Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings says his first post-college boss washed his coffee cups at 4:30 a.m.

(SeaPRwire) –   New graduates entering offices for the first time probably don’t expect the top boss to take much notice of them when they’re at the bottom of the totem pole. But the reverse was true for billionaire Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings—when he was just starting out in the workforce, his boss would even quietly wash his large stack of dirty coffee cups for him.

“This was my first job after graduate school,” Hastings recently told Graham Bensinger in an interview. “I was a programmer at a 30-person startup, working hard, pulling all-nighters, and drinking lots of coffee. My coffee cups would pile up, and every week or so the janitor would clean them all. I’d get 20 new cups, and the cycle would repeat.”

At the time, Hastings was 28, working at Coherent Thought under CEO Barry Plotkin. He wrote code daily, programming late into the night and accumulating dirty coffee cups on his desk—cups that always got cleaned eventually. But about a year into this habit, he learned the janitor wasn’t the one scrubbing his pile of cups.

“One morning I got to the office really early, around 4:30 a.m., and went into the bathroom. There was my CEO, washing coffee cups,” Hastings recalled. “I said, ‘Barry, are you washing my coffee cups?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ I asked, ‘Have you been doing this all year?’”

“He said ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Why?’” Hastings continued. “He replied, ‘Well, you do so much for us, and this is one thing I can do for you.’”

That consistent, unspoken act from his former boss has stayed with the self-made billionaire throughout his nearly four-decade career—during which he founded billion-dollar companies like Pure Software and Netflix. In that early programming role, Hastings said Plotkin’s leadership style made employees “follow him anywhere,” even if the company was heading for bankruptcy. The Netflix founder still takes a page from Plotkin’s book, bringing coffee “for everybody” he works with.

“I realized you have to be both a servant leader and a strategic thinker,” Hastings said, adding that the coffee cup experience “left such a strong impression on me that I’ve tried to replicate that approach.”

CEOs Who Stay Humble by Eating Lunch with Staff and Writing Appreciation Notes

First Watch CEO Chris Tomasso also stays connected to his team through classic handwritten notes of appreciation.

Like Hastings, the leader of the $1 billion annual revenue breakfast chain was inspired by a handwritten thank-you note from his Hard Rock Café CEO when he was 26. Now, he sets aside time each month to write letters to employees—like cooks and dishwashers—celebrating major career milestones. Tomasso has written hundreds of notes so far. He also eats with First Watch staff in the break room instead of his office.

“I try to downplay the [CEO] title as much as possible when interacting with people,” Tomasso told last year. “I eat lunch in the break room with everyone, which always surprises new employees—that I just sit down next to them with my lunch and eat with them. It’s a shame that feels unusual to people.”

General Motors CEO Mary Barra also stays connected to staff and customers by responding to “every single letter” she receives. Whether it’s a negative note from a kid worried about their family’s future after a GM plant closure or a loyal Chevrolet driver sharing their car’s nickname, Barra writes back to show she cares about the people who support the business.

Mike Wirth, chairman and CEO of $428 billion energy giant Chevron, also believes in the power of meaningful gestures. Like Tomasso and Barra, he sends dozens of “old-school, on-paper” notes every time he visits Chevron employees worldwide. By the end of a trip, Wirth estimates he’s written 60 to 80 letters.

“I think back to when I was early in my career—if a CEO had sent me a letter and actually knew what I was working on, it would have meant a lot,” Wirth said on the How Leaders Lead podcast in 2024. “So I try to remember what it was like to be in the roles I’m visiting—I had those jobs once too. I want people to know I appreciate them.”