Patty McCord Thinks HR People Are Business People
“HR Heretics” | How CPOs, CHROs, Founders, and Boards Build High Performing Companies
Introduction
The hosts introduce themselves, discuss the purpose of the show, and talk about their first guest, Patty McCord, the former chief talent officer at Netflix. They highlight her reputation for honesty and directness and mention her close relationship with Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix.
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Episode notes
On the inaugural episode of HR Heretics, author and former Chief Talent Officer of Netflix Patty McCord joins co-hosts Kelli Dragovich and Nolan Church for a candid interview to talk through how to innovate from the HR role, buck best practices, and how to build a high performing company. If you’re looking for HR software that drives performance, check out Lattice www.lattice.com/hrheretics
–
Sponsors: Lattice | Continuum
✅ Discover HR software that drives performance with Lattice: www.lattice.com/hrheretics
High performance and great culture should never be at odds; they’re better together. With Lattice People Management Platform, companies efficiently run people programs that create enviable cultures where employees want to do their best work. Serving 1000s of customers of all sizes. Learn why companies from Slack to the LA Dodgers choose Lattice. www.lattice.com/hrheretics
✅ Hire Fractional Executives with Continuum: HR Heretics listeners get 15% off of their first month using this link: https://bit.ly/40hlRa9
Have you ever had a negative experience hiring executives? Continuum connects executives and senior operators to venture backed tech companies for fractional and full-time roles. You can post any executive-level role to Continuum’s marketplace and search through our database of world-class, vetted leaders. There is no hidden cost, you only pay the person you hire. And you can cancel at any time.
–
RECOMMENDED PODCAST:
Every week investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future. Subscribe to “The Riff” with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg: https://link.chtbl.com/theriff
–
KEEP UP WITH PATTY, KELLI, & NOLAN ON LINKEDIN
Patty: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pattymccord/
Nolan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-church/
Kelli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellidragovich/
–
LINKS:
Netflix Culture Deck- https://www.slideshare.net/reed2001/culture-1798664
Powerful by Patty McCord- https://pattymccord.com/book/
–
TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Episode Preview
(02:19) How we got Patty on this podcast
(05:22)The true story behind Netflix’s culture deck
(09:15) High Performance cultures actually take 4-5 years to pull off
(09:40) Why releasing the culture deck changed Netflix’s hiring immediately
(11:33) What to do when employees are averse to change
(15:10) Delivering effective feedback
(18:15) Sponsors: Lattice | Continuum
(19:50) Why execs need to get used to short tenures
(22:10) If you’re successful your company will change
(24:30) Retention and the truth we need to tell employees about career pathing
(26:19) How Reed Hastings hired Patty McCord
(29:45) How HR officers can get a seat at the table
(33:25) The P&L is the most important HR metric
(35:10) Are HR leaders getting soft?
(37:40) What Patty would tell her younger self
(39:00) Why an HR officer is a business leader, not a business partner
(40:00) What do HR people do?
(41:30) Fixing equal pay and compensation strategy
(43:28) Why HR keeps doing stupid stuff and needs to abandon best practices
(48:10) What HR can learn from product managers
(52:44) Compartmentalization and terminations
(55:20) If Patty rewrote her book, she would change the chapter about relationships at work
(56:40) Why HR people invite inappropriate therapist-style relationships
(59:50) Why having arguments at work should be normalized
(01:04:25) Does Patty miss being in the arena?
(01:06:58)The portions of the workforce most impacted right now
–
HR Heretics is brought to you by Turpentine www.turpentine.co
Exec Producer: Amelia Salyers
Producer: Natalie Toren
Production: Will Henderson-Nold, Seth Hahn, Michelle Poreh
For inquiries about guests or sponsoring the podcast, email Natalie@turpentine.co
Extra thanks to Patty McCord for hosting our team at her home.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hrheretics.substack.com
–
Sponsors: Lattice | Continuum
✅ Discover HR software that drives performance with Lattice: www.lattice.com/hrheretics
High performance and great culture should never be at odds; they’re better together. With Lattice People Management Platform, companies efficiently run people programs that create enviable cultures where employees want to do their best work. Serving 1000s of customers of all sizes. Learn why companies from Slack to the LA Dodgers choose Lattice. www.lattice.com/hrheretics
✅ Hire Fractional Executives with Continuum: HR Heretics listeners get 15% off of their first month using this link: https://bit.ly/40hlRa9
Have you ever had a negative experience hiring executives? Continuum connects executives and senior operators to venture backed tech companies for fractional and full-time roles. You can post any executive-level role to Continuum’s marketplace and search through our database of world-class, vetted leaders. There is no hidden cost, you only pay the person you hire. And you can cancel at any time.
–
RECOMMENDED PODCAST:
Every week investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future. Subscribe to “The Riff” with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg: https://link.chtbl.com/theriff
–
KEEP UP WITH PATTY, KELLI, & NOLAN ON LINKEDIN
Patty: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pattymccord/
Nolan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-church/
Kelli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellidragovich/
–
LINKS:
Netflix Culture Deck- https://www.slideshare.net/reed2001/culture-1798664
Powerful by Patty McCord- https://pattymccord.com/book/
–
TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Episode Preview
(02:19) How we got Patty on this podcast
(05:22)The true story behind Netflix’s culture deck
(09:15) High Performance cultures actually take 4-5 years to pull off
(09:40) Why releasing the culture deck changed Netflix’s hiring immediately
(11:33) What to do when employees are averse to change
(15:10) Delivering effective feedback
(18:15) Sponsors: Lattice | Continuum
(19:50) Why execs need to get used to short tenures
(22:10) If you’re successful your company will change
(24:30) Retention and the truth we need to tell employees about career pathing
(26:19) How Reed Hastings hired Patty McCord
(29:45) How HR officers can get a seat at the table
(33:25) The P&L is the most important HR metric
(35:10) Are HR leaders getting soft?
(37:40) What Patty would tell her younger self
(39:00) Why an HR officer is a business leader, not a business partner
(40:00) What do HR people do?
(41:30) Fixing equal pay and compensation strategy
(43:28) Why HR keeps doing stupid stuff and needs to abandon best practices
(48:10) What HR can learn from product managers
(52:44) Compartmentalization and terminations
(55:20) If Patty rewrote her book, she would change the chapter about relationships at work
(56:40) Why HR people invite inappropriate therapist-style relationships
(59:50) Why having arguments at work should be normalized
(01:04:25) Does Patty miss being in the arena?
(01:06:58)The portions of the workforce most impacted right now
–
HR Heretics is brought to you by Turpentine www.turpentine.co
Exec Producer: Amelia Salyers
Producer: Natalie Toren
Production: Will Henderson-Nold, Seth Hahn, Michelle Poreh
For inquiries about guests or sponsoring the podcast, email Natalie@turpentine.co
Extra thanks to Patty McCord for hosting our team at her home.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hrheretics.substack.com
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