TEDxCambridge
Linda Hill: How to manage for collective creativity
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What's the secret to unlocking the creativity hidden inside your daily work, and giving every great idea a chance? Harvard professor Linda Hill, co-author of "Collective Genius," has studied some of the world's most creative companies to come up with a set of tools and tactics to keep great ideas flowing -- from everyone in the company, not just the designated "creatives."
Linda Hill - Management professor
Linda Hill studies collective genius -- the way great companies, and great leaders, empower creativity from many. Full bio
Linda Hill studies collective genius -- the way great companies, and great leaders, empower creativity from many. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
I have a confession to make.
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I'm a business professor
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whose ambition has been
to help people learn to lead.
to help people learn to lead.
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But recently, I've discovered
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that what many of us
think of as great leadership
think of as great leadership
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does not work when it comes
to leading innovation.
to leading innovation.
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I'm an ethnographer.
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I use the methods of anthropology
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to understand the questions
in which I'm interested.
in which I'm interested.
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So along with three co-conspirators,
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I spent nearly a decade observing
up close and personal
up close and personal
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exceptional leaders of innovation.
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We studied 16 men and women,
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located in seven countries
across the globe,
across the globe,
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working in 12 different industries.
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In total, we spent hundreds
of hours on the ground,
of hours on the ground,
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on-site, watching these leaders in action.
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We ended up with pages and pages
and pages of field notes
and pages of field notes
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that we analyzed and looked
for patterns in what our leaders did.
for patterns in what our leaders did.
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The bottom line?
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If we want to build organizations
that can innovate time and again,
that can innovate time and again,
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we must unlearn our conventional
notions of leadership.
notions of leadership.
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Leading innovation is not
about creating a vision,
about creating a vision,
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and inspiring others to execute it.
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But what do we mean by innovation?
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An innovation is anything
that is both new and useful.
that is both new and useful.
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It can be a product or service.
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It can be a process
or a way of organizing.
or a way of organizing.
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It can be incremental,
or it can be breakthrough.
or it can be breakthrough.
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We have a pretty inclusive definition.
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How many of you recognize this man?
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Put your hands up.
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Keep your hands up,
if you know who this is.
if you know who this is.
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How about these familiar faces?
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(Laughter)
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From your show of hands,
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it looks like many of you
have seen a Pixar movie,
have seen a Pixar movie,
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but very few of you recognized Ed Catmull,
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the founder and CEO of Pixar --
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one of the companies
I had the privilege of studying.
I had the privilege of studying.
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My first visit to Pixar was in 2005,
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when they were working on "Ratatouille,"
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that provocative movie about
a rat becoming a master chef.
a rat becoming a master chef.
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Computer-generated movies
are really mainstream today,
are really mainstream today,
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but it took Ed and his
colleagues nearly 20 years
colleagues nearly 20 years
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to create the first
full-length C.G. movie.
full-length C.G. movie.
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In the 20 years hence,
they've produced 14 movies.
they've produced 14 movies.
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I was recently at Pixar,
and I'm here to tell you
and I'm here to tell you
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that number 15 is sure to be a winner.
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When many of us think
about innovation, though,
about innovation, though,
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we think about an Einstein
having an 'Aha!' moment.
having an 'Aha!' moment.
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But we all know that's a myth.
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Innovation is not about solo genius,
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it's about collective genius.
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Let's think for a minute about
what it takes to make a Pixar movie:
what it takes to make a Pixar movie:
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No solo genius, no flash of inspiration
produces one of those movies.
produces one of those movies.
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On the contrary, it takes about
250 people four to five years,
250 people four to five years,
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to make one of those movies.
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To help us understand the process,
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an individual in the studio
drew a version of this picture.
drew a version of this picture.
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He did so reluctantly,
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because it suggested that the process
was a neat series of steps
was a neat series of steps
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done by discrete groups.
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Even with all those arrows,
he thought it failed to really tell you
he thought it failed to really tell you
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just how iterative, interrelated
and, frankly, messy their process was.
and, frankly, messy their process was.
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Throughout the making of a movie
at Pixar, the story evolves.
at Pixar, the story evolves.
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So think about it.
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Some shots go through quickly.
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They don't all go through in order.
