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Random Wisdom

Interesting interview in WSJ with the CEO of Netflix where among other things he does not see any positives of working from home. One quote the interviewer cites is "Only a CEO who is not busy is really doing their job." That is definitely an interesting one. Hastings explains his perspective:

You don’t want to be, as CEO, consumed by the tactics. For me, making casting decisions or product feature decisions—there are too many to make. You get too busy so that, even if you are good at it, you’re not thinking about the long-term health and evolution of the business. You want to really know what’s going on in all kinds of places, but not making decisions.

Seems to be working for him and Netflix that the CEO does not make the decisions. Wonder how that would pan out for much smaller business that Hastings seeks to inspire with his book. That CEO will likely not have the resources to hire the top talent with the best salaries in the business. What is more they will not have a fleet of trusted lieutenants they can count on to make the right decisions at all times. Knowing what is going on is only ten percent of the total work that the CEO must do in order to survive and grow their business. 

This piece of wisdom sounds a lot like a fitness and wellness guru who spends eight hours of her day improving her body and mind advising the rest of us to emulate her when thirty minutes would be all we can devote to our body and mind combined on any given day. 


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