Momentum Engineering

The Density Model

Charles Blain

19 Oct 2025 • 3 min read

Netflix doesn't do psychological safety. Not the way the research describes it.

They fire people regularly. They have "keeper tests." Would you fight to keep this person? No? Fire them. They publish this in their culture deck. They're proud of it.

And they're wildly successful.

So either the trust-velocity framework is wrong, or something else is happening. Let's figure out which.

The Netflix Model

Netflix optimizes for something different than most companies. They optimize for talent density. Not trust. Not safety. Density.

Here's their bet: If everyone is in the 90th percentile or above, brutal honesty becomes advantage instead of liability. Top performers want the truth. They want to know where they stand. They want feedback without sugar-coating.

The model works when three conditions hold:

First, talent density stays extremely high. Everyone is elite. Everyone knows everyone else is elite. This creates permission for directness. You can challenge anyone because you respect everyone.

Second, compensation is extremely high. Top of market. Netflix pays more than anyone else. This changes the power dynamic. People don't need the job for survival. They choose to be there. That choice creates different psychology.

Third, mission clarity is extremely high. Everyone knows what we're trying to do. Everyone knows why. Everyone knows how their work connects. This clarity creates alignment without needing interpersonal warmth.

When all three conditions hold, you get high performance without high psychological safety. Talent replaces trust. Pay replaces security. Clarity replaces empathy.

Where It Breaks

But notice the conditions. All three must hold.

If talent density drops even slightly, the model fails. If you're firing B-players regularly, you need A-player pipeline constantly. Any hiring miss hurts. The margin for error is zero.

If compensation becomes uncompetitive, people start needing the job. Need changes psychology. Fear enters. When fear enters, brutal honesty becomes brutality. People stop speaking truth. They start managing impressions.

If clarity fades, directness without empathy becomes chaos. You're challenging people's work without shared understanding of purpose. That's not feedback. That's fighting.

Most companies can't maintain all three conditions. Talent density is hard. Top of market pay is expensive. Perfect clarity requires constant work.

Netflix can do it because they're Netflix. High margins. Attractive brand. Small enough to maintain standards. Most companies aren't Netflix.

The Hidden Cost

Even when the model works, it has costs. Turnover is high. People burn out. Not everyone wants to work in combat mode. The model selects for specific personality types. Competitive. Thick-skinned. Driven by performance feedback.

That selection is fine. But it's narrow. You lose people who need different conditions. People who do their best work in psychological safety. People who need belonging along with achievement.

The Netflix model optimizes for speed and quality at the cost of sustainability and inclusion. That's a legitimate choice. But it's a choice, not a universal solution.

When To Use It

Use the Netflix model when:

You can maintain 90th percentile+ talent density (hire fast, fire fast)
You can pay top of market (makes fear less relevant)
Your mission is crystal clear (alignment without empathy)
You have high enough margins to sustain turnover
Your culture attracts thick-skinned high performers

Don't use it when:

You need median talent to succeed (most companies)
You can't pay top of market (most companies)
Your mission is ambiguous or changing (most startups)
Turnover costs are high (deep expertise required)
You need diversity of personality types

The Trust-Velocity Alternative

The trust-velocity framework optimizes differently. It optimizes for sustainable high performance with median-to-good talent. It optimizes for psychological safety alongside excellence. It optimizes for inclusion alongside achievement.

The framework says: build trust, reduce friction, enable speed and quality together. Not through elite talent density. Through systematic reduction of coordination overhead.

Different optimization target. Different conditions required. Different costs and benefits.

Netflix proves high performance without psychological safety is possible. But it doesn't prove psychological safety is unnecessary. It proves there are multiple paths. Each path has different prerequisites and different costs.

Choose Your Poison

You can build momentum through trust-velocity systems. Most teams can do this. It works with good talent, not just elite talent. It works with competitive pay, not just top of market. It creates sustainable performance, not just sprint performance.

Or you can build momentum through Netflix-style talent density. Few teams can do this. It requires elite talent, top pay, perfect clarity. It creates sprint performance that sustains if conditions hold.

Both work. Both are legitimate. Both have been proven at scale.

The question isn't which is right. The question is which conditions you can maintain. And which costs you're willing to pay.

Most companies can't maintain Netflix conditions. For most companies, trust-velocity is the more accessible path.

But if you can maintain those conditions? The Netflix model is faster to results. Just know what you're signing up for.