Makes you want to be one…

Guy Kawasaki has it good.  He gets to talk to all the cool people.  He recently interviewed one of the authors of a new book …  Mavericks at Work… Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win.  Polly Labarre is the co-author (with Bill Taylor) and he asked her 10 questions about the contents of the book.

What I found interesting is when he asked if Steve Jobs is a Maverick.  Ms. Labarre suggests that what made Steve Jobs a maverick was his approach to how employees were engaged at Pixar.  In her words…

"More than a few business pundits have modeled the corporation of the future on the Hollywood model of work: an ad-hoc collection of actors, producers, and technicians coming together around a script and financing and then disbanding when the film is finished. The problem with that model is that it allows for maximum flexibility and minimum loyalty. What’s more, it’s usually just when the film wraps that the people involved really figure out how to work together.

Turn that model on its head and you get Pixar’s version of the right way to make movies: a tight-knit company of long-term collaborators who stick together, learn from one another, and strive to improve with every production."

I’ll admit that I have read about the idea of the "studio" model and thought it was a good one.  This take on it makes a lot of sense too.  Especially if you’re interested in employee loyalty. 

So the question is how do you "create" that engagement?  Can you create it by putting people together and leaving them alone?  Or, is the real skill finding the right people first and then get out of the way?  Chicken/egg? 

I’ll bet the recruiting is more important.