Books for millionaires: Netflix’s millionaire co-CEO Ted Sarandos lives a lavish lifestyle. But unlike conventional CEOs, his bookshelf are not lined with books on management, self-help, and money. Speaking to CNBC, he revealed that he didn’t read management books at all, and turns to fiction when he wanted a lesson in management.
The Netflix CEO revealed that ‘Typhoon’ (1902) is his favourite management book. Written by Joseph Conrad, the novella is about a steamship captain and crew navigating a severe storm while at sea. While it may not be your ideal Warren Buffett-esque book, the 61-year-old millionaire often turns to this fictional tale.
‘I read it over and over because…’
Speaking on CNBC’s ‘Leadership Playbook’ series, Sarandos shared that he first read ‘Typhoon’ more than two decades ago. He explained how he “read it over and over again,” because he “got something different in the book every time I read it.” The first impression of the protagonist was of a “reckless hot dog who put himself and his family in jeopardy.”
However, from some of his more recent reads, he took away a more salient lesson about leading in the face of conflict and when times get unpredictable. “Now, what I see is that when you go through life and you go through business, you make a lot of decisions that don’t turn out the way you thought they would,” said Sarandos. “The real leadership test is: How do you manage through that?”
Sarandos’ journey with Netflix started in 2000 and it was under former CEO Reed Hastings he realised how to embrace uncertainty. “I think the lesson that he’s left for me is that you pick the best people, give them the tools to do the best work of their life, and get out of their way,” said Sarandos.
How a $100 mn deal changed Netflix
Trusting a $100 million deal without the sign-off of the CEO, Sarandos managed to change the legacy of the OTT platform. Recalling the creation of Netflix‘s first original TV series, House of Cards, he called the move a ‘big financial swing’. It was only when he was confronted by Hasting, the now CEO replied, “It’s a simple risk-reward for me. If this show fails, we will have dramatically overpaid for a show. We do that all the time, but if it succeeds, we could completely transform the business as we know it.”
