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!

How an Arts Integration School Program relates to Pixar Innovation

You may ask, “Why include an elementary school in a business book about innovation?” In today’s blog, we will address the first of several reasons. As we present in Innovate the Pixar Way, one of the keys to the phenomenal success of Pixar is their ability to and their passion for unleashing the inner childlike potential, creativity and dreams of their people. So, what better place to study childlike potential than in a place that practices an innovative, art-centered approach to education? In an economy where many schools are reducing or eliminating their art and music programs, Tucson’s Opening Minds through the Arts student achievement program (OMA) is thriving. In fact, OMA has become a leader in a national movement to integrate arts education with core curriculum.

In OMA, grade school children are learning reading, writing, math and science NOT by sitting in a classroom and listening to a teacher tell them what will be on Friday’s quiz. OMA students learn by experiencing opera, dance or music. Yet, the word “experience” doesn’t adequately describe this innovative learning process. Go to edutopia.org and watch these students! Bill has had the opportunity to observe many of OMA’s classes, and is amazed at how totally immersed the students are in their artistic adventure. They are learning by discovery and ah-has… not by an “expert teacher” screwing off their heads and pouring facts in that they will likely forget two days after every quiz!

In December, our youngest grandchild Sophia will be two years old. It was great fun watching her learn how to walk. First she discovered her feet. When she would lie on her stomach, she realized that she couldn’t see her feet and she would get so frustrated. Soon she discovered how to roll over, and was overjoyed that she could once again see her toes. Next came the crawling, standing and walking while holding onto furniture and then one day, she discovered she could walk (and climb!). Many of us have watched with anticipation as our children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews go through this discovery process. If Sophie’s parents would have said, “Ok Sophie, you are now 13 months old and it is time that you learn to walk. Put one foot ahead of the other and walk across the room. Practice this all week on Friday we will have our walking test.” How absurd! No parent would ever do this. Babies learn from discovery, trial and error and their experiences. But when children reach school age, all their natural trying and discovery learning process is replaced with repetitive memorization and standardized lesson plans.

So why is unleashing that childlike potential – the discovery learning process -- so important in the workplace? For the same reason it’s important at OMA! Pixar allows creativity to, as president Ed Catmull says, “…come from where it comes from.” Remember… if you tell your employees what to do, they may forget; if you show them, they may remember; but if you involve them in the process, they learn and will reach creativity and performance levels that surprise even themselves.

Next Blog: Why collaboration is important in school and work.