By Rashmi Sharma, Dscoop Community Success Manager, South Asia
This summer during Dscoop Edge Conference at Long Beach, California, I was fortunate to attend a keynote by author Erin Meyer and learnt a new perspective to manage people in organisations.
Erin spoke about the culture at Netflix, which founder Reed Hastings shaped in an organisation famous for productivity and growth. Netflix was a disruptor from the traditional hierarchy system that focuses on people over process, innovation over efficiency and encourages decisions based on context instead of control.
Dscoop Edge Long Beach keynote speaker Erin Meyer (pictured here with Dscoop staff), author of "New Rules Rules," outlined three major principles for a successful, agile organisation.
3 Take-Aways That Can Help Your Business
Erin's book "No Rules Rules" promotes 3 major principles for a successful and agile organisation:
1. Increase talent density.
Netflix’s culture was to hire one good professional instead of 10 mediocre. Look for team members who embrace experimentation and continuous learning. Also, invest in training — leverage HP’s certified programs and Dscoop workshops to upskill operators and designers.
2. Practice radical candor.
Create a culture of honest feedback. Hold weekly feedback huddles for operators, designers and managers to share what’s working and what’s not. Using print samples as feedback tools, review jobs together and discuss what could be improved. Also, encourage upward feedback — junior staff should feel safe to challenge decisions or suggest better workflows.
3. Embrace freedom with responsibility.
Empower your team to lead. Replace rigid rules with context. Give operators autonomy and let them decide how to schedule jobs or optimize press usage, within clear business goals. Share business context and reveal monthly targets, client expectations and cost structures so decisions are informed. Trust your team to act like owners — when people understand the ‘why,’ they make smarter choices.
Although you might say Netflix is not a manufacturing company like our printers in India, with vast cultural differences, a few adaptations to the principles can make it work in India:
- Blend candor with empathy — use storytelling and shared experiences to deliver feedback.
- Celebrate team wins — recognize collective effort to reinforce belonging.
- Balance freedom with mentorship — especially for younger staff who may need guidance.
Dscoop members in India are uniquely positioned to redefine leadership and culture in the print industry. By embracing Erin's "No Rules Rules," you can build agile, empowered teams that deliver exceptional results.
