"11 blockbuster films": Pixar, Google, and Humility
Interesting article regarding the differences between the two companies.
Despite an unbroken string of 11 blockbuster films, Catmull regularly says, "Success hides problems." It's an insight Google should acknowledge and act on. Google's leadership admirably tolerates failure on side-projects (and big projects as well), but what Pixar has that Google does not is a culture where the fear of complacency is a strong motivator, where new problems are identified, discussed, and addressed openly and honestly, all of which requires humility.
What interests me is not the Google stuff, but the discussion of the culture of humility at Pixar. Success does not equal health and can easily destroy a person or an organization. The concept of corporate humility intrigues and challenges me. As James and others make clear, empowering grace is not given to the proud, rather divine opposition (James 4:6).
We may be tempted to think that this principle does not apply to a "secular" organization, and certainly not to a business! We would be wrong. The first chapter of C.J. Mahaney's brilliant book, "Humility" begins with a discussion of Jim Collins bestseller Good to Great. In it, Collins explains that CEOs of companies that had moved from good to great were characterized by humility. They were self-effacing, modest and directed attention to the achievement of others.
When Catmull gives a public speech or lecture, what's most noticeable is that he talks about the problems that Pixar has encountered and the mistakes that he has made. Pixar has, for example, nearly burned-out its employees on numerous occasions. Like every organization, there are also pockets of the company that are extremely resistant to change.Catmull freely acknowledges through his words and deeds that doesn't know what he doesn't know. When delivering a lecture at Stanford's Computer Science department in April, he compared trying to build a successful lasting company to a constant iterative creative process. "There is a lot about this process which I find mystifying still," he said, "There's certain things that I think we've got right and certain things we've got wrong."
One observation from a Pastoral perspective. I have noticed that when talking to Pastors who are moderately successful, they have ALL the answers. When I talk to Pastors who are extraordinarily successful, they seem to be certain of far less.
