HOW TO

BECOME A
SUCCESSFUL
MANAGER?
Michael Jordan

The key to improving performance within the company is effective management. By providing
employees with excellent managers, you can ensure that they will have a good example to follow
when it comes to their own work. However, it is important that managers possess certain
characteristics in order for them to be truly effective. Here are the traits that are absolutely
essential when it comes to your being a successful manager.
1. The Ability to Self-Motivate
Managers are responsible for motivating their employees, which means that they themselves
must possess the ability to self-motivate. Self-motivation means that you are not only able to
get yourself going on the project at hand, but that you are also able to work independently to
take on each next step towards completion. As a manager, it is necessary that you are able to
self-motivate because you will need to imbue this characteristic in the employees whom you
are managing.
2. Effective Communication Skills
Another critical trait that managers must possess is effective communication skills. In
large part, the main job of a manager is communication. Good managers are able to
communicate with their employees in a way that is clear and conducive to a positive working
relationship. Furthermore, good managers excel at both verbal and non-verbal communication.
A good manager leads by example in order to communicate such behavior to employees.
3. Confidence without Arrogance
As a manager, it is important for you to be confident. Having confidence shows your
employees that you believe in your own abilities, which will increase their respect for you.
Unfortunately, such confidence is all too often mistaken for arrogance. If your employees
believe that you are arrogant, they will lose respect for you rather than gaining it. To prevent
this, imbue your confidence with personality to make yourself likeable to your employees.
4. Willingness to Share
One ineffective management strategy is withholding information from your employees.
Instead, effective managers share as much information as possible with their employees,
creating an environment of collective intelligence. This creates trust between management and
employees, leading to a more effective relationship. Remember to never isolate yourself from
those you are managing, as this will lessen trust in the relationship.
5. Prowess in Problem Solving
Finally, a great manager is able to problem solve. Problem solving is one of the key
components of a management position, whether you are working out a conflict between
employees or solving a crisis with a client. In addition to being able to solve problems, a good
manager takes responsibility for problems that arise.
Casimere L. Llave

Being promoted to a management role does not guarantee success. Successful managers
are effective and productive. They can lead, motivate and inspire others to achieve their best.
To become a successful manager, you must adopt key habits that will allow you to accomplish
your goals and bring out the best in others.
1. They set SMART goals.
Success requires dedicated work. Successful managers write their goals and map out the key
steps they must take to get closer to their goals every day.
2. They manage their time.
 Time is precious and valuable. Successful managers manage their time effectively by cutting
out activities that do not align with their goals.
3. They invest in others.
Successful managers continually invest in others. Investing in others includes encouraging,
coaching, mentoring, and sponsoring future leaders.
4. They focus on the big picture.
Successful managers engage in strategic planning and effective implementation. To do so, they
broaden their perspective to understand how all the pieces of a plan, project or goal it together.
5. They take risks.
Taking risks builds confidence and sharpens one's ability to be decisive. Successful managers
are willing to try new things and experiment with new ideas.
6. They have integrity.
Successful managers demonstrate consistency between their words and their actions. Their
consistency inspires others to trust them and their ability to lead.
7. They are disciplined.
Self-discipline is an important leadership attribute. It requires engaging in consistent action
even when you don't feel like it. Self-discipline fuels a successful manager's sense of
determination and allows the manager to achieve goals.

