Skip to main content

Building a successful ecosystem

I have started reading this book, Creativity Inc by Ed Catmull the head of Pixar. And I have barely reached a few pages into it and it has already made for some great reading.

The question Ed attempts to answer is 'how to sustain a creative high performing culture' - so it is actually a practitioners perspective.So, far the book has made for some fascinating reading. It speaks of the managers role in maintaining an open culture and mulls over it and this is what I hope to get some more insight into.

I will write a longer post when done, but what is fascinating in the story of all the people in that era. Whether it is Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and many others - the role that their university and industry ecosystem played was simply amazing. Person after person talks of how that ecosystem fosters collaboration, deep dive research, experimentation and the hunger to do more.How does one create an ecosystem in ones own team - is it possible? What about the overweening culture of the company - is it fostering creativity or hierarchy? How does one do it in a city?  In Bangalore? How to create a culture of research? Of pushing boundaries? Does it start in industry or in colleges? (Because our colleges are hardly known for doing so, right?) What constitutes an ecosystem? Does it start on its own or does it need a catalyst(s)?

Much food for thought!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Be Civil. Make nice!

Popular posts from this blog

The power of jotting down ideas

 Long long ago, I always used to carry a small letterpad with me. To jot down ideas that might occur. Over the years, it has changed from a notepad to evernote to google keep, but the power of jotting down ideas is immense.  Small ideas go into keep.  Anything to be quickly typed goes into whatsapp as a self message.  Bigger or better formed ideas go into Google docs A few are still written, but I manage to copy them into a digital format sooner rather than later.  But the power of jotting down is immense. My google keep is an encyclopedia of ideas - most of which may never get implemented. 
Post a Comment
Read more

Why does elearning exist?

 Elearning is one of those niches that does not deserve to exist. Yes, it was a novelty 20 years ago, but not now. It cannot exist. But somehow it does. Disclaimer: I used to head a content team once upon a time. And I used to ask those whom I hired - tell me the last thing you learnt from an e-learning. The answer is - pretty much nothing (and this is a good decade ago).  Why?  If you want to learn a recipe, you go to Youtube, or Reels or something like that. If you are terribly old fashioned - as in, you read - then you go to a website and read the recipe and make it.  Most other things you learn by doing or learning on the job or asking an expert.  If you have to learn something in depth, then there are other ways.  So, where does e-learning fit in all this? E-learning is one of those products that the customer hates, but has no choice, because someone has decided it is the best way. For instance, you have to learn a new CRM or some other product - you w...
Post a Comment
Read more

And the unconference happened

 Most conferences have an agenda. No, not the stated agenda, but an agenda of marketing, airtime to sponsors, ensuring the past and future customers are invited, of ensuring that the "stars" of the industry are invited and attention showered of them. All in all it is a your scratch my back, I scratch your back syndrome. Some of these become cliques and claques and therefore the real point behind a conference is lost. And then there is the unconference - organised and run by the alumni of the ISABS ODCP program. And as the name suggests, this is truly an un-conference organised by the alumni, for the alumni. No funders - except the alumni themselves. No sponsors. Just the team.  I havent seen a more tastefully organised conference (yes, its an unconference).  To begin with - the location - not a typical star hotel, but an outdoorsy place. The food - simple. The welcome - personal. It was like a homecoming. The setting was warm and welcoming. It was a smaller conference. Ju...
Post a Comment
Read more