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It depends on how vexing
the challenges are
the challenges are
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that they come up with when they
are working on a particular scene.
are working on a particular scene.
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So if you think about that scene in "Up"
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where the boy hands the piece
of chocolate to the bird,
of chocolate to the bird,
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that 10 seconds took one animator
almost six months to perfect.
almost six months to perfect.
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The other thing about a Pixar movie
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is that no part of the movie
is considered finished
is considered finished
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until the entire movie wraps.
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Partway through one production,
an animator drew a character
an animator drew a character
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with an arched eyebrow that
suggested a mischievous side.
suggested a mischievous side.
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When the director saw that
drawing, he thought it was great.
drawing, he thought it was great.
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It was beautiful, but he said,
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"You've got to lose it;
it doesn't fit the character."
it doesn't fit the character."
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Two weeks later, the director
came back and said,
came back and said,
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"Let's put in those few seconds of film."
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Because that animator
was allowed to share
was allowed to share
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what we referred to
as his slice of genius,
as his slice of genius,
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he was able to help that director
reconceive the character
reconceive the character
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in a subtle but important way
that really improved the story.
that really improved the story.
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What we know is, at the heart
of innovation is a paradox.
of innovation is a paradox.
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You have to unleash the talents
and passions of many people
and passions of many people
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and you have to harness them
into a work that is actually useful.
into a work that is actually useful.
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Innovation is a journey.
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It's a type of collaborative
problem solving,
problem solving,
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usually among people
who have different expertise
who have different expertise
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and different points of view.
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Innovations rarely get created full-blown.
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As many of you know,
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they're the result,
usually, of trial and error.
usually, of trial and error.
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Lots of false starts,
missteps and mistakes.
missteps and mistakes.
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Innovative work can be
very exhilarating,
very exhilarating,
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but it also can be
really downright scary.
really downright scary.
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So when we look at why it is
that Pixar is able to do what it does,
that Pixar is able to do what it does,
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we have to ask ourselves,
what's going on here?
what's going on here?
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For sure, history
and certainly Hollywood,
and certainly Hollywood,
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is full of star-studded teams
that have failed.
that have failed.
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Most of those failures are attributed
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to too many stars or too many
cooks, if you will, in the kitchen.
cooks, if you will, in the kitchen.
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So why is it that Pixar,
with all of its cooks,
with all of its cooks,
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is able to be so successful
time and time again?
time and time again?
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When we studied
an Islamic Bank in Dubai,
an Islamic Bank in Dubai,
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or a luxury brand in Korea,
or a social enterprise in Africa,
or a social enterprise in Africa,
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we found that innovative organizations
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are communities that
have three capabilities:
have three capabilities:
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creative abrasion, creative
agility and creative resolution.
agility and creative resolution.
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Creative abrasion is about being able
to create a marketplace of ideas
to create a marketplace of ideas
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through debate and discourse.
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In innovative organizations,
they amplify differences,
they amplify differences,
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they don't minimize them.
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Creative abrasion is not
about brainstorming,
about brainstorming,
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where people suspend their judgment.
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No, they know how to have very
heated but constructive arguments
heated but constructive arguments
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to create a portfolio of alternatives.
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Individuals in innovative organizations
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learn how to inquire, they learn how
to actively listen, but guess what?
to actively listen, but guess what?
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They also learn how to
advocate for their point of view.
advocate for their point of view.
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They understand that
innovation rarely happens
innovation rarely happens
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unless you have both
diversity and conflict.
diversity and conflict.
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Creative agility is about being able
to test and refine that portfolio of ideas
to test and refine that portfolio of ideas
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through quick pursuit,
reflection and adjustment.
reflection and adjustment.
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It's about discovery-driven learning
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where you act, as opposed to plan,
your way to the future.
your way to the future.
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It's about design thinking where
you have that interesting combination
you have that interesting combination
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of the scientific method
and the artistic process.
and the artistic process.
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It's about running a series of
experiments, and not a series of pilots.
experiments, and not a series of pilots.
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Experiments are usually about learning.
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When you get a negative outcome,
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you're still really learning something
that you need to know.
that you need to know.
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Pilots are often about being right.
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When they don't work,
someone or something is to blame.
someone or something is to blame.
