WEBVTT - Reed Hastings

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<v Speaker 1>I was thinking about Netflix, you know, with all the

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<v Speaker 1>pandemic binge watching and everything. Yeah, everybody is there. David

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<v Speaker 1>Rubinstein had a chance talk with co CEO Read Hastings

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<v Speaker 1>on the David Rubinstein Show, Peer to Peer Conversations. You

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<v Speaker 1>know at Netflix went public in two thousand two, right,

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<v Speaker 1>and the market cap is up more than eighty thousand percent,

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<v Speaker 1>And I checked the math and that's definitely the case.

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<v Speaker 1>And the stock is up more than forty percent since then.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh boy. Yeah. And David had a chance to ask

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<v Speaker 1>Hastings if he ever expected this kind of success, why

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<v Speaker 1>don't we listen in the company now which went public

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<v Speaker 1>in two thousand two. The market cap is up about

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<v Speaker 1>eighties six thousand percent, stock is up about forty one

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<v Speaker 1>percent since then. Did you ever think that it would

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<v Speaker 1>become that big and that's successful? Well now, because then

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<v Speaker 1>I would have never sold a share, So you never

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<v Speaker 1>know on on that and you know, honestly, there's been

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of luck along the way to UM. Blockbuster

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<v Speaker 1>could have wiped us out many times. UM. When Viacom

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<v Speaker 1>spun off Blockbuster in two thousand and four, they saddled

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<v Speaker 1>them with a billion dollars of debt as their good

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<v Speaker 1>by kiss. And you know that the covenants on that

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<v Speaker 1>debt severely limited Blockbuster when they attacked us. So that

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<v Speaker 1>was one. Another one is Blockbuster had us on the ropes.

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<v Speaker 1>And then Carl I com got elected um to the

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<v Speaker 1>board of directors by the shareholders of Blockbuster, uh, and

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<v Speaker 1>he fired the CEO over some you know, silly bonus issue,

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<v Speaker 1>and then they completely changed strategies. And so all these

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<v Speaker 1>things have been incredibly you know, lucky strokes. And so

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<v Speaker 1>you need both skill and luck, which I'm sure you've

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<v Speaker 1>experienced too. I've had a lot of luck, for sure.

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<v Speaker 1>So let me ask you though, for those who may

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<v Speaker 1>not be familiar with a new book you're coming out

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<v Speaker 1>with called No Rules Rules. Uh. In that book you

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<v Speaker 1>described that you actually, at one point one of the

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<v Speaker 1>go to Blockbuster and sell them the company for I think,

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<v Speaker 1>uh some modest amount today fifty million dollars absolutely um.

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<v Speaker 1>And uh. You know, in the early days, we were like,

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<v Speaker 1>Blockbuster is going to wreck us as soon as we

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<v Speaker 1>get big um. And we were almost right about that.

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<v Speaker 1>And so we went to see them and and you know,

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<v Speaker 1>they were very polite, but they were not interested. And

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<v Speaker 1>had they bought the company. Where do you think Blockbuster

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<v Speaker 1>would be today? And where do you think Netflix would

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<v Speaker 1>be today? It's always hard to tell, but I think

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<v Speaker 1>we could have made Blockbuster modern brand. You have a

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<v Speaker 1>culture you describe in your book which is very unique.

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<v Speaker 1>And let me just go through a couple of things

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<v Speaker 1>that you say that I found studying as somebody who's

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<v Speaker 1>helped to run accompany myself as publicly traded. For example,

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<v Speaker 1>you have a system where, um, people can take whatever

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<v Speaker 1>vacation they want to take. There's no limit. People can

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<v Speaker 1>take any time off they want, no limit. Um, where

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<v Speaker 1>did you get that idea from? Well, in the industrial economy,

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<v Speaker 1>like factories, we measured people by how many hours they

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<v Speaker 1>did on the job nine to five, eight to six,

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<v Speaker 1>whatever that is. And we really want people to focus

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<v Speaker 1>on ideas, on generating important work. And so you know,

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<v Speaker 1>we don't measure them during the day. We don't clock

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<v Speaker 1>our people in. And if we're not going to tell

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<v Speaker 1>whether someone is working five to nine or nine to five,

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<v Speaker 1>which is a two to one difference in hours, why

