What Blockbuster Taught Me About Business and Fractional Leadership
Introduction
Before Netflix, there was Friday night at Blockbuster. A sea of DVDs, fluorescent lights, and the thrill of finding the movie. But Blockbuster’s fall wasn’t just about streaming—it was a masterclass in missed leadership, slow pivots, and bloated org charts. In this article, I unpack what Blockbuster’s story reveals about business strategy—and why fractional leadership might’ve saved the day.
What Blockbuster Taught Me About Business and Fractional Leadership
Let’s rewind the tape for a second.
Remember Blockbuster? The Friday night ritual. The smell of popcorn and plastic cases. The mad dash to grab the last copy of The Fast and the Furious (on VHS, of course).
And then, poof. Gone.
Blockbuster didn’t just lose to Netflix. It lost to a new way of thinking about access, agility, and adaptability. And ironically, those three things are exactly what define great fractional leadership today.
Here’s what I mean.
1. “Be kind, rewind” won’t save your business
Blockbuster was stuck in rewind, while Netflix was already streaming forward. They clung to what had always worked while the world changed around them. Sound familiar?
In business, when you hit a wall, your instinct is to double down on what’s safe. But leaders stuck in old models become blockers, not builders.
Fractional leaders don’t bring nostalgia. They bring fresh perspective and fast execution.
2. Fractional leadership is the Netflix of executive talent
Blockbuster owned the whole experience—rentals, late fees, and clerks who judged your movie taste. But it was bulky, expensive, and slow to adapt.
Netflix offered choice, flexibility, and only what you needed, when you needed it.
That’s exactly what fractional execs do. We’re not here to take up headcount and burn budget. We’re here to deliver results, on-demand, without the overhead.
3. The world changes fast and so should your leadership model
Blockbuster had the chance to buy Netflix. They passed.
Why?
Because they were playing a game that no longer existed.
Today’s smartest founders and CEOs are asking: “Do I need a full-time exec for this season?” “Can I bring in a proven operator to solve the problem, then move on?” “Is my leadership team adaptable—or bloated?”
Fractional leadership is built for the now and the next. Not the nostalgia.
TL;DR:
- Don’t Blockbuster your business.
- Fractional leaders are built for flexibility, speed, and strategy.
- The next era of leadership is on-demand.
If you’re building the next big thing, don’t just hire titles. Hire traction.
Shameless book plug (Hire Yourself First: Your Playbook for Becoming a Fractional Leader – https://a.co/d/deXQh5r)
