Saturday, September 26, 2015

The magic of collective creativity

Several years ago, Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull shared his thoughts on how the studio fosters creativity and how, when creating an original product, the initial idea is not the most important element. It is, in fact, the people and culture. As Catmull puts it, it is about preserving the “confluence of forces necessary to create magic.”

That includes the concept that creativity is not a solo act or a single idea, but rather several people from different disciplines working together to solve challenges and creating more than just an initial idea but many other ideas that support it. In the case of a movie, that can be tens of thousands of ideas from hundreds of people. For collective creativity to work, there must be an environment where people support one another. Once you reach that level, you have the foundation for some of the most inspiring creativity.

Barry LaBov
LABOV Marketing Communications and Training