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<v Speaker 1>are we tracking whether they do fifty weeks or forty

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<v Speaker 1>eight weeks a year? Um, you know of work that's

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<v Speaker 1>in the noise, and so unlimited vacation. You know, it's

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<v Speaker 1>sort of like saying dress how you want, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>and then people still don't come to work naked. There's

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<v Speaker 1>some cultural assumptions about appropriate clothing for work, and we

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<v Speaker 1>don't need to specify that. And in the same way

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<v Speaker 1>with vacation, people understand getting work done and they get

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<v Speaker 1>to live more flexibly. Okay. Were you also say in

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<v Speaker 1>your book you don't have to please at your company

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<v Speaker 1>your boss. Other ways you can go ahead and do

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<v Speaker 1>what you think is best and your boss doesn't agree,

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<v Speaker 1>that's okay? Is that easy to run a company that way?

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<v Speaker 1>You know, again, we're really focused on inspiration over supervision.

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<v Speaker 1>So the traditional paradigm is that good management is close management,

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<v Speaker 1>set subjectives, manages tightly and all of that's appropriate and

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<v Speaker 1>safety critical environments airlines, producing vaccines, etcetera. But in a

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<v Speaker 1>creative business, you don't care so much about what goes wrong.

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<v Speaker 1>You care about enough of the right things get done.

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<v Speaker 1>Um And so we really focus on inspiring inspiring our

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<v Speaker 1>people and having it the very open and collaborative and

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<v Speaker 1>from that you get amazing technical innovation and you get

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<v Speaker 1>amazing content innovation. You point out in the book that

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<v Speaker 1>if people do a reasonably good job, they still might

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<v Speaker 1>lose their job if they haven't done a spectacular job,

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<v Speaker 1>and therefore they get a very good set but not

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<v Speaker 1>a continue job. Can you explain that theory? Yeah, and

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<v Speaker 1>again in the traditional industrial paradigm, you know you have

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<v Speaker 1>to do something wrong to get let go. You can

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<v Speaker 1>think of a job as sort of a property right,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, until you lose it by abusing your position.

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<v Speaker 1>But if you think about professional sports, you know, if

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<v Speaker 1>that team is going to win a championship, it has

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<v Speaker 1>to have a mix of the right players that work

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<v Speaker 1>well together, that are the absolute best in the world.

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<v Speaker 1>And so we try to model ourselves like a professional

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<v Speaker 1>sports team. So highly paid, but you've got to earn

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<v Speaker 1>your position every year, and it's about performance. And you

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<v Speaker 1>know that's not right for everybody. Some people care mostly

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<v Speaker 1>about job security. Other people care mostly about excellent colleagues,

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<v Speaker 1>and you know, playing great team ball to achieving something

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<v Speaker 1>important for the consumers. And you know we're attracting, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>that group of people who care about team excellence. So

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<v Speaker 1>I have no doubt your book will be a best

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<v Speaker 1>seller because it's a very interesting book. But I couldn't

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<v Speaker 1>understand exactly whether you were saying that your culture is

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<v Speaker 1>one that if other companies adopted, they would do better,

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<v Speaker 1>or it's just that you're explaining what is so unique

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<v Speaker 1>about your company and why it's successful. So which is

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<v Speaker 1>it or is it both? I think a certain type

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<v Speaker 1>of company, a company in a creative industry where there's

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of change, will do better by optimizing for

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<v Speaker 1>flexibility than efficiency, and other companies, like an airline or

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<v Speaker 1>a factory, wants to optimize either for safety or for

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<v Speaker 1>manufacturing yield. So again, highly consistent results. And that's not

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<v Speaker 1>for this Netflix culture, but for again a company that

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<v Speaker 1>wants to be inventive and create new things. I think

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<v Speaker 1>this offers a lot of fresh ideas for people to

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<v Speaker 1>rethink the traditional industrial paradigm. Let's go back a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit to your background. So you grew up in the

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<v Speaker 1>Boston areas that right, Boston and d c U. And

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<v Speaker 1>you went to UH College at Bowden, which is a

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<v Speaker 1>great school. And after you graduated, what did you do?

