I requested this book on a whim, as I'm quite interested in finding out the back-story of how businesses start and evolve.

This is certainly an interesting read that gives some interesting insights. Not a handbook, and not a book to be read in a single sitting by any means. I didn't really know anything about Netflix as an organisation before - despite being a customer. Definitely an organisation that does things differently...

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC.

Want to know how working at Netflix is similar to driving around the Arc d' Triomphe in Paris? I certainly did, and having worked indirectly for Netflix for some years now, and having gone from subscriber of the DVD postal envelopes to full family streaming subscription, I wanted to know the rules, or lack of them.

I wasn't; disappointed. This book should be part of the curriculum for any business GCSE or A' Level course. Instead of keeping all their internal policies and practices secret, the CEO of Netflix lays them bare. 'Almost daily a new employee expresses to me how astounded he is by the transparency at Neflix. This gives me great joy' shares Reed Hastings.

How to own up to your mistakes,;how to sunshine bad decisions; how to give constructive feedback; how to decide whether to let someone go; how to let employees make their own limitless financial decisions and how to hire the very best. All these topics are covered, with feedback from many Netflix employees in the States and all over the world. The subject I found most interesting was how to abolish holiday allowances - sneak preview - make sure the bosses take lots of holidays and talk loudly about them when they get back.

Would I want to work for Netflix as an employee? Do I believe absolutely everything I read in this book? Should this way of working be adopted freely? The jury's out. But as far as a fascinating read goes - this book RULES.

So, it's an interesting read on the culture of working at Netflix. The bar is so high and process so open it sounds almost stressful but it also feels like a goal you'd want to be good enough to work there. Largely, you read the "rule" and think, no chance that's right, and have it deconstructed how the radical lack of rules actually allows Netflix to excel. It's different, it's surprising, it's good.

Reed's book is a gift! Let me put this in upper case - EVERY SINGLE CEO (& CHRO) MUST READ THIS!

It is a management styled non-fiction book - yet very binge-worthy!

It is a study of how work-culture is built on freedom & responsibility. It is about how to lead with context not control.

The principles that Reed Hastings is sharing are both simple and intuitive. Yet, at times you'll be smiling to yourself saying, of course that works OR no way, no way!!

No spoilers - but you'll be intrigued to see how these non-policies have come together to define the Netflix work culture.

In my opinion most companies are trying to move towards this culture of empowerment. Yet we haven't adjusted perspectives for a long, long time. In fact with the largely work-from-home environment this book becomes even more relevant than before. I would encourage CXOs to read and honestly deliberate on some of these non-policies if they truly aim to think, talk and act brilliance.

It is a fabulous read, indeed!

I will be posting some excellent Book Club questions and far more detailed review on my website: www.thebookbuff.com - so watch that space!

I can see so many benefits from organizations following the business ethos of Netflix. Doing what is best for the company doing away with big bonuses and paying the remuneration in salary so the employee is 100% focused on the company and not an objective that would make them money. Taking holidays when it will not cause issues for your department and colleagues and if companies only took on 1 item "candor" would be the area I would hope companies to adopt. This is a great read with wonderful examples of where things went wrong and right I wished I had read it 40 years ago when I was starting my career in the big corporate world x

I really enjoyed this book and it came at the right time to help me make some decisions about our business. Reed Hastings tells us like it is and it is really useful to have Erin Meyer's unbiased views too. I like that it tells where things have succeeded but equally where the failures have been. Also it is great hearing the stories from the team so that you have their view. As CEO it is often hard to get a true picture of what the team are really thinking but this book gets to heart of the team thinking and Reed is always prepared to confront when he has got it wrong.

The CEO doesn't always get it right and is not always the best person to make a decision as someone closer to the action knows far more about what is the right decision and when they fail they make sure that there is learning built into the failure.

It was great to read the different sections and then consider how that type of environment would suit an individual business. I came away with some great takeaway ideas for my own business and a great book to read.

This book was something a bit different than what I would normally read but I found it quite interesting the way that the Netflix company has grown into such a worldwide brand. When you think back to around the year 2000 Blockbuster, AOL and Kodak were massive companies and Netflix was just starting out and yet now all those other businesses have virtually disappeared yet Netflix is a worldwide leader in its market..

