Netflix is destroying cable TV for one basic reason: it’s playing with a different time frame. Netflix is building its business for the long term by valuing TV shows and movies differently than a studio focused on short-term profit.

We can make our own businesses can stand apart by viewing our work in the long term.

The Long-Term View of Netflix

When a TV executive reads a script and finds a show they want to buy, they are bidding based on how much money that show will make while on TV.

When Netflix reads a script (as Bill Simmons and Ben Thompson noted on a recent podcast), it is bidding based on an estimation of how many subscribers that show will entertain for the next 15 years.

Netflix is willing to pay more for a script because it is playing the long-term game — seeing the lifetime value of a show rather than just the immediate profit. With a bigger budget and different time frame, Netflix is able to get better shows and quicken its dominance.

Hollywood is the next industry to be disrupted, just like TV.

Netflix already has exclusive movies and will surely continue to increase its investment in original content. On Netflix, movies bypass the theater and go straight to streaming. Viewers don’t have to wait until 7 or 9 p.m. to watch.

They also don’t have to be in the United States. At the end of last year, Netflix flipped the switch, and suddenly all of its programming was available in 190 countries. Not surprisingly, Netflix added twice as many subscribers abroad in the fourth quarter as it did in the United States during the same time period.

Image credit: Forbes

Unexpected Competition from Long-View Companies

The competition for Netflix is not TV and movie studios.

These studios are focused on the short-term return from a show. Other companies that are thinking in the long term are actually the competition for Netflix. Companies you might not consider, like Facebook.

Facebook recently added a video tab to its app, as Thompson noted. Users on Facebook can now jump to a tab and watch Facebook Live videos and uploads from their friends. Why wouldn’t Facebook add movies or TV shows to this tab?

Facebook is thinking in the long term. Its goal is to add and keep users on its app. Then, it can advertise to them.

Adding content like movies would help Facebook continue to grow in the coming decades, not just in the coming years.

The Long-Term View in Your Business

You probably don’t have the budget or timeframe of massive companies like Netflix and Facebook. That’s okay. You’re not competing against them.

You are, however, competing against other businesses in your industry. When your business thinks long-term and considers the lifetime value of a customer, your short-term behavior will change. You will be playing with different rules than your competitors and will stand out.

Think like Netflix. By planning and building for the next generation, your business will survive and thrive.