" Creative firms thrive on increasing variation "

Source : HBR, Jan 2014
Interview Reed Hastings


Why aren’t companies more innovative when it comes to talent management?

As a society, we’ve had hundreds of years to work on managing industrial firms, so a lot of accepted HR practices are centered in that experience. We’re just beginning to learn how to run creative firms, which is quite different. Industrial firms thrive on reducing variation (manufacturing errors); creative firms thrive on increasing variation (innovation).

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How many days off did you take in 2013?

“Days off” is a very industrial concept, like being “at the office.” I find Netflix fun to think about, so there are probably no 24-hour periods when I never think about work. But I did take three or four weeklong family trips over the past year, which were both stimulating and relaxing.