Pixar and Why Critical Thinking is NOT a Creativity Killer
Supposedly it’s “common sense” that critical thinking suffocates creativity. Mark McGuinness has a great essay over at Lateral Action explaining how and when critical thinking plays a role in the creative process. Most importantly, he defines “creativity”, “creative thinking”, “critical thinking”, “criticism”, and “negative criticism”.
He also touches on a hugely important issue – that of corporate culture. Sadly, there are organizations that punish for mistakes, “wrong answers” and even attempts to innovate. (Click here for related articles.)
One company that successfully combines creativity and critical thinking is Pixar Animation Studios, in its extremely iterative process, where each animator’s work is screened in front of the entire department and all are encouraged to comment. (Now, you must first understand that a core value at Pixar is creating an atmosphere of trust, and people at all levels help one another.) According to Pixar President Ed Catmull these screenings offer many benefits:
- Once people get over the awkwardness of showing their unfinished work, they become more creative
- The director or creative leads can communicate important objectives to the group as a whole
- creatives learn from and inspire one another to do their best
So Mark McGuinness is clearly on to something here; “the function of critical thinking is to make something better. Used wisely, your critical faculty is one of the most powerful creative tools at your disposal”
Thanks, glad the article was of interest. And great insights from Pixar – do you have a source for the interview with Ed Catmull?
Ed Catmull wrote an article for harvard Business Review, which can be purchased for $6.50 (http://harvardbusiness.org/product/how-pixar-fosters-collective-creativity/an/R0809D-PDF-ENG?Ntt=ed+catmull) Brad Bird also discusses the same kind of review process (which he used prior to working for Pixar) in a McKinsey Quarterly interview. Free to access upon registering: http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Innovation_lessons_from_Pixar_An_interview_with_Oscar-winning_director_Brad_Bird_2127
Thanks Marc, very helpful!