Maynard J. Magturo
Management isn't easy. Even with hundreds of available resources, stepping into a
management role for the first time can feel a little like jumping out of a plane, even if you have a
parachute strapped to your back. You're suddenly responsible for the well-being, production and
success of a team of people, and you are the one they'll turn to if anything goes wrong, which can
be a daunting change if you're used to looking to someone else for answers. It takes time to
adjust to a new position, especially as a first-time manager, and it's easy to get overwhelmed.
Just remember that you're not alone and that everyone starts somewhere (Kuligowski, K. 2019).
 JACK MA
 LEADERSHIP QUALITIES, SKILLS AND STYLE OF JACK MA YUN

Jack Ma is a fascinating example of a successful leader. His real name is Ma Yun who
born September 10, 1964. He is a Chinese business magnate who is the founder and executive
chairman of Alibaba Group. Alibaba is a successful Internet based business. Ma intended to use
the influence of internet & Alibaba to facilitate more globalized trades across the borders beyond
China and to help SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) across the world. In 2014, he was
ranked as the 30th most powerful person in the world in an annual ranking according to Forbes.
Asian Award honored him with the Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2015. And in 2017,
Fortune ranked Ma second on its World’s 50 Greatest Leaders list. Jack Ma became the richest
man in Asia at the age of 50 but he is not doing business just for the money. Rather he is on a
mission to change the way business is done in China, gives the country its heart back, and take
over the e-commerce world. For making this happen Jack Ma had to be a leader possessing great
qualities, skills, and styles in him. His fascinating leadership qualities, skills, and styles made
him possible to turn his dream true.

1. Be an Authentic Leader: Ma possesses a strong sense of character which helps him build
loyalty and strong foundation on which his business Alibaba grows. Ma states that leaders do not
have to sacrifice our sense of humor just because they are in charge.

2. See through Customers’ Eyes: Ma runs e-commerce business and he got his success being
not a “Tech Guy” rather he views his products through his customers’ eyes. This quality helps
his business to provide best services.

3. Develop a Mission: Jack Ma possesses a prolong & grand mission. And his mission is to
regenerate China’s sense of purpose and culture which were lost under Mao Zedong’s rule. Ma
has given his employees generous equity shares so they get to benefit from Alibaba’s success
too.
4. He Unites People under a Single Goal: Ma knew that it is not possible to convince every
single employee, business partner and investor to trust him or to listen to him no matter how hard
he tries. Accepting this and changing the approach is another quality and skill of his success. He
unites them under a common goal rather than uniting them under his own supervision. This is a
company goal rather than a leader’s goal.

5. He Hires People with Superior Skills: Hiring employees with super skills makes Ma’s
company successful. When he was asked what separates a leader from an employee he said,
“Your employee should have superior technical skills than you. If he doesn’t, it means you have
hired the wrong person.”

6. He is Tenacious: Jack Ma is a leader with having a tenacity and clear vision. He says that
leaders should be tenacious and have a clear vision. Ma knows what he wants to achieve and he
knows how to chase it down. Ma believes this will bring him success and it will inspire people
around him to work hard for achieving the goal.

7. He Defines Failure as Giving Up: This is one of his popular leadership quality and skill that
defines him a successful leader. According to Ma, “giving up is the greatest failure. If you go
out, try your best and fail to achieve your goal but see it through to the end you are a success.”
Maa learns most from hardships and obstacles. Ma never gives up if he fails one thing
repeatedly.

Other leadership Qualities, Traits, and Characteristics of Jack Ma Yun

• Use your instinct

• Focus on mission, not money

• Know what your business is

• Have a bold long-term vision

• Breathless efforts for achievements

• Expanding the Boundaries

• Empowering Others

• Bonding with Culture and Philanthropy

• He Doesn’t Make Enemies

He follows leadership styles which also help him to run his business in a successful way.
He is Democratic Leader since he gives importance of his employees’ ideas. He follows
transformational Leadership style as well by empowering his employees and motivating them to
do more to achieve success. He also follows Charismatic Leadership & Visionary Leadership
styles.

 LEADERSHIP SKILLS OF JACK MA YUN

1. Transformation Management Skills: Jack Ma has the skill to understand change

management in order to lead his company to success. When he was creating a new business, he
initiated changes in the process. According to him, change is the best plan and so that everyone
should embrace changes. Creating Alibaba platform was a step to the change for Jack Ma which
leads him to the success. While implementing the changes, Jack Ma understood that he has to
understand the customer’s needs and he has to take help of technology to grow his business. He
was well aware of facing difficulties while applying changes into his company. Alibaba was at
first a business to business company and later Jack Ma tried to convert their company into
business to consumer or even consumer to consumer with the help of transformation
management skills.

