Farm for Dissent
Actively collect disagreement before authority silences useful warnings
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 99%
Farm for Dissent is an active feedback system designed to counter ordinary deference to authority. Hastings argues that employees naturally learn to please their boss, even when helping the organization requires an argument. Leaders therefore have to cultivate disagreement rather than merely announce that it is welcome. One recurring prompt asks executives what three things they would do differently if they held the leader's job. For a major decision, Hastings also describes asking the top 50 or 100 people to score the idea from 10 to -10. Independent scores expose both the depth and distribution of concern. The mechanism converts private doubt into visible evidence before a confident leader drives the organization into a preventable mistake.
Origin
Hastings strengthened this practice after Netflix's failed Qwikster split revealed that many executives had severe doubts they had not shared collectively.
Core principles
- 01Assume hierarchy suppresses disagreement
- 02Make dissent an active management responsibility
- 03Ask people to state what they would do differently
- 04Collect independent numerical judgments on big decisions
- 05Treat silent disagreement as disloyalty to the mission
How to run it
- 1
Name the power barrier
Recognize that disagreement with a boss is not emotionally normal in most companies. Do not treat silence as genuine agreement.
Watch out A passive open-door policy does not overcome learned deference.
- 2
Ask for alternatives
Ask colleagues what three things they would do differently if they held your job. Require concrete differences rather than general feedback.
Pro tip Repeat the exercise periodically rather than only during a crisis.
- 3
Score major choices
For a big decision, have informed people independently rate the idea from 10 to -10.
Pro tip Use a broad enough group to reveal whether doubts are isolated or widespread.
Watch out Do not let a public first opinion anchor everyone else's score.
- 4
Inspect the dissent
Look for clusters of strongly negative scores and the reasoning behind them. Treat unexpected opposition as decision evidence.
Watch out Collecting scores without engaging with the reasons makes the exercise performative.
- 5
Revise or proceed transparently
Change the decision when the dissent reveals a flaw, or explain why the decision still stands despite the objections.
Pro tip Show that dissent can affect outcomes so people keep offering it.
In the wild
Hastings was convinced that separating Netflix's DVD and streaming businesses was the right move. Many people had severe doubts, but they did not know other executives shared them. He says a 10-to--10 poll would have revealed many scores around -6, -7, and -8 before the decision.
→ Netflix instituted a clear input mechanism for major decisions so private objections could become visible before action.
Roughly every 18 months, Hastings asked around 50 top executives what they would do differently in his job. Their answers covered major strategic possibilities, including whether Netflix should enter or leave games, sports, and other businesses.
→ The exercise created a structured supply of dissent across many strategic questions.
Common mistakes
Waiting for dissent to volunteer itself
Hierarchy makes disagreement abnormal, so leaders who wait passively are likely to hear less than people actually think.
Letting certainty replace input
A leader's messianic confidence can conceal the fact that informed colleagues hold severe doubts.
Is it for you?
Best for
Leaders making consequential decisions with knowledgeable people below them in the hierarchy.
Not ideal for
Leaders who solicit disagreement performatively but will not reconsider a favored decision.
From the transcript
“And so, because it's difficult emotionally in most companies to disagree with your manager, we call it farming for dissent and we have managers do…”
“To disagree silently is disloyal.”
“So, the thing we instituted is on big decisions, we make everyone say 10 to -10 whether they think it's a smart idea.”
From the episode
#730: Reed Hastings, Co-Founder of Netflix — How to Cultivate High Performance, The Art of Farming for Dissent, Favorite Failures, and More
Reed Hastings