There’s a story making it’s way around the interwebs from the Harvard Business Review about How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity. Pixar’s the CGI animation studio (originally a division of LucasFilms, then owned by Steve Jobs and now a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) that put out great movies like Toy Story, Monsters Inc. Cars, etc.
Since they released Toy Story in 1995, the studio has earned thirteen Academy Awards, three Golden Globes, and one Grammy.
Pixar’s President Ed Catmull writes ::
A few years ago, I had lunch with the head of a major motion picture studio, who declared that his central problem was not finding good people—it was finding good ideas….
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. And in making these films, we have continued to push the technological boundaries of computer animation, securing dozens of patents in the process.
In the article Catmull shares 3 key organizational principals that guide Pixar ::
- Everyone must have the freedom to communicate with anyone
- It must be safe for everyone to offer ideas.
- We must stay close to innovations happening in the academic community.
Imagine what a church could look like that implemented these ideas! An environment where everyone recognizes that they are truly a part of the priesthood of believers and that all the believers around them are as well.
Brian mentioned this morning that at encounter we try and view everything as an experiment. There are some things we try that work great and then we work to make them even better — and there are things that don’t always work out as we hope so we scrap the idea and move on.
What if everyone really felt like they could really take ownership in ideas and participate in the ongoing conversation about God and life? What if everyone realized their ideas would be listened to, valued and built upon?
How differently would we view one another? How different would our conversations be?
I hope in my own community group and all of our community groups (as well as our church as a whole) we continue to foster community and environments where everyone feels a valuable part of the experience and process.
How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down on the collar of his robe.
It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore. – psalms 133