2. A Man of Positivity: Jack Ma knows how to remain positive in any circumstances and this
skill made him one of the successful leaders in the world. There were times when Jack Ma didn’t
taste success even after putting in his best. He had to face a lot of rejections a lot in his early age.
He was rejected to get KFC job and also, he got rejected from Harvard University when he
applied for 10 times. But Jack Ma never lost his hope. He took these rejections with a positive
mind and he worked harder for the next time. Alibaba was not an instant success and Jack Ma
had faced a lot of difficulties while starting this business. With the help of his positivity skill, he
expanded his business gradually to the position where it is today. As leaders, we must cultivate
our goals and visions to improve our companies and to improve the lives of our employees. We
should incorporate that mission into our cultures and implement it at every level to promote a
better world. And this is what Jack Ma does as a leader and gets success at every stride of his
business.

References:
https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6456-new-manager-tips.html
https://www.thestrategywatch.com/leadership-qualities-skills-styles-jack-ma/
Ma. Adelyn Lourdes M. Jarabe

TIM COOK
Tim Cook is an American business executive who succeeded Steve Jobs as the chief
executive officer (CEO) of 'Apple Inc.' in 2011. Even before officially assuming the title of the
CEO, he had served as the acting CEO during Jobs' long medical leave in the months preceding
the former 'Apple' CEO's death. From the time he joined 'Apple' as the senior vice president
(SVP) of Worldwide Operations in 1998, Tim Cook has been instrumental in leading the
company towards success. In fact, 'Apple' was going through a tough phase when Cook accepted
to join the company and his role in resurrecting the company has been immense. Born into a
middle class home in a small town, Cook is a self-made man. A good student at school, he went
to study industrial engineering at the 'Auburn University' in Alabama before completing his
MBA degree at the Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. He entered the field of
computer technology and started working for IBM. Brilliant, creative, and blesses with steely
determination, Cook rose through the ranks within the company. He then went on to work for
'Compaq'. But his stay at 'Compaq' was short-lived as he left the company to join the then-
struggling 'Apple'. He then change the company's fortunes within years of joining.

 11 LEADERSHIP LESSONS WE CAN LEARN FROM TIM COOK

At first people questioned the skills and abilities of Tim Cook especially that he took over
from the iconic and masterful Steve Jobs. People doesn't believe on him that's why he prove to
them that they are wrong by showing that he is more than capable of taking Apple to the next
level.
Leaderships requires skills that you must continue to refine as you progress through your career.
These are the 11 leadership lessons we can learn from Tim Cook:

1. Take risks.

Tim Cook understands he must take risks in order to succeed. He believes that "[w]e take
risks knowing that risks will sometimes result in failure, but without the possibility of failure
there is no possibility of success."

2. Focus and listen attentively to those you speak to.

Tim Cook is quieter and reserved. This may be because he is focused and listened
attentively to what those around him are saying. The moment you notice your mind starting to
drift away from the conversation, you should focus and take down the key points. The old adage
goes, you have two ears and one mouth, use them in that proportion. This is a lesson from Tim
Cook that should be implemented by anyone with the goal of becoming a great leader.

3. Trust others around you.

Tim Cook is known as a leader who will trust the opinions and voices of the team he
surrounds himself with. Part of being a leader is understanding that you don't know everything,
and handing some of the work load to others on your team will go a long way in helping you
become a successful leader.

4. Diversity is important.

Tim Cook, as a leader of a company that is founded on innovation, understands he needs

thinkers who can offer a different insight. "We want diversity of thought," he said in a recent
interview with Businessweek". We want diversity of style. We want people to be themselves."

