What we can learn from Pixar

The story of Pixar’s success is well known. Pioneers of technology in computer animation in the early '90s, its string of hits has included: A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 1,2 and 3, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and Ratatouille. Two decades of sustained innovation.

Ed Catmull http://corporatelearning.hbsp.org/corporate/assets/content/Pixararticle.pdf the studio’s President, outlines the dynamics that work for Pixar.

• creativity is not a mysterious solo act. It involves a large number of people from different disciplines working effectively together to solve a great many problems. The initial "high concept" is one step in a long arduous process.
• avoid the management tendency to avoid or minimise risks. The role of management is not to prevent risk but to build the capability to recover when failures occur.
• build a community in the true sense of the word. Lasting relationships matter, but it takes time to build trust and respect. Get that right and the result is a "vibrant community where talented people are loyal to one another and their collective work. "In this culture everyone is fully immersed in helping everyone else turn out their best work.
• break down barriers to great work. Barriers are the "class structures" that arise in organisations when one function perceives itself to be more important than others. Make it easy for individuals to communicate with each other; there are no "proper channels." Use physical space in the building to encourage employees from different work areas to interact and have "inadvertent encounters".
• create a brain trust. This is a small group which is available to support anyone in need of assistance. This is an opportunity to review work in progress and identify any problems, and a give-and-take discussion about improvements. The Brain Trust has no authority; it’s simply access to expert opinions to provide help with no egos involved.
• be willing to analyse yourself to ask tough questions, especially when you’re successful. "Systematically fighting complacency and uncovering problems when your company is successful have got to be two of the toughest management challenges there are." After successes and failures, conduct post-mortems to list out the top five things you would do again, and the top five things you wouldn’t do.
  

Creating a culture of innovation

Tony Schwartz outlines 6 ways to a culture to foster real creativity and innovation:
http://blogs.hbr.org/schwartz/2010/08/six-secrets-to-creating-a-cult.html

Meet people’s needs. When we start to question convention we begin with questioning the way people are expected to work. What needs - physical, emotional, mental and spiritual - are and aren’t being met in the work place? When employees are preoccupied by unmet needs they are less likely to engage creatively with their work.

Teach creativity systematically. Rather than assuming creativity is a magical force, put in place the processes to help individuals through the steps of creative thinking - http://www.directedcreativity.com/pages/WPModels.html

Nurture passion.  If people’s roles or projects don’t excite others’ imagination it’s difficult to see how creativity can emerge. "Look for small ways to give others the opportunity and encouragement to follow their interests".

Make the work matter. What is the broader purpose that engages others’ attention and connects to them emotionally.

Provide the time. In a busy world, innovation often takes a back seat as employees focus on immediate solutions to today’s problems. Allow some open ended uninterrupted time for individuals simply to stop and think.

Value renewal. We’re designed to work for relatively short periods of time. Creativity requires a break to allow our unconscious to operate and also allow out energies to recover.

10 mental blocks to creative thinking

Brian Clark identifies how we suppress our innate creativity:
http://www.copyblogger.com/mental-blocks-creative-thinking/

1. Trying to find the "right" answer
Rather than strive for the correct answer it helps if we find a powerful question to prompt our thinking.

2. Logical thinking
Critical reasoning is powerful in assessing the pros and cons of different ideas. But it can be the "enemy of truly innovative thoughts in the first place".

3. Following rules
Some rules are rules for a good reason. Other rules are there to be broken.

4. Being practical
We value speed and efficiency of implementation. But at the initial stages "crazy" might be better than practical.  "Don’t allow the editor into the same room with your inner artist."

5. Play is not work
Once we see work as play we give ourselves permission to experiment and innovate.

6. That’s not my job
If we define ourselves around a tightly defined role then we miss opportunities to think about a broad spectrum of issues or to make the connections across different disciplines and work areas.

7. Being a "serious" person
"Give yourself permission to be a fool and see things for what they really are."

8. Avoiding ambiguity
Our mental software is attuned to meaning and to look for certainty. If we can suspend this need for clarity, we may spot ideas within the fuzziness of the complexity.

9. Being wrong is bad
No one likes to make mistakes and to fail. But if we reframe the failure to see it as an experiment in learning, we might make progress.

10. I’m not creative
Acknowledge that you’re inherently creative, and then start tearing down the other barriers you’ve allowed to be created in your mind.

What are the barriers to personal creativity?

David Straker suggests the blockages to creativity and how to bust through them: http://creatingminds.org/articles/blocks.htm

Environmental blocks

Everything from dress codes to office layout can provide "subtle signals that remind us that we must conform, even in our thinking." Have a look around your working environment and ask if it is helping or hindering institutional creativity.

People blocks

We are social beings, and we are alert to the dynamics of potential criticism or ridicule. And rather than share our initial thoughts we clam up and hold back from expressing our ideas. It is worth checking if the social mood operates around empathy, understanding and acceptance or if it encourages judgemental competition.

Internal blocks

This is "the little voice that warns us of the dangers of unconventional thought" and the mental programmes that tell us to play safe, follow the rules and not rock the boat.

10 great companies that lost their edge

Rick Newman analyses organisations that once great have or are now losing their way:
http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/flowchart/2010/08/19/10-great-companies-that-lost-their-edge

Blockbuster
Dell
Eastman Kodak
Microsoft
Motorola
Sears
Sony
Sun Microsystems
Toys "R" Us
Yahoo

and reviews the reasons.

Vijay Govindarajan, co-author of "The Other Side of Innovation" identifies the three traps:

• the physical trap, in which big investments in old systems or equipment prevent the pursuit of fresher, more relevant investments
• the psychological trap, in which company leaders fixate on what made them successful and fail to notice when something new is displacing it
• the strategic trap, when a company focuses purely on the marketplace of today and fails to anticipate the future.

Successful organisations go into decline when they assume past innovation is future innovation.

The world's 10 most innovative companies and how they do it

And it isn’t about who spends the most!

http://www.forbes.com/2011/04/04/10-top-innovative-companies-apple-google-leadership-managing-how.html

In a survey of Global Innovation, Booz and Co surveyed over 450 innovation executives at more than 400 organisations across the world tom identify the most innovative organisations.

Sven of the top innovation performers were not among the top ten spenders. So what makes the difference?

• smarter ideation to gain an insight into emerging customer needs and how new technology might respond to these needs
• faster and better product development to engage with customers to test out ideas and assess their market potential
• commercialisation to roll out products quickly as part of a coordinated organisational effort

And underpinning these processes is a clear insight into the capabilities that are specific to their chosen innovation strategy. This is a focus on what matters most (rather than spreading effort)  to align resources around those capabilities that differentiate the organisation and are key to its innovation enterprise.