Netflix CEO Reed Hastings prides himself on making as few decisions as possible at the streaming-video service he founded. “Sometimes I can go a whole quarter without making any decisions,” he said in an April TED Talk.
The Silicon Valley and Hollywood titan will soon describe leadership practices like this one in a book about “Netflix and the secrets to its success,” CNN’s Dylan Byers wrote in his newsletter today. The book, which will be co-written with author Erin Meyer, is expected to give an inside look at Hastings’ management style and the company’s widely praised corporate culture.
Hastings co-founded Netflix in 1997 as a DVD-by-mail rental business, challenging companies like Blockbuster and Walmart. He led the company through its initial public offering, shift to streaming video, global expansion, and evolution into a powerhouse Hollywood studio. Today, it is the one of the largest media companies in the world, by market value.
The company has been lauded for its corporate culture since 2009, when it created a 125-slide presentation detailing its efforts to balance the demand for excellence (paywall) that is so common in Silicon Valley with the freedom to take risks and innovate. Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg called the slide deck “the most important document ever to come out of the Valley.”
The original Netflix Culture Deck, archived on SlideShare, has been viewed more than 18 million times. It was updated last year to include sections on diversity and inclusion, and new Netflix employees receive a copy of the latest version. The deck’s original co-author, Netflix’s former chief talent officer, Patty McCord, also wrote a book about it.
Hastings’ book will reportedly be published by Penguin Press next year. Neither Netflix nor Penguin Press immediately returned Quartz’s request for confirmation and comment.