How Pixar Foster Collective CreativityI汇总.docx

How Pixar Foster Collective CreativityI汇总.docx

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HowPixarFosterCollectiveCreativityI汇总

HowPixarFosterCollectiveCreativity（I）

Afewyearsago,Ihadlunchwiththeheadofamajormotionpicturestudio,whodeclaredthathiscentralproblemwasnotfindinggoodpeople—itwasfindinggoodideas.Sincethen,whengivingtalks,I’veaskedaudienceswhethertheyagreewithhim.Almostalwaysthere’sa50/50split,whichhasastoundedmebecauseIcouldn’tdisagreemorewiththestudioexecutive.Hisbeliefisrootedinamisguidedviewofcreativitythatexaggeratestheimportanceoftheinitialideaincreatinganoriginalproduct.Anditreflectsaprofoundmisunderstandingofhowtomanagethelargerisksinherentinproducingbreakthroughs.

　　Whenitcomestoproducingbreakthroughs,bothtechnologicalandartistic,Pixar’strackrecordisunique.Intheearly1990s,wewereknownastheleadingtechnologicalpioneerinthefieldofcomputeranimation.OuryearsofR&DculminatedinthereleaseofToyStoryin1995,theworld’sfirstcomputer-animatedfeaturefilm.Inthefollowing13years,wehavereleasedeightotherfilms（ABug’sLife;ToyStory2;Monsters,Inc.;FindingNemo;TheIncredibles;Cars;Ratatouille;andWALL·E）,whichalsohavebeenblockbusters.Unlikemostotherstudios,wehaveneverboughtscriptsormovieideasfromtheoutside.Allofourstories,worlds,andcharacterswerecreatedinternallybyourcommunityofartists.Andinmakingthesefilms,wehavecontinuedtopushthetechnologicalboundariesofcomputeranimation,securingdozensofpatentsintheprocess.

　　WhileI’mnotfoolishenoughtopredictthatwewillneverhaveaflop,Idon’tthinkoursuccessislargelyluck.Rather,Ibelieveouradherencetoasetofprinciplesandpracticesformanagingcreativetalentandriskisresponsible.Pixarisacommunityinthetruesenseoftheword.Wethinkthatlastingrelationshipsmatter,andwesharesomebasicbeliefs:

Talentisrare.Management’sjobisnottopreventriskbuttobuildthecapabilitytorecoverwhenfailuresoccur.Itmustbesafetotellthetruth.Wemustconstantlychallengeallofourassumptionsandsearchfortheflawsthatcoulddestroyourculture.Inthelasttwoyears,we’vehadachancetotestwhetherourprinciplesandpracticesaretransferable.AfterPixar’s2006mergerwiththeWaltDisneyCompany,itsCEO,BobIger,askedme,chiefcreativeofficerJohnLasseter,andotherPixarseniormanagerstohelphimreviveDisneyAnimationStudios.Thesuccessofoureffortspromptedmetosharemythinkingonhowtobuildasustainablecreativeorganization.

　　WhatIsCreativity?

　　Peopletendtothinkofcreativityasamysterioussoloact,andtheytypicallyreduceproductstoasingleidea:

Thisisamovieabouttoys,ordinosaurs,orlove,they’llsay.However,infilmmakingandmanyotherkindsofcomplexproductdevelopment,creativityinvolvesalargenumberofpeoplefromdifferentdisciplinesworkingeffectivelytogethertosolveagreatmanyproblems.Theinitialideaforthemovie—whatpeopleinthemoviebusinesscall“thehighconcept”—ismerelyonestepinalong,arduousprocessthattakesfourtofiveyears.

　　Amoviecontainsliterallytensofthousandsofideas.They’reintheformofeverysentence;intheperformanceofeachline;inthedesignofcharacters,sets,andbackgrounds;inthelocationsofthecamera;inthecolors,thelighting,thepacing.Thedirectorandtheothercreativeleadersofaproductiondonotcomeupwithalltheideasontheirown;rather,everysinglememberofthe200-to250-personproductiongroupmakessuggestions.Creativitymustbepresentateverylevelofeveryartisticandtechnicalpartoftheorganization.Theleaderssortthroughamassofideastofindtheonesthatfitintoacoherentwhole—thatsupportthestory—whichisaverydifficulttask.It’slikeanarchaeologicaldigwhereyoudon’tknowwhatyou’relookingfororwhetheryouwillevenfindanything.Theprocessisdownrightscary.

　　Thenagain,ifwearen’talwaysatleastalittlescared,we’renotdoingourjob.We’reinabusinesswhosecustomerswanttoseesomethingneweverytimetheygotothetheater.Thismeanswehavetoputourselvesatgreatrisk.Ourmostrecentfilm,WALL·E,isarobotlovestorysetinapost-apocalypticworldfulloftrash.Andourpreviousmovie,Ratatouille,isaboutaFrenchratwhoaspirestobeachef.Talkaboutunexpectedideas!

Attheoutsetofmakingthesemovies,wesimplydidn’tknowiftheywouldwork.However,sincewe’resupposedtooffersomethingthatisn’tobvious,weboughtintosomebody’sinitialvisionandtookachance.

