This week I was having dinner in the Boston area with James Tauber, the founder of Eldarion and the Pinax web development platform. We were talking about the Netflix “Freedom and Responsibility Culture” presentation that was published on the internet and how well these cultural points resonate with a Web 2.0 technology company like Eldarion. However, what can the marine industry learn from the forward thinking culture at Netflix?

For starters, whether you are a leading edge web start-up, a printing company or a boat dealer; the fundamental principles of the Netflix Culture are timeless and extend to all types of companies or organizations. Some of the ways that these cultural points are applied may not be for everyone. For instance, Netflix doesn’t track time on the job or paid time off. Instead they focus on what people get done, not on how many days or hours they’ve worked. In many marine businesses and software consulting companies this won’t work since most of them bill based on time and materials, whether its to repair a boat or install a new server.

Here is a summary of Netflix’ Culture:

Values are what we Value – Real values are shown by who gets rewarded, promoted, or let go. (See the Nine Behaviors and Skills in the presentation)

High Performance – Great Workplace = Stunning Colleagues (not day-care, espresso bars and free lunches)

Freedom & Responsibility– Responsible people thrive on freedom and are worthy of freedom

Context, not Control – The best managers figure out how to get great outcomes by setting the appropriate context, not by controlling people.

Highly Aligned, Loosely Coupled – Clear goals and strategy communicated across the company, with limited cross-functional team approvals

Pay Top of Market – One great employee gets more done and costs less than two adequate employees

Promotions & Development – An individual’s economic security is based upon their skills and reputation

I highly encourage you to read this presentation (www.slideshare.net/reed2001/culture-1798664). It is meant to be read, not presented and at 128 slides its more than a light dusting of “feel good” phases.

If you have some interesting cultural points or corporate philosophies that you would like to share please add a comment on www.marinemanagementtoday.com or send an e-mail to camsblog@dockmaster.com.