Netflix cofounder Marc Randolph: Netflix cofounder stopped work at 5 pm every Tuesday for 30 years that kept him ‘sane’, says ‘if there was a crisis…’
In an old LinkedIn post now making the rounds, the Netflix co-founder reflected on his ritual of leaving the office at the same time every week for a decade and spending evening time with his best friend. Whether it was watching a movie, eating out, or just wandering around town, these hours were non-negotiable for him. “I have worked hard my entire career to balance my life with my work,” Randolph wrote in the old post.
“For over thirty years, I had a massive blackout on Tuesdays. Rain or shine, I set out at exactly 5 p.m. and spent the evening with my best friend. We’d go to the movies together, have dinner, or just window shop downtown.”
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‘No meetings, no conference calls’
Despite serving as chief executive of $467 billion entertainment giant Netflix for seven years, Marc Randolph stuck to the exception he made Tuesday for the sake of his mental health. “Nothing can stop that,” Randolph said. “No meetings, no conference calls, no last-minute questions or requests. If you have something to say to me at 4:55 on a Tuesday afternoon, you better say it on the way to the parking lot. If there’s a crisis, we’ll have it done by 5:00.”
“Those Tuesday nights kept me sane. They also put the rest of my work into perspective.” Marc Randolph said the philosophy behind this ritual “kept my sanity” and helped him stay grounded in an industry known for its constant pace and pressure. Marc Randolph is a veteran Silicon Valley entrepreneur who co-founded the online movie and television streaming service Netflix in 1997.
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What do other CEOs think about work-life balance?
Many business CEOs find work-life balance impossible for great success and take the opposite approach to Randolph’s work-life philosophy, believing that unlimited commitment is the key to success. Lucy Guo, co-founder of Scale AI, usually starts her day at 5.30am and works until midnight. At just 30 years old, he became a self-made billionaire thanks to his 5% stake in a $29 billion artificial intelligence company; He says he owes this success to his relentless work ethic. “I probably don’t have a work-life balance,” Guo told Fortune earlier this year, adding that those chasing it are probably in the wrong job. “For me, work doesn’t really feel like work. I love doing my job… If you need work-life balance, maybe you’re not in the right job.” generation-defining product, they won’t make much progress on a traditional study program.
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“The idea that you can somehow achieve greatness, build something extraordinary by working 38 hours a week and having a work-life balance is mind-blowing to me,” Feldman said on the 20VC podcast last month. “This is not true in any aspect of life.” “The way to build something new from nothing and make it great is not part-time work. It’s not 30, 40, 50 hours a week. It’s every waking minute. And of course, it has costs.”
Situation with borders
Running non-stop has become a badge of honor for many CEOs, but some leaders resist the grind. JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon has urged young business leaders to step away from work for the sake of their relationships and well-being.
“You need to have work-life balance,” Dimon told students at Georgetown University’s Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy last year. “At JPMorgan, we tell our employees to take care of their mind, body, soul, spirit, friends, and health. You really should do this.”
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Whole Foods CEO Jason Buechel shares a similar mindset. Although he travels frequently and manages “at least 10 meetings a day,” he uses all of his paid leave time each year. It also implemented companywide changes to ensure employees at the $13.7 billion grocery chain get full leave by limiting how many hours they can spend at the bank. This policy “really forces people to make sure they get PTO and ultimately have a great work-life balance,” Buechel told Fortune last year.
