How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity?

Mohamed Elias Ryane                                                                 #821765276
MGT 353-02
February 27th, 2019

How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity?

One prevalent myth in societies is that good ideas are more scarce and valuable than talented people. In the article “How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity?”, Ed Catmull, president of Pixar studios, and recently Disney Animation Studios, explains why he could not disagree more with this statement. In parallel to Scott Berkun’ book “The Myths of Creativity,” the article tackles various misconceptions regarding creativity, such as the myth of the lone inventor, or the myth of epiphany. Indeed, human beings tend to exaggerate their attention on the initial idea, while failing to acknowledge the importance of all the groundwork needed, as well as the subsequent work necessary to bring the idea to life. In addition, this belief causes people to turn a blind eye on all the intricacies associated with the process of creative thinking. They summarize a complex product into a single idea and forget about all the required contributions that allowed it to exist. As Catmull argues, “a movie contains literally tens of thousands of ideas.” As a result, the moment of epiphany, when the initial idea arises, or commonly referred to as “the high concept” in the film industry, is only one of the many steps in the tedious process of the movie production. The high concept relies and shapes a multitude of associated ideas but is not necessarily more important. While Berkun offers valuable advice on how management can encourage collective creativity, Catmull provides us with concrete examples on how an organization’s culture and structure efficiently foster an innovative environment, in an industry that requires both technological prowess and artistic creativity. Consequently, from witnessing the success Pixar has experienced throughout all these decades, there are three main takeaways: First, fostering collective creativity relies on strong leadership, which efficiently delegates the creative authority to the team leader(s). Also, a corporate culture that encourages excellence, teamwork and open communication is mandatory. Finally, an organization must pay close attention not to fall into complacency, by making sure to remain introspective throughout its evolution.

Avoiding uncertainty is a deeply entrenched instinct common to human beings, but effective leaders must recognize its disadvantages, and act accordingly. As Catmull suggests, “Management’s job is not to prevent risk, but to build the capability to recover when failures occur”. In fact, when operations run efficiently, managers have this natural tendency to secure the status quo, and avoid unnecessary risks. On the other hand, creative thinking relies on uncertainty, so managers must nurture it with the hope to achieve its rewards. Executives at Pixar Studios believe that the creative authority that guides a production must solely depend on one or two people. Pixar empowers its most talented employees by giving them the required resources and environment, as well as absolute authority and autonomy over the projects they supervise. While a team is usually composed from 200 to 300 people, Pixar typically only sets two leaders: the director and the producer. They both work with the common purpose to create a magnificent animation movie. To achieve this desirable outcome, they ought to unleash the creative forces of every contributor; listen carefully to their staff members to exploit their analytical skills; and welcome as well as consider any contribution, regardless of its origins. Consequently, the director unifies thousands of ideas towards one shared vision, translates it into clear directives, and provides the necessary information to allow his employees to effectively carry out their activities. In addition, the producer is particularly responsible for dealing with the restraints associated with movie production, such as time constraints, budgets’ limitations, and human resources. Even when the creative leaders confront an issue and need assistance, they can obtain advice from Pixar creative brain trust (which is composed of all the directors in the organization), without undermining his/her own authority. In fact, they subsequently have no obligations to follow through those advice. Catmull perfectly highlights the importance of attracting talented people when he asserts, “if you give a good idea to a mediocre team, they’ll screw it up. But if you give a mediocre idea to a great team, they’ll make it work”.