Bringing the best out of people is not a quality many leaders possess and working on
refining this skill will give people the confidence to follow your lead.

5. Be humble.

Never forget where you came from. Tim Cook manages to find the time to visit his Apple
stores and engage with his customers, either face-to-face or by reading their emails.

During the interview Tim Cook did with Businessweek, he said, "Not allowing yourself
to become insular is very important – maybe the most important think, I think, as a CEO."
Staying humble will give you the respect of your employees and is a quality that is necessary to
becoming a great leader.
6. Admit when you're wrong.

Strong leaders need to understand when they are wrong and admit it so that they can
move forward. Tim Cook strongly believes in admitting when you are wrong. This is a strong
lesson in leadership, having the courage to admit when you are wrong and avoiding the mistakes
of the past.

7. Do what you do and do it well.

Apple is a company that is built around doing what they do and doing it well. It may be shocking
to believe, but Apple really only creates a few products.

Mr. Cook is patient and understands that new and unique ideas will come. In the
meantime, Apple focuses on improving its foundation and the products people love.

8. Believe in what you're doing and take actions that reflect that.

To truly be a great leader you must believe in yourself and trust that you are making the
right decisions. Your actions also must reflect the belief you have in yourself and this is a key
attribute of Tim Cook.

Many people are unaware just how much Tim Cook believes in himself to make the right
decision. According to Fox Business, when Apple's stock was tanking, Mr. Cook choose to
forfeit up to one third of his stock-based compensation (nearly $130 million over 8 years) if the
stock under – performed the S&P 500. There was no fine print; he chose to lead by example and
put his money where his mouth is.

9. Be you and don't pretend to be anyone else.

Succeeding as a leader does not mean you have to give up being who you are in the
process. Staying true to yourself and being the same person will help you become a strong
leader. After all, that's what got you there. While Steve Jobs was a far more aggressive
individual, Tim Cook has not changed to fit the mold of CEO before him; he has stayed true to
himself and is completing the job with his own strengths.

10. Write your own rules.

If you truly want to excel as a leader you must write your own rules. You will struggle to
find continued success if you lead based on the confines of a textbook. You will rarely find real
life scenarios and problems following those in textbooks.

If you do everything in a formulated manner, then the best you can do is reach the same
position as everybody else. It is a strong lesson in leadership, knowing when to follow the rules
and when to throw them away.
11. Be transparent.

Tim Cook knows that transparency is crucial to sustained success. Upon receiving harsh
criticism about the standards of Apple's global employees, he decided to open up the doors to the
public and allow them to see how Apple's operation really works. By doing this he instilled
confidence for those in the company and set new industry standards for manufacturers
everywhere. Being transparent is a solid foundation

Tim Cook has been an inspiration to many people since taking the role as Apple CEO.
His approach to leadership is admirable and his lessons can teach us all how to build a solid
foundation as a leader.

References:
https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/tim-cook-6713.php
https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/11-leadership-lessons-can-learn-from-tim-
cook.html
Jenny Car M. Magboo

BILL GATES

Bill Gates founded Microsoft, the world's largest PC software company, and each year,
he is consistently near the top of the list of the world's wealthiest people. Over the years, Gates
has slowly transitioned away from Microsoft and into philanthropic ventures. His foundation, the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is working to provide clean water and sanitation (among
other things) to third world countries. Like Warren Buffet, Gates has also promised to leave the
vast majority of his wealth to charity. The commitments and influential leadership character of
Bill Gates will administer good lessons as we scrutinize our attitude towards successful
leadership. Obviously, lesson's learned from an individual who has been on list of the world's
richest people for over 30 years will be highly influential as we develop roadmaps and models to
achieve success as leaders.

 LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM THE BILL GATES FOR OUR LEADERSHIP

INSPIRATION

1. Not distracted by success

Success can easily cloud anyone's judgement when it becomes a benchmark. This is
totally not the case for Bill Gates. He looks beyond his success while executing business
decisions. He is a leader that lacks over confidence and recognizes that his success should not
bias business ethics. According to him, he said that "success is a lousy teacher. It seduces
smart people into thinking they don't lose." This means he doesn't believe in putting down his
initial path to success, rather he prepares more to avert psychological challenges being
successful can bring. Bill Gates has a leadership traits of being self-objectivity that are ability
to evaluate himself realistically. Therefore, problems can evaluate step by step and solve it into
pieces to overcome the challenges.

2. Caring for people

The two leadership roles very significant in the life of Bill Gates are Philanthropy and
humanitarianism. He founded Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations with his wife to ensure the
sustainability of his care for people; an organization devoted to save lives and improve global
health. Also he believes his life would accomplish less if his energy and talent cannot serve as
channels to improve many lives and society at large. On Bloomberg Business Week, he said
that "I hope will reflect on what you've done with your talent and energy. I hope you will
judge yourselves not on your professional accomplishments alone, but also on how will you
work to address the world's deepest inequities, on how well you treat people a world away that
have nothing in common with you but their huminity." We conclude that manager with good
human skills has a high degree of self-awareness and a capacity to understand or empathize
with the feelings of others. Being concern to your co-workers may result to a good relationship
in the company. Lastly, his leadership role does not mean success for himself alone or his team
members, but he's working hard to ensure that others grow too. That's a lesson worth learning.

3. Vision - oriented

Bill Gates is not just in Microsoft where he envisioned the creation of a graphical
interface, but in his philanthropic life. He is able to incorporate his career with his
contribution in other fields, making him more involved in our society than software supply.
Gates collaborate with Rotary International to kick polio out of the Globe, and working on
malaria project to end the existence.

4. Rates his capability

The contract that led to the establishment of Microsoft in 1975 was proposed in the air.
Bill Gates actually rated himself more when he told Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry
Systems (MITS), that he could develop an interpreter for microcomputer. He was never done
that before and he was ready to sacrifice what it would take to have the program developed.
Gates and Allen had to work hard to develop the interpreter within few weeks when MITS
become interested in their proposal. Finally, the project been successfull and Microsoft was
established a few weeks later. He's a leader that doesn't believe that how much he has done is
the best of him.

5. Valuing time

"No matter how much money you have, you can't buy more time," one of Gates's famous
quotes. This express that Billy Gates values every minute and priorities his daily activities to
ensure a good influence in the most important. He still believes in proper planning and
leadership commitment knowing he has the same number of hours with everyone.

References:
https://cmoe.com/blog/13-of-the-most-influential-leaders-in-business/
https://www.industryleadersmagazine.com/5-important-lessons-leaders-can-learn-bill-gates/
 Kenneth DC. Jinao

“Most entrepreneurial ideas will sound crazy, stupid and uneconomic, and then they’ll turn
out to be right.”

REED HASTINGS

Just like empires, companies can come and go with the times. However, there are some
that last for ages, and great leadership is the secret. Great leaders have the ability to motivate
employees, help others see and believe in a vision, and lead innovation in the company. Having a
great leader at the helm is something that all investors, consumers, and employees want.

After honing a laser-like focus in his early years, Reed Hastings has gone on to become
the founder and CEO of an entertainment company that defines an age, Netflix. What originally
started as a ‘no-late-fees, no-due-dates’ subscription service soon transitioned into online
streaming, which shook the very foundation of digital entertainment. Netflix has come a long
way since its launch in 1997. That was now 24 years ago. Reed Hastings has overcome his fair
share of challenges together with his brilliant co-founder Marc Randolph in their quest to take
over the on-demand streaming business. It has been understanding the value of consistent focus
that has led to Reed Hastings’ success.
  LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM REED HASTINGS

1. Make few decisions

Apparently, the CEO of Netflix can go a whole quarter without making any significant
decisions. Sometimes he doesn’t know what decisions are being made by his team. This, he has
said, works perfectly for him.

