Nickname: Cynthia Barton Rabe

Review: Exceptional insights here, Chris! To follow-up on point No. 2, you are addressing the yin-yang challenges of innovation. Organizations that learn to balance creativity along with business realities will increasingly "get it right" when it comes to breakthrough innovations. In my book, "The Innovation Killer; How What We Know Limits What We Can Imagine...and What Smart Companies Are Doing About It," I talk about a related issue, the balancing act between expertise and naivete as a way to help assure that we are looking at challenges through fresh eyes. Referring to your Pixar/Nemo example above, sometimes it's hard for us to recognize that we might learn something new about a subject we are already familiar with (like how fish swim), if we would only study it intently through the eyes of a beginner.

Date reviewed: Sep 29, 2006 5:17 PM

Nickname: Chris Conley

Review: Cynthia, Thanks for your comments! I agree with you and perhaps what didn't come through in my short essay is that what is remarkable about places like Pixar is that creativity, energy, and passion is expected not only in the content but also in the "mundane" aspects you mention. Too many firms assume them to be separate. And as you reference, there are plenty of so called "creative" firms that miss the mark for their inability to incorporate finacial, market or strategic aspects. Two sides of the same coin. At Pixar they engage all aspects on a daily basis -- stragegy, content, finance, R&D, etc... All dimensions are considered critical to success!

Date reviewed: Sep 20, 2006 11:30 PM

Nickname: Cynthia Benjamin

Review: Sure, the creative contributors of an organization should strive to be innovative "all the time," but for most businesses creativity needs go hand-in-hand with some of the more potentially mundane aspects of funding, evaluating, implementing those great ideas. You imply that "thinking strategically" is less valuable than the shaping of a product, but how many of us have seen beautiful, needs-based products get stuck on a shelf because of a mismatch with timing, money, capabilities, or organizational direction? I see business leaders all the time becoming confused when they interpret messages like this to mean that all that's needed to solve their problems are more ideas, more prototypes, and more creative input. So I love your idea No. 2 where director and producer are distinct, valued roles, and work side-by-side. Depending on the needs of the business as well as customer needs, each side may have different emphasis, but both are, of course, critical.

Date reviewed: Sep 20, 2006 9:05 PM

Nickname: dave

Review: Great insights! I wonder if Pixar knows that they are inspiring a new way of working in the land of suits and ties.

Date reviewed: Sep 19, 2006 3:52 PM