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<v Speaker 1>I went in the US Peace Corps and I was

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<v Speaker 1>a high school math teacher UH in a very rural

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<v Speaker 1>part of southern Africa. And after that you decided that

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<v Speaker 1>you would go to business school at Stanford. What led

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<v Speaker 1>you to decide to go to business school? And at Stanford?

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<v Speaker 1>So I actually went into computer science UM, and I

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<v Speaker 1>tried to take a business class, but they rejected me. UM.

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<v Speaker 1>So Uh. In any case, UM, being at at Stanford

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<v Speaker 1>in the mid eighties was an incredible experience because you

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<v Speaker 1>learned so much entrepreneurial work from all your colleagues. Everyone's

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<v Speaker 1>bubbling with ideas UM. And that's still happening today forty

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<v Speaker 1>years later. So when you graduated from Stanford, you decided

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<v Speaker 1>to get into the computer industry and you were a

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<v Speaker 1>programmer for a while, is that right? Yeah? I was

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<v Speaker 1>a programmer at a couple different companies. UM. And then

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<v Speaker 1>I was fortunate and had an idea of something that

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<v Speaker 1>I really wanted to do. UM. That was in n

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<v Speaker 1>So he took a year off and consulted on the

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<v Speaker 1>side part time, and then wrote a program that ultimately

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<v Speaker 1>turned into a company which was a reasonable success. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>Morgan Stanley took us public in it doubled every year. UH.

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<v Speaker 1>And that ultimately is the company that was so much

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<v Speaker 1>process that it got too rigid. So it was a

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<v Speaker 1>great learning lesson a right, So when you ultimately left

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<v Speaker 1>that company after taking a public and ultimately merging with

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<v Speaker 1>somebody else, you had the idea of starting what is

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<v Speaker 1>now on Netflix. Is that right? Yeah? I mean the

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<v Speaker 1>timing was shortly thereafter um that a colleague of mine

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<v Speaker 1>from uh pure Mark Randolph and I we're brainstorming on

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<v Speaker 1>different ideas and then, you know, like many people at

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<v Speaker 1>that point, I had had this terrific late fee and

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<v Speaker 1>so it was, you know, thinking it has to be

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<v Speaker 1>a better way. And then it's when this friend told

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<v Speaker 1>me about DVD that I realized, oh, you could mail

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<v Speaker 1>those cheaply, and that you could potentially build a business

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<v Speaker 1>there that was not in Amazon's direct interest because of

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<v Speaker 1>the return loop that you constantly returned these DVDs, which

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<v Speaker 1>was unlike Amazon's core. So it was e commerce, but

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<v Speaker 1>you know, a smaller market than what Amazon was going after.

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<v Speaker 1>The story is that you took out some DVDs I

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<v Speaker 1>guess from Blockbuster. You've found out that you had kept

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<v Speaker 1>them too long, you didn't like paying the late fee,

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<v Speaker 1>and that prompted you to think of something like this.

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<v Speaker 1>Is that fair or is that just apocryphal? No, that's

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<v Speaker 1>accurate Um, but it you know, sort of says every

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<v Speaker 1>time something goes wrong. The idea didn't pop into my

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<v Speaker 1>head right then. It was later, you know, when I

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<v Speaker 1>debating ideas that you know that the sting of that

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<v Speaker 1>stuck because it was a forty dollar late fee, so

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<v Speaker 1>you know, and it was all my fault, um, of

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<v Speaker 1>just not breaking it back. So originally you're you're mailing

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<v Speaker 1>DVDs back and forth. But the idea of streaming, who

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<v Speaker 1>came up with the idea that that would be better?

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<v Speaker 1>And was streaming that prevalent then or that common or

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<v Speaker 1>people knew what it was. Yeah, people knew what it was.

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<v Speaker 1>And you know, I had had the good fortune. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>The year I came back from the Peace Corps, so

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<v Speaker 1>that's mid eighties now, Um, I got a job serving

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<v Speaker 1>coffee at a company. And it turned out that that company,

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<v Speaker 1>a Computer Lab, was the very first dot com. So

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<v Speaker 1>there were no dot COM's at all, and then there

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<v Speaker 1>was the first one, and that was this company's Symbolics

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. And so this was a company out of

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<v Speaker 1>m I T that was like the hotbed of the Internet,

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<v Speaker 1>but nobody knew the internet, um, And so there I

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<v Speaker 1>was serving coffee soaking up the culture and how they thought.

