How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity

I like Pixar because their movies are always engaging on two levels. On the basic level, we have fun following the action of the story. On a higher level, we experience the sense of discovery as the characters mature from selfish motive to responding to something bigger than the self.

Anyway, we all know Steve Jobs founded Pixar, but his co-founder Ed Catmull also deserves a lot of credit for creating an environment that fosters creativity at the groundbreaking animation studio.

Catmull takes pride in the fact that their stories are homegrown: "Unlike most other studios, we have never bought scripts or movie ideas from the outside. All of our stories, worlds, and characters were created internally by our community of artists." Harvard Business Review (Sept 2008) published an article written by Catmull, summarizing how Pixar fosters this creativity.

He describes Pixar as an organization that accepts failure, encourages the taking of risks, and recognizes that creativity does not depend on unique talent, but involves a long process that grows from the collective collaboration of an organization that moves more like a community.

To read more tips and listen to an excerpt of Catmull's interview, visit HBR.org.