Elizabeth Stone is the Chief Product and Technology Officer (CPTO) at Netflix, where she oversees Engineering, Product, and Design. Since her first appearance on the podcast two years ago—which remained my second-most-popular episode for more than a year—she has expanded her role to lead product, in addition to engineering. Before Netflix, Elizabeth was VP of Science at Lyft, Chief Operating Officer at Nuna, an economist at Analysis Group, and a trader at Merrill Lynch.

In our in-depth conversation, we discuss:

1. Why “systems thinking” is now the most important skill she looks for

2. How to manage the flood of AI-generated output without losing quality or signal

3. How Netflix thinks about AI fluency as a universal expectation rather than a level-specific skill

4. What “excellence as an operating system” means

Brought to you by:

WorkOS—Make your app enterprise-ready, with SSO, SCIM, RBAC, and more

Mercury—Radically different banking, now with Command

Where to find Elizabeth Stone:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-stone-608a754

Referenced:

• How Netflix builds a culture of excellence | Elizabeth Stone (CTO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-netflix-builds-a-culture-of-excellence

• Brian Chesky’s new playbook: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/brian-cheskys-contrarian-approach

• The design process is dead. Here’s what’s replacing it. | Jenny Wen (head of design at Claude): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-design-process-is-dead

• Claude Code: https://www.anthropic.com/product/claude-code

• Claude Cowork: https://www.anthropic.com/product/claude-cowork

• Netflix’s “Keeper Test” and Why You Need It | Lorne Rubis: https://www.highlights.lornerubis.com/2015/08/the-netflix-keeper-test-and-the-courage-to-take-it

• Innovation for Filmmaking, By Filmmakers: Why InterPositive Is Joining Netflix: https://about.netflix.com/en/news/why-interpositive-is-joining-netflix

• InterPositive: https://weareinterpositive.com

• Netflix Prize: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netflix_Prize

• Quarterback on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81482895

• The Bill Simmons Podcast on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/82186214

• Spencer Pratt on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spencerpratt

• Salman Rushdie’s Substack: https://salmanrushdie.substack.com

• Remarkably Bright Creatures on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81911351

• Eight Sleep: https://www.eightsleep.com

• Tour de France: https://www.letour.fr/en

Recommended books:

• Thinking in Systems: https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Systems-Donella-H-Meadows/dp/1603580557

• Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster: https://www.amazon.com/Into-Thin-Air-Personal-Disaster/dp/0385494785

• Liar’s Poker: https://www.amazon.com/Liars-Poker-Norton-Paperback-Michael/dp/039333869X

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

My biggest takeaways from this conversation:...