Remarkable Lessons from the Pixar Story: Creativity Inc.

How to Create and Manage a Creative Culture: Lessons from the Pixar Experience

When I first saw the silhouette on the cover of Creativity, Inc. I was stymied. It bore a resemblance to the familiar conductor who appears in Disney's Fantasia, but was not, yet it had a familiar look. It's like that puzzle with the vase and the face, or a number of similar optical illusions. Once you see it, you generally don't un-see. It was Buzz Lightyear, or rather a hybrid of these two iconic images, standing in as symbol for the phenomenal business hybrid of Disney and Pixar.

It was Brent Schlender's Becoming Steve Jobs that cued me in to the role Steve Jobs played in saving Pixar Animation Studios from the ash heap of stories that might have been, keeping the company on life support till all the pieces could be pulled together for the Hollywood supernova called Toy Story. Upon completion of this Jobs career and character development story, I felt impelled to read Ed Catmull's insider account of Pixar. The big achievement there, and the basic storyline in this book, was not Toy Story, or its various other superhits. Rather, Catmull's aim is to share a lifetime of insights about management in general, and managing creative people specifically.

How does a company create a creative culture where excellence flourishes, where ideas actually come to fruition and become earth-shaking events? Catmull shares everything, including all the lessons learned through their various failures, and the miracles that rose from those ashes.

The amazing thing is that despite the various mis-steps, Pixar never had a single film that bombed.

The book's subtitle tells the real story of what made Pixar such a superstar: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in The Way of True Inspiration. Unseen forces means forces can refer to forces that are invisible, like the ice below the surface that sunk the Titanic, or it can mean forces that are in plain sight, like Poe's Purloined Letter, but we do not see them. Catmull states that the management team had to be perpetually vigilant. What they were vigilant about was very different from most organizations.

At the end of the book Catmull does a summing up of his "Thoughts For Managing A Creative Culture." If you Google that title, you'll find that numerous writers have begun sharing these. Though Ed Catmull's stories make it such a rewarding read, his distilled thoughts at the end are well worth deeper reflection. Here's a small collection of notes from this five page reiteration of the book's themes.

--Give a good idea to a mediocre team, and they will screw it up. Give a mediocre idea to a great team, and they will either fix it or come up with something better. If you get the team right, chances are that they'll get the ideas right.

--It isn’t enough merely to be open to ideas from others. Engaging the collective brainpower of the people you work with is an active, ongoing process. As a manager, you must coax ideas out of your staff and constantly push them to contribute.

--There are many valid reasons why people aren’t candid with one another in a work environment. Your job is to search for those reasons and then address them.

--Likewise, if someone disagrees with you, there is a reason. Our first job is to understand the reasoning behind their conclusions. Further, if there is fear in an organization, there is a reason for it— our job is (a) to find what’s causing it, (b) to understand it, and (c) to try to root it out.

--There is nothing quite as effective, when it comes to shutting down alternative viewpoints, as being convinced you are right.

--In general, people are hesitant to say things that might rock the boat. Braintrust meetings, dailies, postmortems, and Notes Day are all efforts to reinforce the idea that it is okay to express yourself. All are mechanisms of self-assessment that seek to uncover what’s real.

--If there is more truth in the hallways than in meetings, you have a problem.

You can find more of these here or if you go ahead and purchase the book here.

* * * *
Healthy organisms and healthy organizations will grow naturally if given the right nourishment and environment. In the case of institutions, there have been plenty of books written about how they fail. Ed Catmull's insider perspective on Pixar's achievements has applications for all types of organizations. But it would be especially valuable for companies working in creative fields like ad agencies, theater, Hollywood, arts communities, new product development, communications and more.

More can be said, but we'll end with this: Read the book.

“Achieving enormous success while holding fast to the highest artistic standards is a nice trick—and Pixar, with its creative leadership and persistent commitment to innovation, has pulled it off. This book should be required reading for any manager.”
—Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit

Originally published in 2017

Screenwriting for Fun and Profit

In 1993 I had the privilege of being an extra in the Disney film Iron Will. The power of Hollywood to make an impact on mid-America communities was brought home with such force that I conceived a story about it that I pitched to the producer, Robert Schwartz. I called it The Extras. Mr. Schwartz agreed to read my treatment if I wrote one, and upon his return to Hollywood after the film was completed he called to say he would actually read the screenplay if I wrote it. Being a Minnesotan himself he offered some advice on the matter, including the recommendation that I obtain and read Syd Field's book called Screenwriting.

My brother Robert had studied film making in college and agreed to assist me on the project. All of his suggestions proved to be improvements when I implemented them, and my only regret is that I hadn't implemented more of them. Alas, I had a certain vision for the story based on my experience and conceptually the idea was sound, but it costs money to make a movie and "sound" isn't enough.

