At one point, Marc refers to focus as the secret weapon of entrepreneurs.

Focus is how they survived and, in the end, thrived. They are not different swim lanes from the rest of the business but rather integrate into everything. Focus, Focus, Focus: There are really two underlying themes above all else in this book that come through loud and clear – and should.They got people who bought into their entertainment mission … with both feet in. They made it about much more than the money. They got people to work there for less money and work relentlessly through difficult problems. Raison d’être: It was not clear from the book to me what the exact the “raison d’être” or driving vision why the world would be such a better place because of Netflix but there was something special in the air.It is not simple but it also has to be manageable and you must be systematic about it.Īs such, I am going to highlight 24 reasons (consistent with the 24 step theme) of why I found this book so insightful and a must read for entrepreneurs looking to up level their game. Rather than claim that there is a singular insight to making a successful entrepreneurs, it is clear that it is a complex system and getting many things right in balance and at the right time – and not getting the things wrong that will kill you – is the real key to success. There are so many great points and as I went through, I found myself using the Disciplined Entrepreneurship Canvas to check off the problems the team was solving as they took Netflix from an idea to a juggernaut. I kept thinking of the word “binge reading” while I was reading it as I found it hard to put the book down. As a result, I found it very helpful as an educational book … but it is also so entertaining and fun to read.

Using the power of the narrative and sublimating his ego, Marc was able to tell the story the way it really happened rather than rewriting it to make himself seem like a superhero. I found it to be not just honest and super authentic but also intelligent in how it described the right way to think about entrepreneurship (without all the pomposity – that did not go down very well in our neighborhood). When I sat down and read the prerelease copy not only did I like it, I was blown away. When I heard he was coming out with book about his experience, I was intrigued. He had done all of this on the West Coast. I had heard he was a co-founder of Netflix but it was hard for me to visualize how that happened and while curious, I certainly did not know the story. He was a very good guy and while we were friends, by the time high school arrived and after, we traveled in different circles. Marc and I grew up about 2 miles away from each other and went to the same high school. A few weeks ago, I had the good fortune to get an early release of the book That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea by Marc Randolph.

Netflix book that will never work