Living in Stages

I shared this Jack Ma video with J so she could learn something about the business of navigating life and career. Recently J asked me to read the Neflix Culture Memo in its entirety and asked what I thought of it having been in the workforce as long as I have. The point of sharing the wisdom of Ma was to show her the difference in approach. He tells it like it is borne out of his own life lessons - his many successes and failures along the way. The lessons are such that just about anyone can use them in their own lives. Now the Netflix thing has a few problems - it is not a culture for one and all to emulate. It sounds more like a manifesto of the ideal workplace where both employer and employee win at all times. 

There is this presumption of perfect equilibrium and also that human beings are entirely rational. Both ideas are fairly misguided. Furthermore, conditions are far from alike across the spectrum of businesses. Being a media company sets Netflix apart from many others to begin with. So there is nothing actionable in it like Ma's advice for young people. Does a kid getting started in the world seek to work for a company at emulates the Netflix culture or try to foster it themselves. What parts of this needlessly enormous memo actually have universal scope and appeal is hard  to tell.Looks good on paper but the reality of life in Netflix seems to be a world apart from the one touted in the memo.