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Talent: The Best Employee Perk?
“[Just] as organizations that invested financial capital more wisely than their rivals performed better in the past, the companies that do the best job of managing time, talent, and energy are the ones that win today’s competitive races. Netflix, for example, didn’t get where it is just because it had a better business model than Blockbuster. It reached the top and has stayed there because it attracts, retains, and effectively utilizes many of the best people in the business. ‘The best thing you can do for employees—a perk better than foosball or free sushi—is hire only “A” players to work alongside them,’ wrote Patty McCord, the company’s chief talent officer from 1998 to 2012. ‘Excellent colleagues trump everything else.’ Netflix hires ‘fully formed adults,’ self-sufficient people “who feel responsible for the company, knowing that they will exercise discretion and responsibility.” The company has no vacation policy and no travel expense policy. Nor does it have formal reviews, which it believes create unnecessary bureaucracy. Instead, Netflix fosters continuous, open, and honest conversations about performance. The strength of the company’s talent has enabled Netflix to shift its business model and strengthen its leadership position over the last ten years.”
—From Time, Talent, Energy: Overcome Organizational Drag and Unleash Your Team’s Productive Power, by Michael Mankins and Eric Garton (MBA 1996)
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