7 months ago
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos Calls 'Typhoon' His Favorite Leadership Book
Ted Sarandos, the co-CEO of Netflix, loves a book called 'Typhoon' by Joseph Conrad.
It's not a typical business book, but a story about a ship captain dealing with a big storm.
Sarandos says he reads it many times and learns something new each time.
At first, he thought the captain was reckless, but now he sees it as a lesson about making tough decisions and leading through difficult times.
He also talked about how he helped Netflix by making a big bet on a TV show called 'House of Cards', which changed the company.
Sarandos believes in hiring good people, giving them the right tools, and then trusting them to do their best work.
Ted Sarandos, Netflix co-CEO, revealed his favorite book is 'Typhoon' by Joseph Conrad.
He reads the book repeatedly, finding new leadership lessons each time.
Sarandos initially viewed the protagonist as reckless but now sees it as a lesson in managing uncertainty.
He credited former CEO Reed Hastings for teaching him to embrace uncertainty and trust his team.
Sarandos made a $100 million deal for 'House of Cards' without Hastings' sign-off, transforming Netflix.
- Who
- Ted Sarandos, Netflix co-CEO
- What
- Revealed his favorite book, 'Typhoon', and discussed leadership lessons
- Where
- On CNBC's 'Leadership Playbook' series
- When
- More than two decades ago for the first read, 2000 for joining Netflix
- Why
- To share his unique approach to leadership and management
Key facts
- Ted Sarandos
- Netflix co-CEO
- Favorite Book
- Typhoon by Joseph Conrad
- First Read
- More than two decades ago
- Netflix Start
- 2000
- House of Cards
- Netflix's first original TV series
- House of Cards Deal
- $100 million
Quotes
Ted Sarandos
Co-CEO of Netflix
“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. The real leadership test is: How do you manage through that?”
financialexpress.com
“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.”
financialexpress.com