He also has a meticulous hiring process for anyone who would like to join Netflix. He
trusts the team to make decisions that are best for the company. Without his involvement and
decision-making on a day-to-day basis, his employees have a large amount of freedom. If they
want to make a difference in the company, they do not have to wait for him to make a decision,
they can make a difference by making the decision and running with it.

Of course, there are chances that mistakes are made. But his philosophy on employee
freedom has helped the team to understand that it is okay to make mistakes and learn from them.
A lot of times, it is these very lessons that have helped propel Netflix ahead of the pack. For him
as a leader, he maintains that doing less is more. It gives the employees freedom, it shows you
trust their decision-making and believe in their work.

2. Stay ahead of the competition

In 2004, Blockbuster was the biggest rental company for movies which once had 9,000
stores. However, at the height of their success, they became blinded and stuck in one way of
doing things. In the wake of the internet and as technology continued to evolve, they still
remained stuck in their way of doing things; no innovation; no questioning what the future
looked like.

That was a huge fail. However, for Reed Hastings, this was the advantage they needed to
beat a huge company that was sleeping on the money they had already made. This just shows
how aware of the times Netflix was, and how asleep Blockbuster had been for so many years
before their bankruptcy. As an entrepreneur, Reed was always watching to see where the market
was headed and adjust to it; helping him stay ahead of Blockbuster with every passing day.
Innovation should never stop once you get customers or become big in a certain space. It is part
of growth, and you should innovate even more as you grow.

Netflix hasn’t only relied on innovation to help them stay ahead of the competition. In
fact, they have employed marketing, advertising, and public relations to help them grow. Every
other day there is news about Netflix in one media outlet or the other. We’re always seeing PPC
ads on various websites and on Google Search. YouTube is full of trailers from Netflix shows.
On Facebook, their trailers and boost posts are all over the place. They are staying ahead of the
competition on all fronts.
3. Know the importance of company culture

The company culture at Netflix is important. The CEO has maintained that there should
be no excuse for culture distortion as the company grows big. He has found a way to maintain
the culture at Netflix by allowing everyone to get involved in the thought process of how the
culture can be shaped better to integrate everyone in a growing company. Netflix is no small fish
in employee numbers. In fact, it is one of the biggest employers in Silicon Valley with over
2,000 staff on its campus. However, the very culture that was there when they first started out
has continued to evolve with the growing team.

Netflix has maintained employee freedom in its decision-making approach to running the
company. This is a big part of the culture. They have maintained or bettered the working
environment and conditions – from having an open vacation policy to allowing employees to
bring their disciplined dogs to work. They have said no to hiring brilliant jerks since such people
negatively affect team morale. If you’re heading a growing startup, be sure to maintain the
culture. Be a huge startup, not a corporate block.

4. You don’t have to be an Elon Musk or Steve Jobs

An outstanding fact about Elon Musk is that he is the product genius in the companies he
leads. For the late Steve Jobs as well, he was the product genius at Apple. While this is great,
you don’t have to be this kind of entrepreneur.

At Netflix, Reed Hastings is the CEO and Founder. Even so, he is not the be-all and end-
all of innovation. He has allowed his very talented team to lead on this front. He has made it a
team of product geniuses. As a proponent of employee freedom in workplaces, the scrapping of
supervisory processes that lead to the suppressing of innovation and creativity has been core to
his strategy.

He leads the company by making fewer decisions and allows employees to make a
difference with their creativity if they want to. This ensures that if anything were to happen to
him causing him to leave the company, the distributed set of thinkers will be able to carry the
company ahead without him. As a founder, if you are not a great product person, do not let it
bother you. Utilize your other strengths to build a great team of creative talent. Delegate and trust
in their ability to take the company to the next level.

