Fostering Creativity: How Culture and Environment Drive Innovation

In a recent IBM Global CEO survey, creativity was flagged as the most important quality needed by a CEO—especially in markets and industries facing increasing complexity.One would be hard pressed to name an enterprise anywhere on the globe that exemplifies organizational creativity more than Pixar. What The Economist called a “creative powerhouse” began in 1979 with the vision of the two cofounders Alvy Ray Smith and Ed Catmull. Ed and Alvy managed the venture from its humble origins in a garage all the way to the creation of their first major motion picture released in 1995, the groundbreaking film Toy Story.Central to their culture, vision and execution was the harmonization of the balance between art and technology. This is something that has become a major priority for startups in our increasingly app-centric world. In this fireside chat, Alvy will discuss what practical lessons leaders can learn from his experience at Pixar, as well as his successes in other entrepreneurial ventures. Some of the topics to be covered include:Integrating artists and technologists •Prioritizing people over ideas • Finding and hiring talent•Integrating artists and technologists •Instilling the “long view”• Overcoming debilitating risk aversion and inhibition • Mining academia • Staying flexible: Optimizing for serendipity vs. rigid planning.