Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO of Netflix. He is a self-made man who started as an engineer at shelling companies like Sun Microsystems before seguing into the software world to create one of its most profitable businesses ever: DVD renting by mail order or over phone lines which have now grown into streaming movies online for any device you want including smart TVs!
In this blog post, we look at some life lessons from Reed Hastings and how we can implement them in our own lives too.
1. Visualize what you want to become
When Netflix first started, Reed’s vision was very clear – he wanted to do a business that would rival the likes of Blockbuster, which was a hub for movie rentals at that time. His passion and determination allowed him to see his goal through.
The lesson here is simple – visualize your dream and let nothing stand in your way of achieving it.
2. You can’t do everything yourself
Reed needed the right team of people to help him start his business. He knew that even if he looked far and wide, they wouldn’t be available, so he did something which most entrepreneurs don’t – he hired good people who had more experience than him in the industry and let them do what they were good at.
He says: “I’m very clear that I need great people around me. That’s the foundation of everything.”
One area where many entrepreneurs go wrong is thinking that you can do everything yourself and there is nothing like delegation, and this has helped Reed make Netflix a company worth more than $20 billion.
3. You can’t do everything by yourself
Despite having a great team of people who run the company, Reed has been very instrumental in leading his team to success, and he has done this by taking more of a mentorship role where he shares his experiences with them on how to achieve certain things while also being there to guide them when they are in trouble.
He says on that note: “I’m the person who makes the final decision, but I think of it as all of us having a conversation. We’re having a dialogue about what’s best for the company.”
Life is not comprised of one person; teamwork is essential, and Reed has proven this time and again.
4. Be the best you can be at what you do
Reed knows this well. He has built his empire by knowing exactly what he is good at, creating innovative ideas and executing them to perfection. The lesson here is that if you know your strengths, focus on those areas and find a team of people who have the talent to complement your weaknesses.
5. Take calculated risks
Netflix has grown from a DVD rental company to a video streaming company, which many companies can say. Still, Reed knew that the DVD business model would one day become obsolete and took steps to make Netflix more profitable via online streaming even while it was still in its nascent stages.
Reed explains: “There is nothing like certainty; there’s no formula for success, and if there were one, everyone would be doing it. But you can manage risk.”
It is important to know that even the best laid out plans don’t always succeed, and you will fail more often than not but what matters is that you took a risk and learned from your mistakes which will help you do better in the future.
6. Don’t assume anything is impossible
When Reed Hastings first started Netflix, he didn’t have enough money to buy DVDs, so he would rent them out from local stores but then realized that if only there were a way he could mail-order DVDs, Netflix would become more successful.
That belief led to him starting a business that was sending DVDs by mail but with one difference – there were no late fees. People loved it, and his business model revolutionized the entertainment industry because people now had access to much more content than they could ever imagine at their fingertips!
Reed says about this moment: “There were early signs that the model might work. But it was an idea, and you can’t wrap your mind around what it meant at the time.”
The lesson here is to be open to ideas and not reject them just because they seem impossible. You never know when one idea will lead to massive success.