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<v Speaker 1>And so when I eventually, you know, went on to Stanford, Uh,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, I was in the Internet thing um and

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<v Speaker 1>then had been part of that in tracking that for

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<v Speaker 1>a decade. Uh when it was a decade when Netscape

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<v Speaker 1>went public and everyone else tuned into it. So, I

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<v Speaker 1>mean some of that, again is just incredible serendipity of

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<v Speaker 1>you know, what's the company that I got a job

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<v Speaker 1>serving coffee in the computer lab. Well, originally you would

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<v Speaker 1>take programming that site Disney or NBC or ABC or

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<v Speaker 1>somebody had, and you would or movies and you would

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<v Speaker 1>put it up and people would pay for it, and

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<v Speaker 1>you would pay the the people who produced it, I

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<v Speaker 1>assumed some royalty. When did the lightbulb go off and

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<v Speaker 1>you said, no, we need to have original programming. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>Ted was intimately familiar with the history of cable television,

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<v Speaker 1>and right from the beginning he educated us on HBO's path,

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<v Speaker 1>which their first twenty years in the eighties and nine,

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<v Speaker 1>these they just had recycled programming, and then with shows

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<v Speaker 1>like Sopranos and The Wire, Uh, they moved into original programming.

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<v Speaker 1>And what a difference it made for them. So we

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<v Speaker 1>were very aware of that history, and then it was

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<v Speaker 1>just a matter of biding time until we got big enough.

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<v Speaker 1>So today the original programming that you have is that

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<v Speaker 1>more popular than the non original that you're in effect

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<v Speaker 1>renting from somebody else. Yeah, that's right. The original programming

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<v Speaker 1>um driving the Old Guard, our our newest movie, Kissing

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<v Speaker 1>Booth two, an amazing movie. Our series like India Matchmaking

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<v Speaker 1>or Umbrella Academy are all driving both the viewing and

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<v Speaker 1>the membership growth. So we're fundamentally an original content business

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<v Speaker 1>that supplements with licensed content around the world. Why is

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<v Speaker 1>it that on Netflix, you your your content is very popular,

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<v Speaker 1>but you don't do things like news or sports. How

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<v Speaker 1>come you haven't done those yet? Well those are great areas,

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<v Speaker 1>but they're well covered by other companies. And we have

0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:09.280
<v Speaker 1>so much more we want to do on series and films,

0:13:09.440 --> 0:13:12.520
<v Speaker 1>and we're you know, breaking in the animated films and series.

0:13:12.559 --> 0:13:17.960
<v Speaker 1>Now we've done really well with unscripted reality programming like

0:13:18.080 --> 0:13:21.800
<v Speaker 1>India Matchmaking that I mentioned and Love is Blind, Tiger King.

0:13:22.440 --> 0:13:25.720
<v Speaker 1>So our hands are just full. And again there's other

0:13:25.760 --> 0:13:28.680
<v Speaker 1>companies doing other things, and you know, we just want

0:13:28.679 --> 0:13:31.760
<v Speaker 1>to focus on entertainment and when House of Cards was

0:13:31.840 --> 0:13:35.640
<v Speaker 1>on Netflix. UM, did you suggest themes for it or

0:13:35.760 --> 0:13:38.240
<v Speaker 1>plot lines or did you ever get involved in that

0:13:38.320 --> 0:13:40.120
<v Speaker 1>or you stay away from what they're actually gonna do

0:13:40.160 --> 0:13:42.760
<v Speaker 1>on the on the show, our book really talks about

0:13:42.800 --> 0:13:45.800
<v Speaker 1>don't please the boss, do what's right for Netflix. And

0:13:45.920 --> 0:13:51.280
<v Speaker 1>because of that, Ted Sarandos when he was negotiating UM

0:13:51.320 --> 0:13:54.800
<v Speaker 1>with House of Cards with Kevin Spacey and David Fincher,

0:13:55.400 --> 0:13:58.120
<v Speaker 1>he was willing to do very bold things because he

0:13:58.200 --> 0:14:01.280
<v Speaker 1>was convinced it was right UM. And so he paid

0:14:01.280 --> 0:14:04.360
<v Speaker 1>a fortune and guarantee two seasons, which at that point

0:14:04.440 --> 0:14:07.319
<v Speaker 1>no one had done, and he only told me about

0:14:07.360 --> 0:14:11.800
<v Speaker 1>it later. And so his willingness to make big, independent

0:14:11.840 --> 0:14:15.280
<v Speaker 1>decisions it's what led to us getting House of Cards.

