Patty McCord, culture genius from Netflix wrote a great book. Engaging, practical takeaways and an easy read.

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

The nature of business in the modern technological age is evolving away from behemoth sized workforces to smaller highly skilled teams working deftly in unison within dynamic operational systems.

As the workplace evolves so should human resources - building a high-performance culture that can anticipate and keep pace with rapid change within the business itself and from competitors.

I thoroughly enjoyed Patty McCord's account of her exploits at Netflix which evolved from a DVD-by-mail business to original content streaming.

At Netflix, there had to be re-evaluation of traditional "policy" and "procedures", the jettisoning of time-consuming performance reviews and deification of data over fact.

This book provides interesting insights into the world that we are living in and more importantly, the workplace that our children will be entering.

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.

A rather nice find that may have been otherwise missed, since at first glance it could be yet another business-type book that promises the earth but leaves you wanting. Here is the personal story and brain dump of a former chief talent officer at Netflix, who helped create a high-performance culture at the company, as well as leaving her mark in many other Silicon Valley companies.

Despite it being a proactive, engaging read there was a certain humility in the author’s writing. Her ego was in check, a difficult task to manage when you are explaining what greatness you delivered and how you achieved it. Yet she lets the activities take the limelight – so it really can deliver quality information direct into your mind for (hopefully) later implementation and activity!

At the core of the author’s beliefs is ‘radical honesty’, particularly within the workplace. Eschewing a lot of the typical and traditional HR practices such as performance reviews and engagement programmes has also been a winning formula in the author’s experience. Daring to be different may have its reward and it can be delivered and experienced through the company’s performance as well as its internal dynamism and feel.

It is well-written and deceptively easy-to follow. You don’t even need to work within HR to benefit from the book. A lot of its insight can make even regular employees understand better the needs of a company and it may even lead to them trying to transition a stodgy, less reactive workplace to better things. It never hurts to try. The chapters are quite short but packed with a lot of power.

A great consulting companion wherever and whenever you get the chance, but be warned! There is a risk you’ll take a long sequential read due to its addictiveness.

Powerful, written by Patty McCord and published by Silicon Guild. ISBN 9781939714091. YYYYY