When the screenplay was finished I sent it to Mr. Schwartz who promised to read it. Sure enough, he kept his word. A couple days later he called to tell me it was a very good first effort. He asked me then to write a second screenplay, but in a different genre. I created a dramatic World War II story told from the point of view of a crippled man  from Estonia called Uprooted. There were life and death escapes galore and lots of opportunity for nail biting by audiences.

After submitting the manuscript in the spring of 1994 Mr. Schwartz once again called me on the phone to say he'd read it. He proceeded to read various passages to me, noting it was very good writing. He suggested I consider coming to Hollywood and that he would introduce me to people.

But I had a job, and a family. I did not feel I was in a position to take risks. Instead, I obtained an agent who believed in the manuscript enough to shop it around a little as I worked on my next screen play in yet another genre, Love Letters Inc., a comedy.  What follows here are some lessons I learned from my two year infection with the screenwriter bug.

1. Read Screenplay by Syd Field.
Even if the book is dated, his ideas of how to tell a story in film will never be out of date. There are also other books on screenwriting that you can obtain and should probably read, but I can't say what's best and most currently respected. In 1993 Field's book is the one that was recommended to me.

2. Read a few real screenplays.
You can do a Google search and find sources for screenplays of many of your favorite films. I bought Dave and the screenplay for Runaway Train. Even if you never get an inkling to become a screenwriter it might be fun to purchase the screenplay of your favorite film. In 1993-4 they were only $15 apiece.

3. Join the Screen Writers Guild.
Not sure what it costs today but back then it was $35 a year. Supposedly they have attorneys who will defend writers ini court should a studio or director steal your script or concept and not pay you for it.

4. Watch lots and lots of movies.
I went through a phase where I watched the first ten minutes of hundreds of films, studying them to see how the director set up the story and foreshadowed the end. Studying films is invaluable if you are desirous to truly be part of the film making industry.

5. Study the various ways directors move the story forward.
A standard film is essentially a series of scenes. Study the pacing, the way in which directors create tension and then release it.

6. Don't write a sequel to an existing film.
When I pitched my idea for The Extras to Robert Schwartz, I also pitched another film called Pause Button which I imagined would make a great sequel to Honey I Shrunk the Kids. He said that when the first film was being made they were already working on sequels in the event it was a hit.

7. Know that what you do will probably never get produced in Hollywood.
Why are you writing this movie script? My guess is that because it is a story you feel needs to be told. Why else would you sacrifice so much of your energy and time on this project? I say go for it. Once you find a way to tell the story as a screenplay, you may later turn it into a novella. That's what I have done with my story Uprooted. It is now a semi-polished manuscript which I aim to see in print within a year or so.

Bottom line: the notion of screenwriting for fun and profit is a joke. It's work, and you will probably never see a dime of profit. But it's a rewarding experience to create something from nothing, to share it with friends, and to see what happens next.

In the case of my writing The Extras, I discovered the the author of Iron Will, the film I was in, was also the author of Runaway Train. He'd written it two decades earlier but nothing came of it. Till Disney picked it up. Now it's been two decades since I started writing Uprooted, inspired by my brief exposure to the Hollywood experience. Perhaps it's time for this story to be discovered, too.

In the meantime.... life goes on. Have a great, great day.

A Few Good Quotes to Start Your Week

No matter how early or later, how much or how little sleep I get, it's funny how I almost always awaken one minute before my alarm goes off.

Here we are starting a new week, and I'll begin by returning to an old form, the sharing of a few quotes to carry with you today.

My interest in quoting comes by way of my mom who frequently made reference to Elbert Hubbard's Scrap Book. Hubbard was a collector of insights and pearls of wisdom from great minds and books that preceded him. A perpetual optimist, he created two magazines that proved influential at the dawn of the twentieth century. His Scrap Books were collections of insights and quotes. And for the whole of my life I have enjoyed the habit of "quote collecting."

I prefer utilizing quotes from my personal reading, lest it give the impression of putting on airs. But then again, there are so many pithy sayings and witticisms that others have collected, it seems a crime to leave them in the ditch when their illuminations are so apropos.

My favorite part of collecting quotes is that as you read and re-read them over the years, you internalize them. When a situation occurs, a pithy quote rolls off your tongue. (Or, frequently in my case, a line from a Dylan song.)

Here are some samples to start your week and for future utilization.

"Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet." ~ Rousseau

"Every man is a volume, if you know how to read him." ~ Channing

"When the state is most corrupt, then laws are most multiplied." ~ Tacitus

"I don't think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday." ~ Lincoln

"The greater the obstacle the more glory in overcoming it." ~ Moliere

"Every war is a national calamity, whether victorious or not." ~ Gen. Von Moltke

"Next to knowing when to seize an opportunity, the most important thing in life is knowing when to forego an advantage." ~ Disraeli

"You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you." ~ Walt Disney

Thank you to the new followers here at Ennyman's Territory. I'll do my best to keep providing content worth coming back forth. Meantime, make your day count.

