Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix (NFLX), gave subscribers some good news yesterday:
We are going to keep Netflix as one place to go for streaming and DVDs. This means no change: one website, one account, one password … in other words, no Qwikster.
As a long time subscriber, I can only say Hallelujah.
But I am not surprised. Hastings has changed course sharply before. Most famously, he killed off a set-up box–the Netflix Player–just weeks before its scheduled launch. I take that as a sign of great leadership. As I wrote two years ago:
Reed Hastings is not a man who gets locked in by sunk costs: he’s willing to kill projects … even if he’s got years invested in them.
That’s a real strength. I am sure he regrets the decision to move toward Qwikster, but kudos to him for reversing course.
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