Why Culture Matters

August 7, 2009

Netlfix is a darling.  Their customers love them, and so does Wall Street.  In the last five years, their stock has more than doubled, while the S&P 500 has gone nowhere.  But let’s face it – Netflix should not have succeeded – Blockbuster should have.  Blockbuster had every advantage – they had the relationships, the cash and the marketing budget.  However, while Netflix has doubled, Blockbuster stock is worth less than 1/10th of what it was worth just 5 years ago.

Netflix vs. Blockbuster

How did Netflix win.  After reviewing the presentation below, I’m more convinced than ever that Netflix won because of the culture they have built on purpose. The presentation below has 128 pages to it, but every one is worth reviewing.

Innovation is important. Strategy is critical. Tactics matter. But give me the culture that allows great people to be great and expels people who aren’t – and I have no worries.

Filed Under Business Growth Strategy | | Blog Home

Comments

3 Responses to “Why Culture Matters”

  1. Doug,thanks so much for sharing. I’m a huge fan of Netflix for many reasons. One of them is simple. If a film gets lost in the mail – there is no blaming – they just send you another. they are so customer service oriented, they blow the socks off the competition.

    Now that builds loyalty, and word of mouth, and…

  2. Daniel says:

    great post, thanks for sharing

Trackbacks

  1. [...] Doug Davidoff pointed out some outstanding work NetFlix has done in his recent post “Why Culture Matters.”  Here’s what Doug [...]



Leave a Reply