Authors of the award-winning book Collective Genius studied Pixar and other companies to figure out how they were able to innovate again and again. Special guest and co-author Greg Brandeau was there and has stories to share:
Thursday, July 28, from 12-1pm Eastern
In order to ensure an optimal experience for all of our participants, we will be limiting enrollment at this event. Additional spots are now available!
The research and insight from the book now fuel an interactive new learning experience for leaders that helps them activate new behaviors that support capabilities necessary for innovation to take place.
In today's world where disruption has become a way of life and innovation a critical link to survival for many organizations, it's more important than ever for leaders to be able to help their organizations innovate and transform.
What you'll learn:
- A framework for enabling both the culture and capability organizations need to drive and sustain innovation
- 6 paradoxes of innovation within which leaders need operate to simultaneously unleash and harness the creative potential in their organization
- 3 components of a culture that generates the willingness for individuals and groups to do the hard work that innovation requires
- 3 dimensions of capability that drive an organization's ability to deliver effective new solutions and insights and how to activate them
- 9 leadership behaviors that support change and set the stage for innovation
When Collective Genius came out in 2014 by co-authors Dr. Linda Hill, Greg Brandeau, Emily Truelove and Kent Lineback, it revealed some earth-shattering truths about how the leaders of innovative organizations were able to get results time and again. The book's premise: If you want a more innovative organization, you may need to change the way you lead.
Recent comprehensive research by Dr. Hill at Harvard has revealed a critical link between what they learned then about innovation and today's need for digital transformation: Both require this new kind of leadership.
The key insight: Great leaders of innovation don’t fit the conventional mold of “good” leadership. They’re not visionaries who set direction and inspire others to follow. Instead, they create the context in which others are both willing and able to innovate. As one leader said, “My job is to set the stage, not to perform on it.”
RSVP now to save your spot and join us on Thursday, July 28, 2022, from 12-1pm Eastern via Zoom as we celebrate and preview the new Collective Genius simulation from our thought leader partners at Paradox Strategies.
We'll hear from Collective Genius Co-Author Greg Brandeau, who was a leader during some incredible innovation at Pixar and Disney before he and 2 of his co-authors became founding partners at Paradox Strategies.
He'll share behind-the-scenes stories about what happens when hundreds of creative individuals need to meet the incredible challenges and technical demands of making the world's first feature-length computer-generated animated movie, then continue to innovate for blockbuster after blockbuster.
Helping leaders grasp new behaviors that support a culture of innovation is the premise for the simulation and its accompanying framework and learning journey, which includes a pre-work self-assessment, a pre-simulation kickoff session, and a post-simulation leader implementation guide with 6 action tools for enabling each of the 3 the key dimensions that activate your team's ability to innovate.
Also available are an optional keynote, organizational and leader assessments, strategy sessions, and reinforcement sessions.
At this online event, you'll be able to participate in some decisions as a leader at a fictitious global company to experience a taste of the simulation. The decisions you make with your team will either contribute to or diminish the key metrics of innovation depending on your chosen areas of focus.
Also leading the event will be Richard Hodge, an Advantage strategist who is also product developer for the simulation; Advantage Partner Carlos Vargas, who will manage the digital platform; and Advantage partners, who will assist with your experience in the breakout sessions.
For more information about the simulation, have a look at our 2-page overview: The Collective Genius Simulation or check out this online infographic with additional details.
The book and the stories behind the new simulation
Released in 2014, the book Collective Genius became an instant classic and was recognized with a rare Thinkers50 innovation award, The Axiom Prize and a McArthur Award.
The book contains vivid stories of leaders at companies including Volkswagen, Pfizer, Google, eBay, and others in addition to Pixar, the company that co-author Linda Hill said "came to serve as the touchstone for this project."
Three of its co-authors, Brandeau along with Dr. Hill of Harvard Business School and MIT scholar Emily Truelove, went on to become founding partners at Paradox Strategies, an Advantage Performance Group thought leader partner specializing in leadership, culture & innovation, and DEI learning initiatives.
About our guest speaker
Greg Brandeau is a founding partner of Paradox Strategies and co-author of Collective Genius: The Art and Practice of Leading Innovation. He is the former Chief Technology Officer for The Walt Disney Studios and Vice President of Technology for Pixar Animation Studios. Greg is an accomplished technology leader and veteran of Silicon Valley with more than 25 years of experience.
Early in his career, Greg worked with Steve Jobs at NeXT Inc. and served as Director of Operations for the company. NeXT was focused on creating powerful computers for business and educational purposes and ultimately sold to Apple Computer. Later, Greg joined another company that Jobs owned – Pixar. Initially, Greg served as the Vice President of Computer Operations.
In 2004, Greg became SVP of Technology. In his role, he oversaw the development of cutting-edge technology that established Pixar as an entertainment powerhouse, responsible for several of the highest grossing films of all time and winner of Academy Awards. Greg led the transformation of the digital “pens and pencils” that artists at Pixar used to create films, and improved the quality of the complex networks, financial systems, grid computing, and backup support for the company.
After the sale of Pixar to Disney for $7.4 billion, Greg became EVP and CTO of Disney Studios with responsibility for leading the development and implementation of technology strategies, innovations, and investments that supported film, music, and theatrical operations. Greg focused on developing a disruptive technology and execution strategies as well as acquiring and deploying technology investments that supported the Studio’s growth and development of visual content.
Among his other career milestones, Greg serves on the Board of Directors of Glu Mobile, Advisory Board of Infrascale and Calit2, and on the Visiting Committee of the Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Greg earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from MIT. After serving in the U.S. Air Force, he continued his education at The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, where he received an MBA.