0:14:15.840 --> 0:14:17.679
<v Speaker 1>And of course he could have been wrong and it

0:14:17.760 --> 0:14:20.760
<v Speaker 1>could have been a disaster, but it was a great

0:14:20.840 --> 0:14:24.400
<v Speaker 1>series put us on the map. And that's again somewhat

0:14:24.400 --> 0:14:27.960
<v Speaker 1>testament to Ted's personal skill, but also to the culture

0:14:28.080 --> 0:14:31.160
<v Speaker 1>that allowed him to make those decisions. And so when

0:14:31.200 --> 0:14:34.760
<v Speaker 1>you started winning UM Academy Awards and Emmy Awards and

0:14:34.800 --> 0:14:36.800
<v Speaker 1>other things like that, was that a surprise to you

0:14:37.040 --> 0:14:40.640
<v Speaker 1>that you were getting it that kind of recognition. No, are.

0:14:40.800 --> 0:14:43.520
<v Speaker 1>We've always wanted to work with great talent, and right

0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:46.240
<v Speaker 1>from the beginning, UM, we knew that like with House

0:14:46.280 --> 0:14:49.200
<v Speaker 1>of Cards, that the talent that was involved in that,

0:14:49.360 --> 0:14:53.400
<v Speaker 1>Robin Right and Kevin Spacey. You know, we're potential to

0:14:53.440 --> 0:14:57.200
<v Speaker 1>win Emmy nominations for that. So if you if you

0:14:57.320 --> 0:15:00.280
<v Speaker 1>back great talent, they they will win a war and

0:15:00.320 --> 0:15:04.760
<v Speaker 1>it's you know, very life changing for them. For consumers, um,

0:15:04.800 --> 0:15:07.480
<v Speaker 1>you know, it doesn't matter as much they're not as visible,

0:15:07.520 --> 0:15:11.720
<v Speaker 1>but in the talent ecosystem, it's it's very significant. Recently,

0:15:11.720 --> 0:15:14.200
<v Speaker 1>you made an announcement that stunned a number of people,

0:15:14.400 --> 0:15:18.520
<v Speaker 1>which was that you were bringing in your chief Content Officer,

0:15:18.640 --> 0:15:21.360
<v Speaker 1>Ted Sarandos, who has been with you for twenty plus years,

0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:24.280
<v Speaker 1>almost from the beginning, and making him the co CEO.

0:15:24.480 --> 0:15:26.920
<v Speaker 1>Usually people who are CEOs and founders don't all of

0:15:26.960 --> 0:15:29.280
<v Speaker 1>a sudden give up a lot of power. So why

0:15:29.280 --> 0:15:31.240
<v Speaker 1>did you decide to do that and were you surprised

0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:34.200
<v Speaker 1>that the reaction was a bit of a surprise. You know,

0:15:34.720 --> 0:15:37.120
<v Speaker 1>Ted and I have worked together for twenty years and

0:15:37.160 --> 0:15:41.160
<v Speaker 1>we've been virtual co CEOs for the last several years. UM,

0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:44.080
<v Speaker 1>so we've been paid the same you know, we don't

0:15:44.200 --> 0:15:47.200
<v Speaker 1>do really do anything material without checking in with each other,

0:15:47.640 --> 0:15:51.000
<v Speaker 1>So this was just acknowledging and formalizing you know what

0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:54.720
<v Speaker 1>has been and so externally you know it's a change

0:15:55.040 --> 0:15:57.680
<v Speaker 1>and that helps on ted stature and ability to do

0:15:57.800 --> 0:16:01.480
<v Speaker 1>big deals. But internally it's really no change at all

0:16:01.640 --> 0:16:05.360
<v Speaker 1>from how we've been operating. At the time of the announcement,

0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:09.200
<v Speaker 1>you said you were good for another decade, so uh

