When Hastings first released the culture slideshow, McCord was convinced it would damage the company. Hastings is fond of talking about how few decisions he makes, suggesting that his job is little more than cutting ribbons and kissing babies. “A good book about culture may change some other organization in a positive way.' “Erin dragged many very personal stories out of me,' he says, while describing his personal journey as only “marginally interesting' and unlikely to change anyone’s life. But he is also unsentimental and less outgoing than your typical entertainment mogul. Hastings is brilliant and focused, an engineer who predicted the future of Hollywood 20 years ago and has seldom erred in executing his vision.

It also offers a glimpse inside the mind of a man who is affectionately called a robot by his employees. Though Hastings didn’t set out to write about himself, “No Rules Rules' serves many of the same functions as a memoir, reflecting what he has learned in his 30-year journey from young, ambitious entrepreneur to one of the world’s richest people. “No Rules Rules,' co-written with Erin Meyer, expands upon the PowerPoint presentation, outlining a 10-step plan to replicate the Netflix culture of “freedom and responsibility.' “The goal is to give back and influence young organizations about a set of principles we think are valuable,' Hastings says. Hastings, 59, is hoping his new book will have a similar impact. Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg as perhaps the most important document ever to come out of Silicon Valley. Who wants to read a tome about travel and expense policies? But the Netflix culture is already an object of fascination for Silicon Valley and Hollywood - ever since Hastings released a 127-page PowerPoint presentation on the topic in 2009. That slide deck has since been viewed more than 20 million times and hailed by Facebook Inc.

That topic will strike some as hopelessly dull.

Inspired by books such as “The HP Way' and “Beyond Entrepreneurship,' Hastings chose to write about what he says is the real key to Netflix’s success: its culture.

Reed hastings no rules rules