Mini Case Study - Pixar1. What and how could your organization learn from Pixar?

STRATEGY AND INNOVATION how companies craft strategies and innovate. The assumption behind design thinking is that companies can learn from creative design practices such as those of architect Frank Gehry (see You et al , 2006). Design firms offer individual, customized products that are complex and not (Continued) First, the key is empowering people and giv- . Finally, Pixar uses every project as a springboard only solve a problem but also provide an experience. Learning from the design ing them ownership over the process. Rather to make the next one better. Providing a safe project with Frank Gehry for their new business school, the Weatherhead School than having a development team that does environment in which people speak their minds, of Management at Case Western Reserve University, Boland and Callopy (2004) the brainstorming, and an implementation the team dissects past projects and talks about introduced the notion of design attitude. This is characterized by the search for team that does the doing, the boundaries the good and the bad things that happened. alternatives. In contrast, what most current business schools teach, and most between origination and implementation are Strategy, we argue, is linked to innovation and crea- executives enact, is a decision attitude that focuses on making the right choices. blurred . tivity. Most organizations do not produce animation Strategy, Porter (1996) reminds us, is about tough choices. It is about analysing the . Second, Pixar has a peer culture where films, but they do deliver everyday products, serv- environment. It is about scrutinizing internal resources. But it spends little time people show each other their unfinished work ices and experiences for their clients and stakehold- frequently. Rather than being embarrassed ers. Your university might have a mission statement on imagining possible futures. A design attitude does exactly that: it focuses on about potential mistakes, they help each other ('the high concept') but the lecturers, the IT infra- developing alternatives. This is what Boland and Callopy (2004) observed during the design process of their new school: the designers questioned what learning and develop their ideas. structure, the classrooms, and so on, actually pro- duce your experience of the service and ultimately teaching was, they wondered why academics worked in offices, and why the uni. . Third, Pixar staff are encouraged to talk to anyone they choose to solve a problem. This determine its value. Seeing it this way, should every versity was organized in schools and faculties. These disarmingly and ostensibly means people do not have to ask management organization not adopt Pixar's advice? simple questions are, in reality, complex and deep - and design thinking is a way for permission to get feedback or ideas for their Question to deal with those fundamental questions. projects. In our context, we can understand design thinking as a new way of combining . Fourth, Pixar has created the Pixar University, 1 What and how could your organization learn innovation and strategy. Tim Brown, CEO of the innovation and design firm IDEO, where people learn and share knowledge. from Pixar? defines design thinking as innovation that is 'powered by a thorough understand- ing, through direct observation, of what people want and need in their lives and what they like or dislike about the way particular products are made, packaged, marketed, sold, and supported' (Brown, 2008: 86). The promise behind design thinking is that designers routinely develop new ideas and innovate. Applying the How does design thinking unfold? According to Brown (2008), it is less an principles of their thinking to management could yield a competitive advantage orderly step-by-step process than a journey through three different spaces. First, for organizations that fight the innovator's dilemma. one needs to understand the motivation behind the search for a solution. Second, ideation collects ideas for the process of creating, developing and testing ideas. Finally, in the implementation phase, the journey to markets is mapped out. Importantly, successful outcomes rely on a movement between these spaces, espe- cially the first and second spaces. MINI CASE STUDY are needed to make the 'high concept' work are Tim Brown explains how the bicycle component producer Shimano developed just as important. Think of an animated film: every a new strategy through design thinking. While sales in the United States were scene, every detail in the background, every move- declining, Shimano needed to develop a new strategy to increase its business. ment of the characters, every sound-bit needs to be IDEO applied the principles of design thinking to solve the problem. First, IDEO How creativity becomes a strategy at designed. The 200-250 people that work on an ani- researchers went out and asked some of the 90 per cent of people in the United States who did not ride a bike what kept them from doing so. Interestingly, most Pixar (Catmull, 2008) mation film quite literally make up the story as they go and make hundreds of little decisions along the of them had very happy childhood memories of riding bikes, but felt uncomfort- Pixar is one of the world's leading animation stu- way. Hence, Catmull (2008: 3) explains 'creativity able about buying a bike in a store where only professionals seem to go, who must be present at every level of every artistic and paid a lot of money, had to deal with a complicated set-up, and endangered their dios and has produced blockbusters including Monsters Inc, The Incredibles, Toy Story, Finding technical part of the organization'. physical safety on the streets. These insights into motivations came from outside of Nemo and, most recently, WALL-E. In 2006, the Dis- He argues that people are the key to retain the creative edge. He also argues for the 'primacy of Shimano's core customer base (the 10 per cent committed bicyclists) and allowed ney Animation Studios bought Pixar for $7.4 billion. it to reimagine a new bicycling experience - an experience that IDEO labelled For the ongoing success of Pixar, creativity is the people over ideas': if you give a good idea to a mediocre team, they will screw it up; but if you "coasting'. Coasting is done on very simple bikes, with no cables, a back-pedalling key. How does its president, Ed Catmull, under- brake and a mini computer that automatically chooses the best of the three built-in stand creativity? And how does he manage it? First give a mediocre idea to a good team, they will gears. The bike would be comfortable, easy e, easy to ride and low in maintenance. But of all, Catmull explains that every stage of the film make it work , he suggests . Consequently , man - aging creativity means managing people. Catmull IDEO went further than that: it also developed a retail strategy and reinvented production is creative. The process starts with what he calls 'the high concept': this represents the mas- defines the five principles that helped him manage the consumer experience as non-threatening and fun. Together with local govern- ter idea of the film. But the four to five years that innovation : (Continued) ments, IDEO picked safe places to ride and launched a PR campaign for bike rid- ing. The secret to success, according to Tim Brown, is a human-centred approach that focuses on people's needs