The Courage to Step Aside
What Biden might learn from Netflix’s first CEO.
As the co-founder of five startups, I know when it’s time to step aside. President Biden, like I once did, now faces a momentous decision that will define his legacy.
Twenty-five years ago, I was the CEO of Netflix, the startup I had co-founded several years earlier. And for those first exciting years, my blend of passion and creativity was exactly what the company needed.
Then, late one September afternoon, my co-founder Reed Hastings popped his head into my office and told me simply, “We need to talk.”
He pulled up a chair, and for the next ten minutes laid out a clear-eyed assessment of my accomplishments and my failures. His analysis covered errors in hiring, accounting, and corporate communications. He noted the challenges ahead and made a meticulous argument for why the company was in trouble with me at the helm.
His proposal was straightforward: He would join the company full-time as CEO. I would step down to become COO and we would run the company together. “I’ll let you think about it,” he concluded.
As he left my office, closing the door quietly behind him, the sun was setting but I didn’t have the strength to turn on the light. I sat there in shock, alone in the dark.
It was unfair. This was my company. I came up with the idea, recruited the team, and launched the site. I bled for the company, worked hundred-hour weeks, suffered sleepless nights and prolonged bouts of anxiety. My bond with the company felt like parenthood. To let it all go felt like an enormous loss — even a betrayal.
As I sat in my dark office, feeling bitter and hurt, I considered two things.
First, while I was focused on the past, Reed was concerned about the future. The needs of the company had changed. And while I may have been the best founder, I might not be the best CEO for the challenges we’ll face tomorrow.
Second, like many entrepreneurs, I had always dreamed of being the CEO of a big, successful company. But that night I wondered if that dream might be two different dreams. And if I wanted the “big, successful company” dream to come true, I may have to give up on the CEO one.
I was in an impossible situation. My most important job as CEO was ensuring the right employees were in the right seats. And now I was being forced to turn that lens on myself.
I had often told people: “It’s the rule of the jungle: lead, follow, or get out of the way.” But I never thought it would ever apply to me.
At the time, my decision about whether to step aside for the good of the company felt cosmically significant. But, in President Biden’s cases, it actually is.
Despite his outward confidence, I’m sure President Biden is wrestling with this decision. I know he fears for the future of democracy and sees defeating Donald Trump as an existential imperative. I know he wants the United States to continue to be safe, prosperous, and equitable. I know that he firmly believes he is the best possible person to deliver on these promises.
And four years ago, he might have been.
But it’s becoming increasingly evident — to us, and probably to him — that this may no longer be the case. As he consults with family and trusted advisors, I’m sure Biden is struggling, just as I did 25 years ago, wondering if the best way to achieve his goals for the nation is to accept that he may not be the best person to bring us there.
I ultimately decided that if I wanted Netflix to be successful, I should be willing to do whatever that required — even if that meant stepping down as CEO.
And 25 years — and 270 million subscribers — later, I’m convinced that making way for Reed to step in as CEO was the best decision I ever made. The years where Reed and I ran Netflix together were the renaissance at the company, laying the groundwork for much of what Netflix has become. And working closely with him was the highlight of my professional life.
Whatever Joe Biden decides, I hope he can achieve the same peace that I have. Because whether you are an early-stage CEO transitioning to a later stage one, or a president transitioning to former president, true leadership is about more than recognizing a change is necessary. The most important thing is having the courage to act on it.
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