The book gives a great account of how Netflix operates and has thrived from being a DVD rental business to being a streaming service that is available in a large part of the world.

The book is written by the company's founder Reed Hastings, and business professor Erin Meyer and they both explain how the company only recruits the best people in their field, how the number of holidays taken are not registered, how a lower level employee can end up signing contracts worth millions of dollars. The book explains their ethos on pay structure, employee freedom to make decisions, how the company has adapted to work in different countries, etc.

This type of business only works in creative type industries but if you are at all interested in how businesses work then I would recommend this book to you and it will certainly introduce you to new ideas and business strategies.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and authors for giving me access to an advance copy of this book.

I can see where they are coming from with this book - it distills the Netflix approach, one which they believe has worked well for them, with some ways of working that defy the norms (for example, they have no detailed expenses policy, merely a broad statement that staff should do what's right for Netflix). Although I did come away with some ideas, I spent most of the book wondering what employment practices were like in America. The discussions on firing people, and then sharing their shortcomings once they'd gone, would be... let's go with 'interesting' here in the UK. I'm not an employment lawyer or an HR specialist but I would make sure I'd spoken to one before I followed the advice in this book. Indeed, at the very end, the authors do mention that in some countries, for example, what they see as a generous severance package in the US is 'seen as stingy - if not illegal - in some European countries'.

The other thing that isn't really covered here is luck. They've got good products, an innovative way of working that relies on hiring the very best and now global reach. But every business still needs a dollop of luck from time to time and I couldn't help wondering - what if they got a massive dollop of luck which enabled them to pay big salaries and hire superstars, rather than the hiring being the kernel of the success?

Proceed with caution. There's lots to digest here but hard to adapt to different cultures and legal frameworks,

An interesting account of how Netflix developed from a mail order DVD company to a world dominating streaming service who now makes shows and films too. It credits its success on employing only the best who it rewards with generous pay. Employees are given freedom and any failures are discussed so improvements can be made. A company operating in a different way- but it works.

I have enjoyed reading this book and have to confess that I have done so with one eye closed because I was scared at the prospect of discovering yet more practices that are absent from so many other companies.

I come from a percentage pay-rise pool environment where being caught talking to recruiters to see what a body is worth was almost a sackable offence and discussing ones salary was a sackable offence. Reading what goes on at Netflix shows that an environment can exist where that does not happen and an employee is encouraged to find out what they are worth out in the marketplace and inside the company.

I spent most of my time reading and nodding at all the things that could be encouraged in what passes for a conventional workplace but are not. Of course, most of their methodology would not be easy to implement perhaps even impossible in many workplaces but, unfortunately, in decades of experience I have yet to find one which is happy to implement anything radical.

This is a great book and should be read by any and everyone as it is a goldmine of information for those who have the wit and the wisdom to see what freedom of thought and action can do to improve their company's environment.

Talk about turn organisational culture on its head. How it works, why it works. Building in cultural and international differences. Why Netflix works. So different to organisations norms but brilliant. Read it and learn.

No Rules Rules is a fascinating account detailing the innovative and unconventional culture of organization that has allowed Netflix to adapt and become the world's most successful and rapidly growing streaming service. Beginning as a small DVD mail order service, Netflix now has 167 million subscribers worldwide, and this number is growing all the time. In addition, it also produces its own TV shows and films, and has won numerous awards.

Reed Hastings, co-founder, and business professor Erin Meyer, detail the Netflix culture that has led to it becoming so successful. Netflix employs only the best talent, and pays them generously. Employees are encouraged to know their worth and to keep the best talent they are rewarded above and beyond any other employer. An atmosphere of candour and transparency is encouraged, from the top down, and this builds up trust and encourages employees to share feedback at all times, all in the interest of improving the business. When you employ the best talent, and reward creativity and responsibility, the need for rules and policies becomes redundant. Netflix does not have a vacation policy, nor a travel or expenses policy. Their only test is - Act In Netflix's Best Interest. And if you abuse the freedom you have been given, you will be fired. Employees are given decision making freedom, and whilst this might lead to failures, it also leads to huge successes. Mistakes are spoken about openly, and lessons are learnt from and shared.

Netflix does things differently, and its success shows that it is paying off. A truly fascinating insight into the history and ethos of one of the most successful enterprises of the 21st century.