The book is written in a conversational style so you will feel that the author Patty McCord is just speaking with you. Somehow I get to feel that she is a straight forward person and can be brutally honest if needed.

There is a lot of lessons you can pick up here. Some may be run counter to the prevailing culture in many organizations while there are those that are starting to be mainstream. Nevertheless, you will learn a great deal here even though the books is just short.

The nature of business in the modern digital and information overload age is ever-changing. The foundation of Patty McCord's book Powerful - Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility is that the as workplace progress, so should human resources.

The author challenges the old, traditional corporate HR that include annual performance reviews, retention plans, engagement programs, etc.
She clearly speaks her mind in the early chapters that these activities and actions are a mere waste of time and resources and why the modern day companies, irrespective of their number of employees should not practice them.


I liked this ideology. I feel this is the most positive point in the book. All that corporate mumbo-jumbo is a distraction and I have experienced it myself while working full time in previous years. It does stop an organization's development process. Patty McCord's pragmatic suggestions in managing a company are discussed in detail throughout this book.

Although the book starts stating that it is not a memoir, after reading it, I'd say that it is. It is written from the perspective of the author and her experiences in the organizations she worked. Especially, at Netflix. Another thing I did not like while reading is that the writing style is plain and it failed to create any enthusiasm in me as a reader and a learner looking to get something out of this book. While the practical insights shared from her own experience at Netflix in the book are a must-read, the way they are presented is not an ideal one.

3 out of 5

This is not your typical business leadership book full of tired catchphrases and empty advice. Rather, this is an all-access information dump into how Netflix operates from top to bottom. Insight is given into the why as well as the how decisions are made, and examples of how this thinking has evolved the culture of Netflix. It is refreshing to see a highly successful executive with this level of humility, honesty, and reverence for their employees.

This is an accessible leadership book, with plenty of information executives in all sectors can, and should learn from for the organization's benefit.