Make ideas and innovation a way of life

July 26th, 2010 | News Next » |

Want to make innovation a way of life in your organization? Here’s some great advice from Pixar Studio’s Oscar-winning director, Brad Bird:

Abandon your comfort zone. Bird says Pixar consistently pushes to try new things, to “shake things up.” When you invite employees to reach beyond what you “usually” do, they tend to discover new approaches or new perspectives that open all kinds of possibilities.

Hire the malcontents. People who are frustrated, who don’t like being held back from trying their ideas, tend to be great innovators. These people are looking to break away from the established way of doing things.

Encourage passionate involvement. Innovators are not always happy in their work—but they are fully engaged and deeply believe in that work. That passion translates into smart, funny, engaging creative product.

Focus your energies. Not everything has to be “perfect.” Learn what parts of a project should be as close to perfection as they can be, and which can be less so. “Certain shots need to be perfect, others need to be very good, and there are some that only need to be good enough to not break the spell,” said Bird of animation effects his team developed for “The Incredibles.” Guide your people to focus their energies where it will count the most.

Collaboration starts at the top. Create an environment that not merely invites, but positively demands collaboration. Push to get employees to share their thoughts and speak out if they disagree or have another idea about how to accomplish something. Everyone shares, everyone learns, so everyone gets better.

Team morale is everything. “If you have low morale, for every $1.00 you spend, you get about 25 cents of value. If you have high morale, for every $1.00 you spend, you get about $3.00 of value,” said Bird, based on his experience working on poorly managed productions versus well-run, collaborative films. People need to feel invested in the work. If they’re invested, they expend more energy in less time to make it a good as it can be. Zero investment translates into lower energy, less efficiency, and a shoddy product.

Believe to achieve. Approach every problem with a “nothing is impossible” attitude. Challenge yourself and your team. Reach beyond what you’ve done before to succeed beyond everyone’s expectations.

Make a product YOU can love. Yes, it’s about the customer, but it’s also about quality. Don’t turn out a product that is less than you wanted it to be, because you felt constrained to “shrink” your innovative idea to fit some preconceived notion about the end user. Make it something you are proud of, and the audience, whoever they may be, will likely share your admiration.

No Cubic-hells. Create an environment that compels people to interact with each other throughout the day. Pixar’s studios were designed with key public areas in a center atrium—including the bathrooms! Whenever people make eye contact, that mystical alchemy called collaboration tends to occur.

Cross-pollinate skills. Pixar has its own “university” (humorously dubbed “PU”) where animators can learn about lighting effects, Photoshop artists can learn animation—or even take a martial arts class! They borrowed this idea from 1940s-era Disney HR practices. A more complete, widely-skilled employee tends to contribute more, be more imaginative and even grow into other skill areas to the organization’s benefit.

Lead subversively. Be an example to your employees. Try to see things from a different angle, and encourage open debate. Make the hard choices, but always with the end goal of creating something great. Bird says he and his partner, producer John Walker, famously slug it our regularly over cost, schedule and quality. “John says, ‘Look, I’m just trying to get us across the line.’ And I say, ‘I’m trying to get us across the line in first place,’ says Bird.

Weed out passive-aggressive workers. If you saw “The Incredibles,” you may recall a villain who appears briefly just as the film concludes—“The Underminer.” People who do not contribute openly, but peck away negatively behind the scenes, are counter-productive and should be removed from a truly creative workplace lest they poison the vibe for everyone else.

If you’re not still learning, you’re not innovating. Those who think they know it all have ceased to challenge themselves, and won’t challenge anyone else. Adopt the “student” mindset, open to learning something new at every opportunity. Foster that attitude among the entire team.

Money is the fuel, not the destination. Bird compared Pixar to the Disney studios under Walt Disney’s management. “I don’t make movies to make money—I make money to make movies,” Walt once said. Money fuels the rocket ship of innovation, but it is meaningless if you don’t send that rocket to new places.