Why Collaboration is Important in Schools and in the Business Workplace – The Pixar and OMA Models

Last week, we addressed the importance of unleashing your childlike potential by trying something new, learning from the experience (yes…even failing!) and trying again. This is one of the hallmarks of Pixar’s phenomenal success that we reveal in the soon to be released Innovate the Pixar Way – Business Lessons from the World’s Most Creative Corporate Playground. The Tucson Unified School District’s (TUSD) Opening Minds through the Arts student achievement program (OMA) is a fantastic example of how to unleash the true potential of our greatest treasure – our children. (If you have not visited edutopia.org to watch these students in the learning process, you are missing something great – what they can teach us is amazing).

This week, we will reveal another hallmark of Pixar’s success formula -- collaboration. And, we’ll share why the OMA student achievement program is a shining example of Pixar-style collaboration in the public school system!

When you think of the term “collaboration,” you might be thinking about networking, cooperation, coordination and or partnerships. While these may seem like synonyms for the term, actually each has unique differences:

Networking: an informal sharing of information with loose links between individuals; usually informal communication; no decision making and little, if any, leadership.
Example: trade shows, professional society meetings

Cooperation: central body of individuals collected together to ensure that some task is completed with formal links and structured communication; complex decision making with multiple leadership often representing conflicting agendas.
Example: Design and implementation of a new software system requires cooperation between user departments and information technology to complete the task. They rarely share a common vision and often have conflicting objectives.

Coordination: multiple groups of individuals with clearly defined roles; communication is usually on an as-needed basis; autonomous leadership and decision making within each group.
Example: On an automotive assembly line, the car body must be completed before the door assembly can be attached. Obviously, these two departments must coordinate their efforts.

Partnerships: multiple groups coming together willing to share ideas and resources; roles are usually formal, but communication often informal; leadership is shared with formal decision making among members. Example: Packaging vendor and production line managers work together to optimize packaging requirements and efficiencies.

Now for Collaboration: one group with a shared vision; spontaneous communication where ideas are freely shared; consensus decision making with highly trusted and trusting leadership.
Example: New product development team with dedicated representation from engineering, marketing, finance, procurement, etc. A team in which members rally around a common vision rather than their individual departmental objectives.

At Pixar, the mantra “art is a team sport” represents the very essence of learning and working in a collaborative fashion. Fittingly, Pixar University’s crest is “Alienus Non Diutius”, meaning alone no longer.

Collaboration at Pixar is bringing together the skills, ideas and personality styles of an entire team to achieve a shared vision; “Yes, and” (rather then “No, this is better”) is part of Pixar’s common lexicon that fosters collective creativity, and keeps the vibe and energy in the room upbeat and alive.

Randy Nelson, dean of Pixar University stated, “Collaboration for Pixar means, amplification… by hooking up a number of human beings who are listening to each other… finding the most articulate way to get a high fidelity notion across to a broad range of people so they can each pull on the right lever.” Wow! What a definition. We just love those words, “high fidelity notion across a broad range of people.” Randy stresses the importance of “making your partner look good.” It’s not important that someone’s original idea might be flawed. It’s up to the team members to “plus” each idea presented within the group to achieve an exciting and productive end result that was truly born through a collaborative effort.


In the creation of OMA, bringing the right team of collaborators together was the key. Joan Ashcraft, director of fine and performing arts at TUSD and co-founder of OMA, said, “I was so grateful to have Gene Jones (founding “dreamer” and champion of OMA) say to me, ‘just do it…find people that support your dreams.’” Roger Pfeuffer, former superintendent of the TUSD, said that it was imperative that the “dream” team collaborate to develop an arts integration curriculum to develop fully functioning individuals. Roger explained, “The OMA model isn’t an add-on--it’s got to be part of the core.”

Collaboration at OMA is the antithesis of the traditional public school system model. OMA classroom teachers work with both arts integration specialists and teaching artists to integrate the art form being utilized at a particular grade level with regular lesson plans for language arts, math and science. Not only does the classroom teacher’s lesson plan enhance the work of the OMA arts integration specialist and teaching artists, their work is reinforced in his or her classroom so that students truly understand the concepts being taught. What a novel idea!

And as OMA cofounder Jan Vesely added, “We integrated art and music into the learning because I believe that higher order thinking comes when you integrate.” Isn’t that what we want for our future innovators… “higher order thinking?”

A “high fidelity notion across a broad range of people” is exactly what OMA is doing. Art and music are no longer a “coordinated” effort between the music teacher and the classroom teacher. Rather it is a collaboration that brings together the classroom teacher, the arts integration specialist, the school principal and the student in an exceptional education experience.

So what can you do? Is your goal to provide memorable, unique, engaging, “3D Technicolor” customer experiences? If so, challenge your team to create a shared vision, keep the communication lines open, build upon one another’s ideas, and most importantly, create an environment of mutual trust and respect.

Innovation does not come from a miraculous revelation on the “road to Damascus.” It comes from a passionate dedication to non-stop Pixar-style collaboration!

Next Blog: Why business should be concerned about our educational system