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The final capability
is creative resolution.
is creative resolution.
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This is about doing decision making
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in a way that you can actually combine
even opposing ideas
even opposing ideas
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to reconfigure them in new combinations
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to produce a solution
that is new and useful.
that is new and useful.
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When you look at innovative organizations,
they never go along to get along.
they never go along to get along.
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They don't compromise.
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They don't let one group
or one individual dominate,
or one individual dominate,
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even if it's the boss,
even if it's the expert.
even if it's the expert.
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Instead, they have developed
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a rather patient and more inclusive
decision making process
decision making process
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that allows for both/and
solutions to arise
solutions to arise
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and not simply either/or solutions.
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These three capabilities are why we see
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that Pixar is able to do what it does.
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Let me give you another example,
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and that example is the
infrastructure group of Google.
infrastructure group of Google.
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The infrastructure group
of Google is the group
of Google is the group
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that has to keep the website
up and running 24/7.
up and running 24/7.
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So when Google was about
to introduce Gmail and YouTube,
to introduce Gmail and YouTube,
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they knew that their data storage
system wasn't adequate.
system wasn't adequate.
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The head of the engineering group
and the infrastructure group at that time
and the infrastructure group at that time
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was a man named Bill Coughran.
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Bill and his leadership team,
who he referred to as his brain trust,
who he referred to as his brain trust,
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had to figure out what to do
about this situation.
about this situation.
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They thought about it for a while.
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Instead of creating a group
to tackle this task,
to tackle this task,
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they decided to allow groups
to emerge spontaneously
to emerge spontaneously
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around different alternatives.
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Two groups coalesced.
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One became known as Big Table,
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the other became known
as Build It From Scratch.
as Build It From Scratch.
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Big Table proposed that they
build on the current system.
build on the current system.
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Build It From Scratch proposed
that it was time for a whole new system.
that it was time for a whole new system.
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Separately, these two teams
were allowed to work full-time
were allowed to work full-time
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on their particular approach.
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In engineering reviews,
Bill described his role as,
Bill described his role as,
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"Injecting honesty into
the process by driving debate."
the process by driving debate."
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Early on, the teams were encouraged
to build prototypes so that they could
to build prototypes so that they could
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"bump them up against reality
and discover for themselves
and discover for themselves
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the strengths and weaknesses
of their particular approach."
of their particular approach."
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When Build It From Scratch shared
their prototype with the group
their prototype with the group
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whose beepers would have
to go off in the middle of the night
to go off in the middle of the night
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if something went wrong
with the website,
with the website,
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they heard loud and clear about the
limitations of their particular design.
limitations of their particular design.
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As the need for a solution
became more urgent
became more urgent
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and as the data, or the
evidence, began to come in,
evidence, began to come in,
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it became pretty clear
that the Big Table solution
that the Big Table solution
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was the right one for the moment.
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So they selected that one.
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But to make sure that
they did not lose the learning
they did not lose the learning
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of the Build it From Scratch team,
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Bill asked two members of that team
to join a new team that was emerging
to join a new team that was emerging
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to work on the next-generation system.
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This whole process took nearly two years,
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but I was told that they were
all working at breakneck speed.
all working at breakneck speed.
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Early in that process, one of the
engineers had gone to Bill and said,
engineers had gone to Bill and said,
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"We're all too busy
for this inefficient system
for this inefficient system
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of running parallel experiments."
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But as the process unfolded,
he began to understand
he began to understand
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the wisdom of allowing talented
people to play out their passions.
people to play out their passions.
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He admitted, "If you had forced us
to all be on one team,
to all be on one team,
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we might have focused on proving
who was right, and winning,
who was right, and winning,
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and not on learning and discovering
what was the best answer for Google."
what was the best answer for Google."
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Why is it that Pixar and Google
are able to innovate time and again?
are able to innovate time and again?
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It's because they've mastered
the capabilities required for that.
the capabilities required for that.
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They know how to do
collaborative problem solving,
collaborative problem solving,
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they know how to do
discovery-driven learning
discovery-driven learning
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and they know how to do
integrated decision making.
integrated decision making.
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Some of you may be sitting there
and saying to yourselves right now,
and saying to yourselves right now,
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"We don't know how to do
those things in my organization.
those things in my organization.