0:16:09.200 --> 0:16:11.400
<v Speaker 1>and October, if I got it right, you'll turn the

0:16:11.400 --> 0:16:15.800
<v Speaker 1>big six. Oh, and that I'll mean by seventy you

0:16:15.880 --> 0:16:19.200
<v Speaker 1>might be ready to slow down. Is that a fair assessment? Well,

0:16:19.240 --> 0:16:22.720
<v Speaker 1>you tell me how, what's your experience in that of

0:16:23.120 --> 0:16:27.200
<v Speaker 1>uh sixty to seven? D right? I would say workaholics

0:16:27.240 --> 0:16:30.080
<v Speaker 1>don't really pay much attention to age, and so as

0:16:30.080 --> 0:16:31.600
<v Speaker 1>long as your health is good, I don't think you'll

0:16:31.680 --> 0:16:33.920
<v Speaker 1>change that much. But when you get seventy you might

0:16:33.960 --> 0:16:35.840
<v Speaker 1>look around and say, maybe i'll do something else. But

0:16:36.120 --> 0:16:38.200
<v Speaker 1>you've got a long ten years ahead of you. I

0:16:38.280 --> 0:16:40.760
<v Speaker 1>suspect I'm sure you'll be in great health to do it. Well.

0:16:40.760 --> 0:16:43.760
<v Speaker 1>I'm super excited about it. There's so much that we

0:16:43.840 --> 0:16:47.040
<v Speaker 1>can do in terms of bringing the world together, sharing

0:16:47.120 --> 0:16:51.120
<v Speaker 1>stories from around the world. Um and uh, you know

0:16:51.160 --> 0:16:54.520
<v Speaker 1>there's just as the Internet grows to you know, every

0:16:54.600 --> 0:16:58.240
<v Speaker 1>human being. I think there's just an amazing opportunity I had.

0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:03.000
<v Speaker 1>You and your wife recently made a contribution to United

0:17:03.040 --> 0:17:05.639
<v Speaker 1>Negro collec College Fund and to Morehouse College and a

0:17:05.720 --> 0:17:08.320
<v Speaker 1>Spellman College. Why did you decide to do that? Is

0:17:08.359 --> 0:17:13.920
<v Speaker 1>that not your largest philanthropic contribution anyone, uh gift, No,

0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:18.359
<v Speaker 1>it's not the largest, but it, um, it's the loudest

0:17:18.520 --> 0:17:20.439
<v Speaker 1>or sort of the most public. We tend to mostly

0:17:20.480 --> 0:17:23.320
<v Speaker 1>be very quiet about these things, but we wanted to

0:17:23.400 --> 0:17:28.680
<v Speaker 1>show solidarity, um, for black education, and black education is

0:17:28.720 --> 0:17:35.199
<v Speaker 1>so critical to economic mobility, political mobility, and you know,

0:17:35.240 --> 0:17:39.240
<v Speaker 1>the sense of belonging and the challenge you know, for

0:17:39.359 --> 0:17:42.840
<v Speaker 1>us as a culture is really the legacy of slavery

0:17:43.000 --> 0:17:46.960
<v Speaker 1>and it continues to be a tremendous scar across the

0:17:47.000 --> 0:17:51.080
<v Speaker 1>soul of America. Uh. And it's you know, awful, and

0:17:51.359 --> 0:17:53.719
<v Speaker 1>it's so bad that it's hard to look at and

0:17:53.760 --> 0:17:56.920
<v Speaker 1>talk about and it's so hard to look away. And

0:17:57.040 --> 0:18:00.280
<v Speaker 1>we really haven't come to terms with the legas see

0:18:00.359 --> 0:18:04.960
<v Speaker 1>of slavery in our country. So this you know, modest

0:18:04.960 --> 0:18:09.880
<v Speaker 1>donation again relative to the needs is really about, um,

0:18:09.920 --> 0:18:16.000
<v Speaker 1>you know, black economic gains and education. So the story

0:18:16.040 --> 0:18:18.000
<v Speaker 1>that I read was that you were originally considering a

0:18:18.040 --> 0:18:20.920
<v Speaker 1>gift of maybe one tenth at size, and then the

0:18:21.040 --> 0:18:23.639
<v Speaker 1>last minute you increased it. Uh. When you called the

0:18:23.640 --> 0:18:26.280
<v Speaker 1>head of the United Negro College Fund, was he surprised

0:18:26.359 --> 0:18:29.240
<v Speaker 1>or what made you change your mind? Well, I've known

0:18:29.280 --> 0:18:32.400
<v Speaker 1>the head of u n c F for a decade UM,

0:18:32.520 --> 0:18:37.600
<v Speaker 1>and he's taught me a lot about race in America. UM,

0:18:37.640 --> 0:18:41.000
<v Speaker 1>and we've been a donor for a number of years. UM.

