Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Patty McCord, NewSouth Books, $24.99.
The single, most important message being imparted by McCord, the former chief talent officer at Netflix, is empowering.
It’s a commanding memo: the “way we work, what we call ‘best practices’, is not conducive with our current reality or the future. We don’t need empowerment. We need folks with the power to make things happen. Including their own careers”.
Patty McCord says most companies have it all wrong when it comes to recruiting, motivating and creating great teams. Her road-tested advice provides a different path, ones that helped create the unique and high-performing culture at Netflix.
She advocates practising radical honesty in the workplace, saying goodbye to employees who don’t fit the company’s emerging needs and motivating with challenging work, not promises, perks and bonus plans
Looked on as a silicon maverick, McCord challenges the notion of “best practices,” believing they make teams complacent and can turn a workplace toxic.
She candidly shares what she learned at Netflix, and elsewhere, about creating a exclusive ethos. McCord advocates practicing radical honesty in the workplace and argues that the old ways of corporate HR often end up being a waste of time and resources. Powerful provides leaders a different path for creating elevated accomplishment with profitability.
McCord talks about spending her entire life surrounded by technology and innovation. When she was at Netflix she got a chance to create and live a socity that’s admired around the world. It’s a place where ‘brilliant people thrive and create. It’s a culture that’s alive and well and they’re still pushing the boundaries’.
Powerful will change how you think about work and the way a business should be run.
What’s the advice for people who want to follow her lead?
“Be part of the business. Understand what your organization is attempting to do and who/what it affects. Realize that building (and dismantling, when necessary) is a really important job.”