10 Minutes With John Heino: Not Dead Yet

I met John Heino on the set of Iron Will, a Disney film set here in the Northland. We were extras in the ballroom scene and spent quite a bit of time in the holding area for extras. We had shared just enough that he made a memorable impression and when our paths crossed again through another association, a friendship grew.

By day he is a respected professional, serving as president and CEO of Como Oil & Propane, an energy supplier to this area. But many know him primarily as the keyboardist for one of the region’s most popular rock ‘n roll blues bands, the Centerville All Stars. The more you get to know John the more you discover. His creative spirit and energy crosses into many disciplines, both in the arts and in public service.

He agreed to let me pick his brain last week… or maybe attempt to reflect some of his soul. This interview took place on Friday the 13th, hence the first question.

Ennyman: Is it better to be good or lucky?
JH: Well, I think from a personal fulfillment standpoint, it’s better to be good. If you measure your success by financial or materialistic things, it’s better to be lucky. If you don’t need external validation it’s better to be good.

Ennyman: How did you get into music?
JH: My mother had me take piano lessons when I was about seven years old. I quit when I was ten. I had no appreciation for classical music at that time. What really got me into music was the British Invasion. All of a sudden everyone was listening to music. Everybody was starting bands, combos… The good news for me was that everybody wanted to be a guitar player, so if you could scrape up the money for a keyboard and an amplifier, you could probably get a job with a band.

It wasn’t music theory or creative impulses, but the excitement of the scene, and maybe the girls.

Ennyman: What was it like recording music in the same studio where The Doors recorded?
JH: Our band spent seven years on the road. About a year and a half after high school we were in L.A. after getting comfortable as a group in Seattle. We were actually renting a house, and had soundproofed the garage – in Canoga Park. Kurt, a friend of the guitar player’s who was trying to help us get things going was road manager for the Butts Band… which consisted of drummer John Densmore and (guitarist) Robby Krieger (This was after Jim Morrison had passed.) The Butts Band.. they were rehearsing in our garage… Ray Manzarek came by once or twice.

Ennyman: Didn't you tell me that you saw ZZ Top’s first major performance? How did it feel to see their name in lights when your group had been working so hard to get its name in lights?
JH: ZZ Top was at a place called Starwood… down from the Whiskey A-Go-Go. ZZ Top was just coming out, doing a club show in L.A. … I remember being amazed that three people could have such a full sound.

Ennyman: You once wrote a song about passion. What are you doing these days to keep your creative passion alive?
JH: I still regularly write music. I put out a couple CDs in the past couple years. Photography… I am in the process of printing, mounting and framing photography for a November show at the Red Mug in Superior. I don’t have enough time… I could spend all my waking hours doing either photography or music. Time is limited. I am torn when I have time on a weekend to indulge. Should I write music or go out and shoot photographs. I just spent a weekend up the shore doing pictures of what happens when ice gets blown in.

The conventional wisdom is that you only have one life. But I have been trying to overcome that by living three lives at once. If I could just figure out a way to get rid of sleep. It takes up so much of your time.

Ennyman: You have a Facebook site where you’ve been showing your photography. What is it about photography that gets you so jazzed?
JH: As long as I can remember, I enjoyed looking at photography... When I did finally go to college, I started as an art major and quickly got into photography. Like a lot of people I would have great memories of the great Ansel Adams images, so I would go out with a camera looking for that image.

What broke things open for me was my photography instructor. You have it backwards. Don’t look for the picture… let the picture take you. Don’t think in advance what you are looking for. Get relaxed and just look… and at a certain point you won’t be able to stop reaching for your camera.

On the North Shore, all it takes is a camera and time… God or nature is sending us an infinite stream of images, and if you are just open to actually see…

What excites me, and what I shoot the most, are images you’ll never see again. The one-word short answer for me is “fleeting.” I’ve got thousands of pictures that no one would see if I had not taken them.

There’s something exciting about knowing other people have seen something they would not have seen otherwise.

I’ve only recently realized that a lot of my imagery is related to fractals… each an excerpt from infinity.

There are so many things wrapped up in this [process of making pictures]. The pure aesthetic of reveling in the imagery, the beauty that is there. And there is the anticipation of what you are going to see before you take the pictures. Then there is the aspect of capturing that… And then there’s what happens when people see the work… And then there’s the connection when someone appreciates your work.

I recently went with my son… not talking, but just shooting, then discovering only afterwards what he had shot and I’d shot. Every time there are individualized images and choices with different results.

Ennyman: Perhaps the same can be said with these interviews… each involves choices in regard to questions, focusing the lens at different angles, usually with unexpected and wonderful results. Thanks, John, for sitting still long enough to make this snapshot.

NOTE: Click on images to enlarge. With the exception of my portrait of John, the photos on this page were borrowed with permission from John’s Facebook albums.