I finished No Rules Rules by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer expecting a business book about Netflix. What I got was a framework that reframed years of misunderstanding feedback in the workplace.

The Netflix Philosophy

Netflix's approach, as Hastings describes it, rests on a few principles:

High talent density. Only work with people who are exceptional at what they do. This is the foundation that makes everything else possible.

Radical candour. Give feedback directly, openly, in real time. Not behind closed doors. Not sandwiched between compliments. Just honest, respectful and clear feedback.

Context over control. Instead of policies and approvals, give people the context they need to make good decisions and trust them to make them.

Treat people like adults. No vacation tracking. No expense approvals. No rules for the sake of rules.

It may seem harsh or reckless but it's actually about clarity. And clarity, it turns out, is a form of respect.

Candour as the Turning Point

The section on feedback hit hardest.

Netflix expects people to give and receive feedback openly even in group settings. If someone's work isn't landing, you tell them. If a decision seems wrong, you say so. Not to embarrass, but to improve.

Reading about Netflix's approach felt confronting at first. Public feedback? That sounds brutal. But the more I sat with it, the more I realized: what's actually brutal is finding out six months later that people had concerns they never voiced. What's brutal is being managed out for problems no one helped you fix.

Clarity is kindness. Silence is not.

Culture vs Competence

Here's what the book helped me see:

In low-candour cultures, honesty gets punished. Ambiguity protects mediocrity. And when things go wrong, individuals get blamed for systemic dysfunction.

Sometimes the real issue is misalignment.

What This Changed for Me

I don't work in those environments anymore. I teach. I build things. I have more control over the culture I operate in.

But the book still shifted something.

It changed how I think about the tools I build—clarity and simplicity over features that obscure. It changed how I define good leadership: not managing perception, but creating conditions where people can do their best work.

I'm more willing now to name things directly. To say "this isn't working" without wrapping it in five layers of softening. To trust that people can handle honesty if it's delivered with respect.

And I'm more forgiving of my past self, the one who thought they were failing when they were actually just misplaced.

Who This Book Is For

You might get something from this book if:

• You've felt exhausted by workplace politics and wondered if you're the problem
• You've been labeled "too direct" or "not a culture fit" in environments that valued performance theater
• You've questioned your leadership ability after difficult roles
• You're building something—a team, a product, a company—and want to think carefully about the culture you're creating

It's not a perfect book. Netflix's model requires resources and selectivity most organizations don't have. And radical candour can curdle into brutality without genuine care underneath it.

But as a lens for understanding why some environments bring out your best and others slowly erode you, it's valuable.

Closing Reflection

Culture shapes behavior more than individual competence. Put a good leader in a dysfunctional culture, and they'll look incompetent. Put an average leader in a high-trust, high-candour culture, and they'll often rise.

So it's good to be more intentional. About the environments you choose. About the standards you hold. About the kind of culture you want to build—in your workplace, in your projects, in whatever comes next.