How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity

Catmull, E. (2008, September). How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity. Harvard Business Review, 65-72.

Summary

This article gives an overview of how Pixar approaches creativity. By takings risks, betting big on creative people, giving enormous leeway and support, and having an environment where honest feedback is expected from everyone. Through these principles, Pixar has transformed itself from a leader in the field of computer animation to one of the most successful motion picture studios in the world.

Experience

The Pixar story is well known. More than their movies, their creativity in storytelling is inspiring to me. In reading this article, I’m stuck by the fact that they bet on the most creative people and give them the leeway they need to get their job done, all while providing a supportive environment. Their process has given me some good ideas about how to try to apply them to my work environment where it’s not necessarily the creative people that get the support they need to flourish.

KEYWORDS: Pixar, creativity, peer culture, brain trust, postmortem