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So why do they know how to
do those things at Pixar,
do those things at Pixar,
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and why do they know how to
do those things at Google?"
do those things at Google?"
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When many of the people
that worked for Bill told us,
that worked for Bill told us,
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in their opinion, that Bill was one
of the finest leaders in Silicon Valley,
of the finest leaders in Silicon Valley,
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we completely agreed;
the man is a genius.
the man is a genius.
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Leadership is the secret sauce.
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But it's a different kind of leadership,
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not the kind many of us think about
when we think about great leadership.
when we think about great leadership.
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One of the leaders I met with
early on said to me,
early on said to me,
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"Linda, I don't read books on leadership.
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All they do is make me feel bad."
(Laughter)
(Laughter)
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"In the first chapter they say
I'm supposed to create a vision.
I'm supposed to create a vision.
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But if I'm trying to do something
that's truly new, I have no answers.
that's truly new, I have no answers.
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I don't know what
direction we're going in
direction we're going in
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and I'm not even sure I know
how to figure out how to get there."
how to figure out how to get there."
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For sure, there are times
when visionary leadership
when visionary leadership
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is exactly what is needed.
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But if we want to build organizations
that can innovate time and again,
that can innovate time and again,
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we must recast our understanding
of what leadership is about.
of what leadership is about.
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Leading innovation is about
creating the space
creating the space
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where people are willing
and able to do the hard work
and able to do the hard work
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of innovative problem solving.
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At this point, some of you
may be wondering,
may be wondering,
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"What does that leadership
really look like?"
really look like?"
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At Pixar, they understand
that innovation takes a village.
that innovation takes a village.
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The leaders focus on building
a sense of community
a sense of community
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and building those three capabilities.
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How do they define leadership?
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They say leadership
is about creating a world
is about creating a world
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to which people want to belong.
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What kind of world do people
want to belong in at Pixar?
want to belong in at Pixar?
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A world where you're
living at the frontier.
living at the frontier.
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What do they focus their time on?
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Not on creating a vision.
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Instead they spend
their time thinking about,
their time thinking about,
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"How do we design a studio that has
the sensibility of a public square
the sensibility of a public square
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so that people will interact?
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Let's put in a policy that anyone,
no matter what their level or role,
no matter what their level or role,
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is allowed to give notes to the director
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about how they feel
about a particular film.
about a particular film.
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What can we do to make sure
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13:14
that all the disruptors, all the
minority voices in this organization,
minority voices in this organization,
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speak up and are heard?
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And, finally, let's bestow credit
in a very generous way."
in a very generous way."
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I don't know if you've ever looked
at the credits of a Pixar movie,
at the credits of a Pixar movie,
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but the babies born during
a production are listed there.
a production are listed there.
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(Laughter)
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How did Bill think about
what his role was?
what his role was?
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Bill said, "I lead
a volunteer organization.
a volunteer organization.
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Talented people don't want
to follow me anywhere.
to follow me anywhere.
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They want to cocreate
with me the future.
with me the future.
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My job is to nurture the bottom-up
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and not let it degenerate into chaos."
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How did he see his role?
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"I'm a role model,
I'm a human glue,
I'm a human glue,
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I'm a connector,
I'm an aggregator of viewpoints.
I'm an aggregator of viewpoints.
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I'm never a dictator of viewpoints."
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Advice about how you exercise the role?
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Hire people who argue with you.
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And, guess what?
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Sometimes it's best to be
deliberately fuzzy and vague.
deliberately fuzzy and vague.
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Some of you may
be wondering now,
be wondering now,
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what are these people thinking?
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They're thinking,
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"I'm not the visionary,
I'm the social architect.
I'm the social architect.
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14:18
I'm creating the space where
people are willing and able
people are willing and able
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to share and combine
their talents and passions."
their talents and passions."
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If some of you are worrying now
that you don't work at a Pixar,
that you don't work at a Pixar,
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or you don't work at a Google,
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I want to tell you there's still hope.
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14:33
We've studied many organizations
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that were really not
organizations you'd think of
organizations you'd think of
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as ones where a lot of innovation happens.
