• Communications Recruitment Practice @ Smart Savvy

• Sales team leadership• 25+ years in comms/marketing

Catherine Ducharme

• Marketing and Creative Recruitment Practice Vancouver & US @ Smart Savvy

• 9 years marketing experience

Maxie Friendly

• Director, Film Production + Partnerships Lululemon

Andrea Rathborne

Who is Ed Catmull and what shaped his vision for Pixar?

Goal:

Build the first computer-animated feature film

Focus on Leadership

• Why did companies go off rails?

• What was blinding them?• How do I protect Pixar?

1. People2. Honesty & Candor3. Fear and Failure 4. Hungry Beasts and

Ugly Babies5. The ‘Hidden’

People

“As we struggled to get Pixar off the ground, Deming’s work was like a beacon that lit my way”

“Apply as many minds as possible to the most difficult problems”

~ Ed Catmull

“Always take a chance on better, even if it seems threatening”

~ Ed Catmull

Story is King

“For all the care you put into artistry, visual polish frequently doesn’t matter if you are getting the story right.”

Honesty & Candor

Candor should be celebrated!

The ‘braintrust’

Creating a braintrust

• Draft the right mix of people– Intelligence– Insight – Grace– Make you think smarter – Put lots of solutions on the table

• Can be anyone if they can do that

Fear and Failure

Create a fearless culture.

Address failure head on.

Be wrong as fast as you can.

Failure as exploration.

Build trust.

Discussion: Determine where to use in presentation

The Hungry Beast and the Ugly Baby

The ‘Ugly Baby’aka ‘protecting the new’

Definition: Ugly babies are not beautiful…They are truly awkward and unformed, vulnerable and incomplete

Feeding the BEAST

Beast Definition:

Any large group that needs to be fed an uninterrupted diet of new material and resources in order to function

Taming the BEAST

Discussion: Determine where to use in presentation

The ‘hidden’

• We say what people want to hear

• We think we know more than we actually do

• The higher your position the less access to candid info from staff

• We often aren’t open to knowing more

• We see 40% through our eyes

“If you don’t try to uncover what is unseen and understand its nature, you will be ill prepared to lead.

Discussion: What are some of the hidden obstacles in your work environment?

What does Pixar do to stay real?

• Braintrust• Dailies• Post Mortems• Notes day

Research Trips

Short experiments

Discussion:

Reflection: What are some mechanisms you could apply to your team?

Concluding Thoughts

Story is King

Candor

Fearlessness

Self Awareness

Case study:

How Lululemon sustains creativity.

Reflection: Determine where to use in presentation

Discussion: Determine where to use in presentation

Best Illustrated Tweet or Instagram.

February

The Introverted Leader

February 22nd

The Introverted Leader