Apparently this guide to the ‘freedom and responsibility culture’ at Netflix is taking startup land in the US by storm, after all its not just about big business strategy and practice, but is relevant to lean start-up best practices too. As reported by Techcrunch, who quote Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg that the Netflix guide “may well be the most important document ever to come out of the Valley,” it is:

More than simply a management guide, it’s a window into a philosophy that thrives on uncertainty, creativity, and trust — a blinding contrast to the hierarchical culture that dominated much of the 20th century workplace. To the extent that innovation and the Internet play a role in the modern workplace, it is a crystal ball into the future of daily life.

And it in turn reminds me of this interesting post by Michael Sahota I read just yesterday on how important culture is to determining the success of your business strategy:

Relationship Between the Levels

Culture is the foundation that Strategy and Tactics sit on. But culture is like an iceberg – a powerful force that is underwater where you can’t see it.

Sure, it’s possible to work at the levels of tactics and strategy, but that is unlikely to make any lasting change or draw great benefits. Lasting change requires working at all three levels so that the tactics and strategy support the culture.

Which in turn relates to my last post on this blog with advice on how to be more creative by from a positive deviant with an eBay doc similar to the Netflix one from 2011:

And that connects with a piece I wrote, straight after finishing at eBay Inc, connecting product design, customers, and of course the quality of the company culture:

So there you have it, a quick and dirty guide to the relationship between culture, and strategy, with a few thoughts on creativity thrown in for good measure. And finally, a creative idea to promote the strategy of ‘convergence’ from me, from my last role at Sony: