5 days agoStarting from ScratchDon’t let all your accomplishments get in the way of making progress. We are all familiar with the benefits that come from being large and established. But it turns out there are some surprising benefits that come from starting from scratch. Let me give you an example. Years ago, before…Entrepreneurship3 min readEntrepreneurship3 min read
Nov 22The Idea Isn’t the Important PartIt’s what you do with it that matters. I’m frequently asked whether it’s “safe” to share an idea with an investor. People wonder whether they should wait until they have a patent. Or whether they need the investor to sign a non-disclosure agreement. The answer is always “no”. I don’t…Ideas5 min readIdeas5 min read
Nov 15The First Thing You Learn in Skateboarding is How to Fall.And shouldn’t that be the case for starting anything? I get interviewed a lot, and by far the most frequent question I get asked is: “What was your biggest failure, and what did you learn from it?” Besides being common, it’s also one of the most difficult questions to answer…Failure4 min readFailure4 min read
Nov 9I Promise I’m Not Avoiding YouI’m just prioritizing. Learning to say “no” is probably the most powerful thing I’ve learned in 45 years as an entrepreneur. It’s a simple skill, but it’s so hard to do. We associate “yes” with positivity and acceptance, but saying “no” can be just as beneficial, if not more. …Time Management6 min readTime Management6 min read
Nov 2If You Love something, Let it Go …Because despite what they say, it’s usually not about the money “If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it is yours. If it doesn’t, it never was.” I was in my late teens when I first read that quote in some self-help book, and…Negotiation4 min readNegotiation4 min read
Oct 26I’ve Changed My MindLet’s hope the new one works better. A few years ago, for a New Year’s resolution, I decided I would try to change my mind about something at least once a month. It turned out to be way too easy. I started with politics — we are a polarized nation…Decision Making2 min readDecision Making2 min read
Oct 18Nothing MattersExcept for the one or two things that do. One of the most important things I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older is that most things don’t matter. Whatever you’re trying to accomplish, there are usually just a couple of things on that to-do list that will actually make a difference…4 min read4 min read
Oct 11The Worst Advice Ever GivenUnfortunately, it’s also probably the most common. The business world is full of bad advice, but in my opinion, none is quite so bad as the admonition that precedes every brainstorming session: “There’s no such thing as a bad idea.” That’s got to be the worst advice ever. Because I’ve…Netflix2 min readNetflix2 min read
Oct 4Read This After You’ve Gone for a WalkThe key to solving most problems is to step away from them for a while. Stop reading this. I’m serious. Turn off your phone, put it in a drawer, and go out for a walk. I just got back from one myself. Still there? OK, if you’re going to insist…Work Life Balance3 min readWork Life Balance3 min read
Sep 29Farewell Red EnvelopeAfter a 25 year run, Netflix will mail it’s final DVD this week. At approximately 3:00 PM on April 14th, 1998, my COO Jim Cook made the two-and-a-half-mile drive to the Santa Cruz post office and mailed the first batch of about 100 Netflix DVDs to customers. …Netflix5 min readNetflix5 min read
