Pixar–A Case for Collaboration

Too many companies encourage competition with "employee of the month" or "team of the year" programs. Eliminating competition from the workplace is one of the hardest concepts for most managers to grasp. We are a society that rewards competition through our athletics, classrooms, achievements, etc. Alfie Kohn, author of The Case Against Competition, conducted extensive research on the results of competition in the workplace. After over five years of collecting data, he concluded that the most successful organizations embrace a culture of cooperation. Pixar president Ed Catmull stated that he often has discussions with his counterparts at other studios. The heads of other studios claim that the reason Disney and Pixar are so successful is that they get ALL the BIG IDEAS ideas. But Ed claims that it’s not about the BIG IDEA that will generate a hit such as Toy Story or Up…it’s about the thousands of ideas that come from EVERYONE on a project to produce a magical result!

Innovate the Pixar Way Review by North Allegheny School District (PA) Superintendent of Schools.

In the book, “Innovate the Pixar Way,” based on the success story of Pixar studios, who brought us “Toy Story,” “The Incredibles,” “Wall-E,” and so many other animated success stories, Pixar embraces creativity, innovation and imagination in all that they do as an organization. The authors believe that sometimes the imaginative spirit falls silent as a child grows older, but that we as educators still have the power to bring those childhood dreams back to life because creativity and imagination are resilient skills and remain hidden away in the deepest caverns of our children’s minds, waiting to be unleashed. Pixar believes that collaboration is critical to the process of generating creative ideas and solving problems, but we have to take risks to do so and sometimes creative ideas may fail. But it’s all about taking the risk to create in the first place…that’s what is important…if you fail at something or a child fails at something, it’s okay…life goes on. Amid all the nuances of American education today, one of the most critical elements centers on not losing sight of the creative juices and innovative spirit within our teachers and students. Let's not let the creative spirit in our children whither on the vine. Our future as a nation depends on it!

By Dr. Patricia Green