　　Toactinthisfashion,weasexecutiveshavetoresistournaturaltendencytoavoidorminimizerisks,which,ofcourse,ismucheasiersaidthandone.Inthemoviebusinessandplentyofothers,thisinstinctleadsexecutivestochoosetocopysuccessesratherthantrytocreatesomethingbrand-new.That’swhyyouseesomanymoviesthataresomuchalike.Italsoexplainswhyalotoffilmsaren’tverygood.Ifyouwanttobeoriginal,youhavetoaccepttheuncertainty,evenwhenit’suncomfortable,andhavethecapabilitytorecoverwhenyourorganizationtakesabigriskandfails.What’sthekeytobeingabletorecover?

Talentedpeople!

Contrarytowhatthestudioheadassertedatlunchthatday,suchpeoplearenotsoeasytofind.

　　What’sequallytough,ofcourse,isgettingtalentedpeopletoworkeffectivelywithoneanother.Thattakestrustandrespect,whichweasmanagerscan’tmandate;theymustbeearnedovertime.Whatwecandoisconstructanenvironmentthatnurturestrustingandrespectfulrelationshipsandunleasheseveryone’screativity.Ifwegetthatright,theresultisavibrantcommunitywheretalentedpeopleareloyaltooneanotherandtheircollectivework,everyonefeelsthattheyarepartofsomethingextraordinary,andtheirpassionandaccomplishmentsmakethecommunityamagnetfortalentedpeoplecomingoutofschoolsorworkingatotherplaces.IknowwhatI’mdescribingistheantithesisofthefree-agencypracticesthatprevailinthemovieindustry,butthat’sthepoint:

Ibelievethatcommunitymatters.

　　TheRootsofOurCulture

　　Myconvictionthatsmartpeoplearemoreimportantthangoodideasprobablyisn’tsurprising.I’vehadthegoodfortunetoworkalongsideamazingpeopleinplacesthatpioneeredcomputergraphics.

　　AttheUniversityofUtah,myfellowgraduatestudentsincludedJimClark,whocofoundedSiliconGraphicsandNetscape;JohnWarnock,whocofoundedAdobe;andAlanKay,whodevelopedobject-orientedprogramming.Wehadamplefunding（thankstotheU.S.DefenseDepartment’sAdvancedResearchProjectsAgency）,theprofessorsgaveusfreerein,andtherewasanexhilaratingandcreativeexchangeofideas.

　　AttheNewYorkInstituteofTechnology,whereIheadedanewcomputer-animationlaboratory,oneofmyfirsthireswasAlvyRaySmith,whomadebreakthroughsincomputerpainting.Thatmademerealizethatit’sOKtohirepeoplewhoaresmarterthanyouare.

　　ThenGeorgeLucas,ofStarWarsfame,hiredmetoheadamajorinitiativeatLucasfilmtobringcomputergraphicsandotherdigitaltechnologyintofilmsand,later,games.Itwasthrillingtodoresearchwithinafilmcompanythatwaspushingtheboundaries.Georgedidn’ttrytolockupthetechnologyforhimselfandallowedustocontinuetopublishandmaintainstrongacademiccontacts.Thismadeitpossibletoattractsomeofthebestpeopleintheindustry,includingJohnLasseter,thenananimatorfromDisney,whowasexcitedbythenewpossibilitiesofcomputeranimation.

　　Lastbutnotleast,there’sPixar,whichbeganitslifeasanindependentcompanyin1986,whenSteveJobsboughtthecomputerdivisionfromLucasfilm,allowingustopursueourdreamofproducingcomputer-animatedmovies.Stevegavebackbonetoourdesireforexcellenceandhelpedusformaremarkablemanagementteam.I’dliketothinkthatPixarcaptureswhat’sbestaboutalltheplacesI’veworked.Anumberofushavestucktogetherfordecades,pursuingthedreamofmakingcomputer-animatedfilms,andwestillhavethepleasureofworkingtogethertoday.

　　ItwasonlywhenPixarexperiencedacrisisduringtheproductionofToyStory2thatmyviewsonhowtostructureandoperateacreativeorganizationbegantocrystallize.In1996,whilewewereworkingonABug’sLife,oursecondmovie,westartedtomakeasequeltoToyStory.Wehadenoughtechnicalleaderstostartasecondproduction,butallofourprovencreativeleaders—thepeoplewhohadmadeToyStory,includingJohn,whowasitsdirector;writerAndrewStanton;editorLeeUnkrich;andthelateJoeRanft,themovie’sheadofstory—wereworkingonABug’sLife.Sowehadtoformanewcreativeteamofpeoplewhohadneverheadedamovieproduction.WefeltthiswasOK.Afterall,John,Andrew,Lee,andJoehadneverledafull-lengthanimatedfilmproductionbeforeToyStory.

　　Disney,whichatthattimewasdistributingandcofinancingourfilms,initiallyencouragedustomakeToyStory2asa“directtovideo”—amoviethatwouldbesoldonlyashomevideosandnotshownfirstintheaters.ThiswasDisney’smodelforkeepingalivethecharactersofsuccessfulfilms,andtheexpectationwasthatboththecostandqualitywouldbelower.Werealizedearlyon,however,thathavingtwodifferentstandardsofqualityinthesamestudiowasbadforoursouls,andDisneyreadilyagreedthatthesequelshouldbeatheatricalrelease.Thecreativeleadership,though,remainedthesame,whichturnedouttobeaproblem.

　　Intheearlystageofmakingamovie,wedrawstoryboards（acomic-bookversionofthestory）andtheneditthemtogetherwithdialogueandtemporarymusic.Thesearecalledsto