While many skills are appreciated in the modern PR world, creativity is definitely an attribute that will distinguish good PR professionals from GREAT PR professionals. Whether it is thinking of creative pitch angles, media stunts, campaigns and more, building a creative culture is crucial for a PR firm’s work environment. Pixar’s President and Co-founder Ed Catmull knows the essential ingredients for creating a unique environment–after all, Pixar’s work has won 30 Academy Awards® and generated $8.3 billion in worldwide ticket sales.
“Based on philosophies that protect the creative process and defy convention, these principles should be at the heart of any work environment that strives for originality, fosters problem solving, and pushes its employees to new heights.”
See below for Ed’s 7 core principles for building a creative culture or read the full article here: https://www.creativityincbook.com/7-core-principles/
1) Quality is the best business plan.
Quality is not a consequence of following some prescribed set of behaviors. It is a mindset you must have before you decide what you are setting out to do. You can say you are going to be a company that never settles, but saying it isn’t enough: You must live and breathe it.
2) Failure isn’t a necessary evil.
It’s a necessary consequence of doing something great. Uncouple fear and failure. Making mistakes should never strike fear into employees’ hearts. When it comes to creative endeavors, a goal of zero failure is worse than useless. It is counterproductive. The truth is, the cost of preventing errors is often far greater than the cost of fixing them.
3) People are more important than ideas.
When hiring, give an applicant’s potential to grow more weight than her current skill level. What she will be capable of tomorrow is much more important than what she can do today. Why? Because if you give a good idea to a mediocre team, they will screw it up. But give a mediocre idea to a great team, they will either fix it or come up with something better. That’s why people matter.
4) Prepare for the unknown.
Unforeseen, random events happen. And when they do, don’t waste time playing the blame game. To think one can control or prevent problems or guard against randomness by making an example of someone is naïve and wrongheaded. Instead, empower employees at every level to own the problems and give them the freedom to fix them without asking permission.
5) Do not confuse the process with the goal.
Making the process easier, better, faster, and cheaper is something we should continually work on—but it is NOT the goal. Making something great is the goal.
6) Everybody should be able to talk to anybody.
Communication structures should never mirror organizational structure. A chain of command is essential, but making sure that everything happens in the “right” order and through the “proper” channels is not efficient.
7) Give good notes.
Truly candid feedback is the only way to ensure excellence. When giving notes, be sure to include:
A good note is specific. A good note does not make demands. Most of all, a good note inspires.
