NETFLIX
TALENT & ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTIVE
People Operations & Cultural Philosophy
TO:
All Global Net
fl
ix Employees, People Managers & Executive Leadership
FROM:
Ted Sarandos & Greg Peters, Co-CEOs; Marian Lee, Chief Talent O
ffi
cer
DATE:
September 18, 2026
SUBJECT:
Net
fl
ix Culture: Freedom and Responsibility Framework
1. PURPOSE & STRATEGIC PHILOSOPHY
At Net
fl
ix, we seek to entertain the world. Sustaining global creative and technological excellence across over 190
countries requires an extraordinary density of high performers working within an ecosystem that prizes independent
decision-making over procedural bureaucracy.
This policy directive codi
fi
es our foundational cultural principles
—
often summarized as
Freedom and Responsibility
.
Our culture is designed to attract, retain, and empower stunning colleagues while eliminating the micromanagement
and approval chains that sti
fl
e innovation at scale.
2. CORE CULTURAL PILLARS
Our talent and operational environment is structured around four mutually reinforcing expectations:
High Performance (The Dream Team):
We operate like a championship sports team, not a family. Our goal is to
fi
eld extraordinary colleagues in every single role. Sustained B-level work, despite tremendous effort, earns a
generous severance package so we can recruit a top player.
Freedom and Responsibility:
We hire self-disciplined, self-motivated people who thrive with latitude. We eliminate
formal travel policies, vacation tracking, and spending rules in favor of one simple directive:
Act in Net
fl
ix's best
interest
.
Context, Not Control:
Leaders establish clear goals, transparency, and strategic parameters rather than making
decisions for their teams. High-judgment individuals are trusted to make large commercial and creative bets
without committee approval.
Radical Candor & Direct Feedback:
We speak openly, honestly, and directly about performance and strategy. We
encourage dissent, require leaders to socialise big ideas widely, and expect all employees to share feedback
directly with their peers rather than talking about them behind their backs.
The Keeper Test:
Managers continuously ask themselves:
"If this person wanted to leave for a similar job at another
company, would I
fi
ght hard to keep them?"
If the answer is no, we believe it is fair and transparent to give them a
handsome severance and
fi
nd a star.
3. TOP OF PERSONAL MARKET COMPENSATION
To attract and retain extraordinary talent, we aim to pay each person at the top of their personal market. We do not
use across-the-board annual percentage pools; rather, managers assess what our competitors would pay and
proactively adjust compensation annually to stay ahead.
Net
fl
ix, Inc.
—
Internal Cultural Policy & Leadership Directives
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