make it part of your culture. Every business has its own unique culture, but innovation has to be a part of that. Perhaps naming conference rooms after blockbuster movies doesn’t work for you, but you should be able to come up with some sort of permanent, visual reminder of what your staff has achieved. Innovation must lie at the heart of your culture, and everybody should have access to innovation management software, and know how to use it properly.