Spotlight On *Live from Accel’s 2025 People Summit* Behind the Netflix Culture Deck with Patty McCord and Jessica Neal
May 27, 2025
Patty McCord, author and former Chief Talent Officer at Netflix, and Jessica Neal, former Chief HR Officer and Venture Partner at TCV, dive deep into the evolution of Netflix's groundbreaking culture deck. They discuss its deliberate 'brutal' design, unique compensation strategies, and share what every founder can learn about culture-building. Their insights include navigating the complexities of employee terminations, the importance of effective DEI practices, and how true workplace fulfillment stems from meaningful work, not just perks.
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Culture Is Practical Common Sense
- The Netflix culture deck is practical common sense, not lofty ideals.
- Straightforward communication fits well with technical teams' binary thinking.
Cut Useless HR Practices
- Throw away HR practices you can't justify to your smartest engineer.
- Focus only on things that truly move the needle for your company.
Managers Build Impactful Teams
- Managers must build teams that deliver amazing work on time with quality.
- The right team is key even if current members are individually good.