0:18:41.040 --> 0:18:44.480
<v Speaker 1>But it was really the current time UM that got

0:18:44.560 --> 0:18:47.640
<v Speaker 1>us to make such a substantial and frankly public donation

0:18:48.440 --> 0:18:53.480
<v Speaker 1>UM to again bring attention to the role of the HBCUs,

0:18:53.640 --> 0:18:58.600
<v Speaker 1>the historically black colleges and universities UM like Morehouse and

0:18:58.720 --> 0:19:02.120
<v Speaker 1>Spellman UH, and to support their work because they do

0:19:02.880 --> 0:19:07.720
<v Speaker 1>develop UM you know, thousands and thousands of black leaders

0:19:07.720 --> 0:19:11.640
<v Speaker 1>throughout this country, and they're really positive part of our

0:19:11.800 --> 0:19:16.399
<v Speaker 1>education system. And because white capital tends to flow to

0:19:16.520 --> 0:19:21.800
<v Speaker 1>white organizations. UM. You know, there's relative capital isolation in

0:19:21.840 --> 0:19:26.320
<v Speaker 1>the same way that we have social isolation, and so UM,

0:19:26.359 --> 0:19:29.200
<v Speaker 1>you know, we wanted to be part of building those bridges.

0:19:29.600 --> 0:19:31.919
<v Speaker 1>Now the industry that I've been in. The financial service

0:19:31.960 --> 0:19:34.560
<v Speaker 1>industry is not replete with as much success as it

0:19:34.600 --> 0:19:37.760
<v Speaker 1>would like in terms of minority hiring, and the technology

0:19:37.760 --> 0:19:40.640
<v Speaker 1>industry is probably somewhat that way as well. Is there

0:19:40.680 --> 0:19:42.880
<v Speaker 1>something that you can do with Netflix to enhance your

0:19:42.920 --> 0:19:46.760
<v Speaker 1>minority hiring it among the executives and other employees. Well,

0:19:46.800 --> 0:19:50.160
<v Speaker 1>we we published the data and we've made every quarter

0:19:50.240 --> 0:19:53.440
<v Speaker 1>and we've made great progress, and we've doubled our number

0:19:53.480 --> 0:19:57.240
<v Speaker 1>of African American employees over the last three years. And

0:19:57.440 --> 0:20:00.080
<v Speaker 1>you know that's throughout the business, but in particular in

0:20:00.119 --> 0:20:04.840
<v Speaker 1>the media side. Our tech side is still underrepresented, you know,

0:20:05.680 --> 0:20:08.320
<v Speaker 1>as is in the field. Um, so we have a

0:20:08.359 --> 0:20:10.800
<v Speaker 1>long way to go, but we're you know, trying to

0:20:10.840 --> 0:20:14.359
<v Speaker 1>make those efforts not only again for African Americans, but

0:20:14.400 --> 0:20:19.240
<v Speaker 1>for many underrepresented groups both in America and frankly around

0:20:19.240 --> 0:20:22.280
<v Speaker 1>the world. So people who are watching this will say, Okay,

0:20:22.400 --> 0:20:24.680
<v Speaker 1>I want to be like Reed Hastings. I want to

0:20:24.720 --> 0:20:27.679
<v Speaker 1>build a great company. I want to be successful, have

0:20:27.760 --> 0:20:31.960
<v Speaker 1>a great family, philanthropically active. What would you say is

0:20:31.960 --> 0:20:34.520
<v Speaker 1>the key to leadership that enabled you to be what

0:20:34.600 --> 0:20:38.160
<v Speaker 1>you are today? It's about achievement of the company as

