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JOHN YANG: Finally, another installment of our weekly Brief But Spectacular series, where we ask people about their passions. Tonight, we hear from Patty McCord, who, for 12 years, was chief talent officer of Netflix. Now she coaches and advises companies and entrepreneurs on building workplace culture and the leadership to reinforce it, from abolishing performance reviews to challenging the need for policies at all. Her latest book is called "Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility."
PATTY MCCORD, Author, "Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility": I used to say that the only perk I wanted to have at Netflix was showers, because you know how everybody says, like, I had that great idea in the shower?
So, I wanted to just have like a row of showers, and, if we got stuck, it's like, get everybody in the shower. Don't come out until you get an idea. Why do we do an annual performance review? Is it to give people feedback, because you think that feedback would result in better performance? If that's the case, it's a really terrible process. So, if I went to the whiteboard, and it was a blank slate , and I said, OK, OK, I got this idea. Here's what we're going to do. We're going to -- once a year, we're going to look back, and in really arbitrary, obtuse language describe something that you may or may not have done many months in the past, in order for you to correct that behavior in the future. And, oh, by the way, we're going to call that performance, and we're going to rate and rank you, and we're going to roll it up with goals and objectives. Then we're going to put it in with our 6.5 percent merit increase budget, with a bell curve distribution, and determine how to pay you. And if I did that, I mean, literally, everybody in the room would be like, OK, there's Patty's idea. Anybody else? I remember when we did the player for the laptop. We tested five different versions of it. And one of the versions looked like the cockpit of the nuclear submarine. What the hell is that thing in the corner? And they're like, well, Patty, that's your buffering speed. And I'm like, OK, here's the deal. I'm normal. Not only do I not care what my buffering speed is. I don't want to know that buffering exists. I'm telling you, the winner is going to be pause, forward, and reverse. And like, so, I won that one. Let's talk about culture fit. Who cares? Here's how it really works in real life in most companies. Hiring managers say, I need to hire somebody who's going to be perfect. They're going to be articulate, smart, quick on their feet, fun to be around, and really passionate about their work, someone, well, just like me. And that's who they hire, and like hires, like hires, like hires, like -- and it's just human nature to do that, and you got to work against that. People used to ask me at Netflix, like, Netflix only hires A-players. How do you do it? I would say, there's an island only I know about and all the A-players are there, and I'm not telling you where it is. It's the problem that you have to solve and the person who's incredibly passionate about doing it and capable of doing it. My startup CEOs, they're so adorable. They're like, how do I hire somebody like you to take care of the culture for me? And I'm like, well, you don't. It's your job forever, or get another one, don't be CEO. Like, you own this. Well, OK, I get it. I will take ownership for it. So how do I do it? I'm like, you live it. Live it. If you want to be efficient, then show up on time. If you want to have honest discourse with people, then be honest with people. Teach people how to learn from their mistakes. Teach people how to make the right decisions. Teach people how to be bold. And how you teach them how to do it is, you do it, so they can see it. I'm Patty McCord, and this is my Brief But Spectacular take on rethinking work.
JOHN YANG: You can find more Brief But Spectacular episodes on our Web site, PBS.org/NewsHour/Brief.