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We studied a general counsel
in a pharmaceutical company
in a pharmaceutical company
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14:43
who had to figure out how
to get the outside lawyers,
to get the outside lawyers,
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14:46
19 competitors,
to collaborate and innovate.
to collaborate and innovate.
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14:48
We studied the head of marketing
at a German automaker
at a German automaker
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14:52
where, fundamentally, they believed
that it was the design engineers,
that it was the design engineers,
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14:55
not the marketeers,
who were allowed to be innovative.
who were allowed to be innovative.
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14:59
We also studied Vineet Nayar
at HCL Technologies,
at HCL Technologies,
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an Indian outsourcing company.
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15:05
When we met Vineet,
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15:06
his company was about, in his
words, to become irrelevant.
words, to become irrelevant.
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We watched as he turned that company
into a global dynamo of I.T. innovation.
into a global dynamo of I.T. innovation.
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15:16
At HCL technologies,
like at many companies,
like at many companies,
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the leaders had learned to see
their role as setting direction
their role as setting direction
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15:23
and making sure that
no one deviated from it.
no one deviated from it.
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What he did is tell them
it was time for them
it was time for them
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15:31
to think about rethinking
what they were supposed to do.
what they were supposed to do.
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15:34
Because what was happening
is that everybody was looking up
is that everybody was looking up
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15:37
and you weren't seeing
the kind of bottom-up innovation
the kind of bottom-up innovation
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we saw at Pixar or Google.
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So they began to work on that.
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They stopped giving answers, they
stopped trying to provide solutions.
stopped trying to provide solutions.
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15:48
Instead, what they did
is they began to see
is they began to see
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the people at the bottom of the
pyramid, the young sparks,
pyramid, the young sparks,
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the people who were
closest to the customers,
closest to the customers,
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15:58
as the source of innovation.
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They began to transfer
the organization's growth
the organization's growth
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to that level.
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16:07
In Vineet's language, this was
about inverting the pyramid
about inverting the pyramid
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16:10
so that you could unleash
the power of the many
the power of the many
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16:13
by loosening the stranglehold of the few,
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and increase the quality
and the speed of innovation
and the speed of innovation
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that was happening every day.
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16:23
For sure, Vineet and all the
other leaders that we studied
other leaders that we studied
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were in fact visionaries.
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For sure, they understood
that that was not their role.
that that was not their role.
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16:35
So I don't think it is accidental
that many of you did not recognize Ed.
that many of you did not recognize Ed.
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Because Ed, like Vineet, understands
that our role as leaders
that our role as leaders
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16:44
is to set the stage, not perform on it.
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If we want to invent a better future,
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and I suspect that's why
many of us are here,
many of us are here,
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then we need to reimagine our task.
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Our task is to create the space
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where everybody's slices of genius
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can be unleashed and harnessed,
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and turned into works
of collective genius.
of collective genius.
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Thank you.
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17:13
(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Linda Hill - Management professorLinda Hill studies collective genius -- the way great companies, and great leaders, empower creativity from many.
Why you should listen
Linda A. Hill is the Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. In 2014, Professor Hill co-authored Collective Genius: The Art and Practice of Leading Innovation. It features thick descriptions of exceptional leaders of innovation in a wide range of industries—from information technology to law to design—and geographies—from the US and Europe to the Middle East and Asia. Business Insider named Collective Genius one of “The 20 Best Business Books” in summer 2014.
She is the faculty chair of the Leadership Initiative and has chaired numerous HBS Executive Education programs, including the Young She is the co-author, with Kent Lineback, of Being the Boss: The 3 Imperatives of Becoming a Great Leader and Breakthrough Leadership, a blended cohort-based program that helps organizations transform midlevel managers into more effective leaders. Breakthrough Leadership was the winner of the 2013 Brandon Hall Group Award for Best Advance in Unique Learning Technology. The book was included in the Wall Street Journal as one of the “Five Business Books to Read for Your Career in 2011." She is also the author of Becoming a Manager: How New Managers Master the Challenges of Leadership (2nd Edition). She heads up Harvard's Presidents' Organization Presidents' Seminar and the High Potentials Leadership Program, and was course head during the development of the new Leadership and Organizational Behavior MBA required course.
Linda Hill | Speaker | TED.com