Tag Archives: Employee Engagement

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Article on Pixar’s Culture Featured in Economic Times

Economic Times LogoPixar’s leadership team has discovered the secret to consistently creating great films, and it has nothing to do with merely hiring great talent (although they do that too). The secret can be summed up in one word: connection.

An article I wrote on the topic has been featured in the Economic Times, India’s premier daily business publication. Be sure to read Animated Leadership: How Catmull & Co. Created a Culture that Consistently Makes Great Films and share your thoughts in the comments.

What lessons from Pixar’s culture will you apply to your own organization?

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Can Phil Jackson Build “the Yankees of Basketball”?

philjackson

As seen on Fox Business.

Phil Jackson, the New York Knicks’ new president of basketball operations, is nothing if not audacious.  After building two basketball dynasties as a coach of the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers, he accepted the challenge to achieve a three-peat, but this time in the toughest town of all, New York City.  Furthermore, he will try to build more than a great team.  In his new role, he is responsible for building a broader organization.

Will Jackson end his career in a blaze of glory or will the Knicks and New York City reduce him to smoldering ashes?  Despite the obstacles, I’m betting on the former.  And there will be a lesson for CEOs in watching Jackson in action. 

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Connect at Work: Recruit Best Friends

Two Friends Laughing at Work

#34 Recruit Best Friends

According to Gallup Research, 30 percent of employees have a best friend at work. These employees are seven times as likely to be engaged, they are better at engaging customers, they produce higher quality work and they have higher well-being. People who don’t have a best friend at work have just a 1/12 chance of feeling connected and being engaged.

If you have a best friend who has the competence to fill a role in your organization, recruit him or her.

This is the thirty-fourth post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

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3 Ways Pixar Gains Competitive Advantage from Its Culture

As seen on Fox Business.

To infinity and beyond: That’s where Pixar Animation and Walt Disney Animation Studios are headed, provided they maintain the type of leaders that have gotten them this far. Ed Catmull, President of Pixar Animation and Walt Disney Animation Studios, describes what he’s learned about leadership and corporate culture in his excellent new book, Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration.

Pixar has been phenomenally successful with the likes of Toy Story, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, and Up, to name but a few of its films. In 2006, Disney bought Pixar to boost its struggling Walt Disney Animation Studios unit. Catmull and John Lasseter, Pixar’s CEO, were appointed to lead the unit as president and CEO, respectively.  With the leadership change, Disney began to produce hits such as Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph.  If any doubt existed that Disney’s magic was back, it was put to rest with the 2013 release of the blockbuster movie Frozen.  Having earned well over a billion dollars in revenue at the box office in its first six months, Frozen became the highest-grossing animated feature ever and moved into the top-10 worldwide highest grossing movies of all time.

The success of Pixar and Disney Animation begs the question: what’s the secret sauce? In a word, it’s “culture,” i.e. the shared attitudes, language and behavior that consistently produce excellence in a given endeavor.  With 70 percent of American workers disengaged today, Pixar and Disney Animation provide a model for engaging and energizing employees by making culture a competitive advantage.

Here are three ways Catmull and his leadership team create a culture that consistently makes great films.

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3 Ways to Tap Into the Power of Community

Soccer Team

As seen on SmartBlog on Leadership.

Smart leaders are developing a competitive advantage by creating a sense of connection and community among employees and customers. In the fitness world, SoulCycle and Tough Mudder are two organizations that have successfully tapped into the power of community. Each has developed a vocal and rapidly expanding following. 

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Consider Both Competence and Character in Hiring and Promotion Decisions

Business Handshake

#32 Hire, Develop and Promote for Both Competence and Character That Connects

Most managers hire for competence but are not anywhere near as intentional about probing to understand a job applicant’s character.  Take time to identify your core values as a leader then ask questions that explore those values as you interview applicants.

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Connect, Encourage and Coach for Superior Performance

Supervisor Coaching Employee

#25 Connect, Encourage and Coach

Organizations with supervisors who connect with, encourage and coach the people they lead often perform better that those who don’t.  Southwest Airlines discovered that when they reduced the front line supervisor to front line employee ratio so the supervisors could connect, encourage and coach these employees, front line employees performed better. As a result, Southwest Airlines maintains a front line employee to front line supervisor ratio of 10:1 whereas some airlines maintain a ratio of 40:1.

This is the twenty-fifth post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

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3 Lessons from the Life and Leadership of Coach Wooden

As seen on SmartBlog on Leadership.

Most people know the legendary basketball coach for the ten college basketball championships (including four perfect seasons) his UCLA Bruins Men’s Basketball Team won while he was head coach from 1948 until 1975.

Many people know Coach Wooden was inducted twice into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and as a coach.

Some know Wooden was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor.

Few, however, know about the event that constitutes his greatest contribution to the game of basketball.  

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Consider the Effect of Physical Space on Connection

Pixar Headquarters

Pixar Headquarters, Photo Credit Pixar Animation Studios

#24 Consider the Effect of Physical Space on Connection

When Ed Catmull, CEO of Pixar Animation, and Steve Jobs, Pixar’s primary owner at the time, designed Pixar’s new headquarters, they created a large centralized space that included the company’s entrance and visitor reception area, meeting rooms, company cafeteria, employee mail slots and restrooms.  Their rationale was that a centralized space would facilitate connection.

Research supports that physical location and office space design does affect connection.  In general, people who work in physical space near one another feel more connected and physical spaces that are more open encourage connection. Consider how your organization’s physical space and office design encourages or discourages connection and how you can make changes to boost connection.

This is the twenty-fourth post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.