5. Develop demonstrable values

One of the most impressive things about the Netflix pitch deck that Reed Hastings
developed while it was starting out was the company values. In his pitch deck in 2009, he
developed values for Netflix while elaborating that actual company values were evident in
decisions such as who got rewarded, promoted, or let go. For Netflix these skills are valued in
fellow employees. Some of these values were:
a. Judgment – making wise decisions, identifying root causes, getting beyond treating symptoms,
articulating what they were trying to do, smartly separating what can be done well now and what
can be improved later.

b. Communication – listening well so you can better understand rather than reacting fast, concise
and articulate in speech and writing, treating people with respect in spite of their status or
disagreements with you and maintaining a calm poise in stressful situations.

c. Impact – accomplishing amazing amounts of important work, demonstrating consistently

strong performance so colleagues rely on you, focusing on great results rather than processes,
exhibiting bias-to-action and avoiding analysis-paralysis.

d. Curiosity – learning rapidly and eagerly, seeking to understand strategy, market, customers,
and suppliers, knowledgeable about business, technology and entertainment and contributing
effectively outside of your specialty.

e. Innovation – re-conceptualizing issues to discover practical solutions to hard problems,

challenging prevailing assumptions when warranted and providing suggestions, creating new
ideas that prove useful, keeping the company nimble by minimizing complexity and finding time
to simplify.

6. Be honest

Reed Hastings, while running his first company, Pure Software, avoided being honest just
to be kind. While he had a pretty good exit in that venture, he feels that the process of growth
and managing of that company would have been better had he been more honest when feedback
was required from the teams about various things.

Now he lives by the rule “if someone is frustrating you at your company tell them.” It is
no use keeping quiet about it so you can seem like a kind boss. At Netflix, he takes no prisoners.
Whether you are an underperforming employee or a brilliant jerk you will know it, and neither of
these types of employees is tolerated at the company. Netflix doesn’t shy away from cutting dead
weight. Performance has to be proven and non-performance is punished by being let go.

7. Believe in yourself, especially when the world does not

Reed has learned first-hand that people can always find reasons to shoot your ideas down.
This is especially the case when it comes to the people closest to you. If you rely on friends and
family to cheer you on every time you have a new business idea, then you will be sorely
disappointed. This is because people are wired to play devil’s advocate before they even gather
the energy to play enthusiastic supporter.

It’s important to believe in yourself as an entrepreneur. That is not to say that you should
throw caution to the wind and ignore what other people think about your business idea. Rather,
you should weigh people’s advice against your judgment. If you believe your idea has potential
despite what others are saying, then you should run with it. Ultimately, optimism will push you
to succeed in a way that skills and marketing savvy won’t.

8. Trust your employees to take ownership of the company

When Rob Caruso, the new VP of digital products at Netflix, showed up at his first-ever
quarterly business review, he was flabbergast to find Reed presenting the company financials to
a crowd of 400 managers.

Most entrepreneurs would rather cut off their fingers than show employees the company
books. This is because doing so could result in insider trading. However, Reed doesn’t believe in
keeping secrets from employees. On the contrary, he is convinced that being open with your staff
makes them feel trusted and encourages them to take ownership of the company.

Reed Hastings is an absolute master of learning from his mistakes, focus and business
culture. We can all learn from how he took his time starting a new company while evaluating the
challenges he had in his previous one. He aimed to build a company that would grow rapidly to
become an entertainment juggernaut while maintaining its entrepreneurial spirit and he obviously
succeeded. No matter what the future holds for the inspiring, proactive Reed Hastings one thing
is for sure, he will be focused! We can learn from this focus so we can turn our own visions into
reality in the same way that Reed Hastings has built Netflix.

References:
https://press.farm/founder-ceo-netflix-reed-hastings-definitive-startup-guide-successful-
entrepreneurs/
https://addicted2success.com/entrepreneur-profile/the-success-of-reed-hastings/