0:20:38.200 --> 0:20:41.959
<v Speaker 1>opposed to personal achievement. So you want to be super

0:20:42.040 --> 0:20:47.159
<v Speaker 1>proud of the organization and personally humble. So, UM, I

0:20:47.200 --> 0:20:50.520
<v Speaker 1>assume you hear from your high school classmates, your college classmates,

0:20:50.520 --> 0:20:52.679
<v Speaker 1>your Stanford classmates telling you they always knew you were

0:20:52.680 --> 0:20:55.560
<v Speaker 1>going to be successful and they weren't surprised and by

0:20:55.600 --> 0:20:57.240
<v Speaker 1>the way, they have a script for you or something

0:20:57.320 --> 0:20:59.000
<v Speaker 1>like that. Um. Do you hear from a lot of

0:20:59.040 --> 0:21:02.080
<v Speaker 1>people like that? Yeah, I stay in touch with a

0:21:02.119 --> 0:21:05.720
<v Speaker 1>lot of friends that way. Um. And you know, I

0:21:05.840 --> 0:21:08.879
<v Speaker 1>was definitely a late bloomer. Um. I don't think I

0:21:08.960 --> 0:21:10.919
<v Speaker 1>was one of those people that was marked at an

0:21:10.960 --> 0:21:13.560
<v Speaker 1>early age. And you know where you read about how

0:21:13.560 --> 0:21:17.320
<v Speaker 1>at age sixteen they were like unbelievable. Um. You know,

0:21:17.440 --> 0:21:21.560
<v Speaker 1>I was very average, run of the mill kid. Um.

0:21:21.720 --> 0:21:25.919
<v Speaker 1>And um. You know, I've been super fortunate with a

0:21:25.960 --> 0:21:28.840
<v Speaker 1>series of events in terms of my first company doing well,

0:21:29.160 --> 0:21:31.960
<v Speaker 1>having that idea, which then laddered into being able to

0:21:32.000 --> 0:21:37.520
<v Speaker 1>do Netflix. Um. So I feel incredibly fortunate, which is

0:21:37.600 --> 0:21:40.760
<v Speaker 1>part of why my wife Patty and I, you know,

0:21:40.760 --> 0:21:44.479
<v Speaker 1>were so dedicated on philanthropy. It's sort of looked, you know,

0:21:44.640 --> 0:21:47.480
<v Speaker 1>like it seems to us miraculous that you know, we

0:21:47.560 --> 0:21:49.919
<v Speaker 1>have this money and and of course we live a

0:21:50.000 --> 0:21:53.679
<v Speaker 1>very comfortable life, but it's really the excitement of using

0:21:53.720 --> 0:21:57.160
<v Speaker 1>that money to then help others. So let's suppose ten

0:21:57.240 --> 0:22:00.560
<v Speaker 1>years from now, when you say you might hang up

0:22:00.560 --> 0:22:04.160
<v Speaker 1>your spurs at Netflix, you might. You're not committed to it. Uh,

0:22:04.200 --> 0:22:06.480
<v Speaker 1>what might you do? Would you run for office? Do

0:22:06.480 --> 0:22:08.159
<v Speaker 1>you want to be president United States? You want to

0:22:08.160 --> 0:22:11.240
<v Speaker 1>be a senator, governor, philanthropy teaching? What do you think

0:22:11.240 --> 0:22:12.719
<v Speaker 1>you might want to do when you turn the right?

0:22:12.760 --> 0:22:14.800
<v Speaker 1>Bolt age of seventy? And I want to have my

0:22:14.840 --> 0:22:18.959
<v Speaker 1>own interview show? Um, well, I'm sure you could get

0:22:19.000 --> 0:22:21.600
<v Speaker 1>that anytime you want one. I know a good uh

0:22:21.720 --> 0:22:25.520
<v Speaker 1>company you could probably get on Netflix. That was read Hastings,

0:22:25.520 --> 0:22:28.800
<v Speaker 1>co CEO of Netflix, on the David Rubinstein Show Peer

0:22:28.840 --> 0:22:33.320
<v Speaker 1>to Peer Conversations. And that is it for Bloomberg Best.

0:22:33.560 --> 0:22:38.280
<v Speaker 1>I'm at Baxter and Denise Pelligrini and this is Bloomberg