Pixar/Disney follow-up(s)

Over the weekend, the New York Times ran a fascinating feature entitled How Pixar Adds a New School of Thought to Disney, which examines the fundamental (non-)corporate culture of Pixar, and how it is both a critical factor to its unrivaled success - and a stark contrast to the way the rest of Hollywood works.

More than a few business pundits have drawn parallels between the flat, decentralized "corporation of the future" and the ad-hoc collection of actors, producers and technicians that come together around a film and disband once it is finished. In the Hollywood model... highly talented people agree to terms, do their jobs, and move on to the next project. Turn that model on its head and you get the Pixar version: a tightknit company of long-term collaborators who stick together, learn from one another and strive to improve with every production.

"The problem with the Hollywood model is that it's generally the day you wrap production that you realize you've finally figured out how to work together," said [Randy] Nelson [dean of Pixar University, the company's in-house education and training operation]. "We've made the leap from an idea-centered business to a people-centered business. Instead of developing ideas, we develop people. Instead of investing in ideas, we invest in people."

(In other words, as I'm fond of saying: a great idea doesn't really matter unless you have the ability to execute it successfully.)

Meanwhile, Reuters recently reported details on the terms of the Pixar/Disney deal - which is clearly more of a merger than an acquisition, as Pixar retains broad autonomy while also assuming control of Disney animation. And what will happen to Disney now that Steve Jobs is on the board as its largest shareholder? Both BusinessWeek and Slate speculate that it may only be a matter of time before he takes over completely - just as he took over Apple after it similarly acquired (read: merged with) NeXT... which is exactly what I was alluding to a week ago.

P.S.: BusinessWeek also has a profile of Pixar's John Lasseter (Disney's new Chief Creative Officer for animation), and an interview with Edgar Woolard, Jr. (the former Apple board member who brought Steve Jobs back to Apple in 1997).