The decision to step down as CEO was the smartest move I ever made at Netflix, says the co-founder.

Marc Randolph, co-founder of Netflix, may be one of the few individuals who attribute their company's success to a demotion.

Randolph stated in a podcast episode of "The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett" that stepping down as the company's first CEO was the smartest decision he ever made at Netflix, as it allowed him to put his ego aside.

In 1999, about a year and a half after the company launched its website, Reed Hastings, co-founder of Randolph's company, visited him with a laptop in hand and requested a meeting. Randolph was taken aback and a bit hurt when Hastings presented him with a PowerPoint presentation of his strengths and weaknesses as a CEO, he said.

Randolph stated that he had concerns about minor errors in his judgment and questioned some of the hires he had made. He then suggested that Hastings take over as CEO, with Randolph assuming a COO position.

Randolph felt crushed when he stepped down from Netflix, which was his idea. He went home and finished a bottle of wine with his wife.

Randolph began assessing his own strengths and weaknesses. As a "left-brain, right-brain" duo with Hastings when they founded the company, Randolph was people-oriented but struggled with difficult conversations. In contrast, Hastings had more business experience, having previously served as CEO of Pure Software, a debugging tool-turned-company that went public in 1995.

"I came to the conclusion that Hastings was correct, as Randolph stated, 'I started to understand that these were two separate dreams - the dream of creating a successful company and the dream of being CEO,'" he said.

Randolph stated that the years following the one when Reed and he ran the company together were the renaissance at Netflix.

In May 2002, Netflix went public, with Randolph holding $12.6 million worth of beneficially owned shares at the time of the IPO. Currently, Randolph serves on several company boards, including Solo Brands, and Netflix's market capitalization is $298.58 billion, as of Wednesday morning.

Giving up to get ahead

Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, had to sell one of his first business ventures, Virgin Records, for $1 billion in 1992, which he revealed in an interview with CNBC Make It in April.

"I recall sprinting down the road with tears streaming down my face, past a sign that read, 'Richard sells for a billion,'" Branson stated.

Branson's label, founded in 1972, was significant to him and had enough value to endure without him. He used the proceeds from the label to fund his new airline, Virgin Atlantic, during a legal battle with British Airways that threatened to bankrupt his company. Branson discussed this in his audiobook memoir, "Losing and Finding My Virginity."

Recruiters and CEOs assert that being aware of your own strengths and weaknesses can improve your performance as a job candidate, employee, or leader, as it enables you to connect with others and establish trust more effectively.

It can be beneficial to understand how others perceive your strengths, as Wharton organizational psychologist Adam Grant shared with Simon Sinek on his "A Bit of Optimism" podcast last month.

Grant stated that in his experience, people often underestimate their own strengths in others' perceptions, resulting in positive blind spots rather than just negative ones.

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