Thursday, March 31, 2011

Empowered Creative People In Business: Steve Jobs, Jonathan Ive And Pixar

By Byron Jonas


The individuals and organizations that are prospering today prioritize creativity and innovation in their product design- and strategic choices. In a nutshell: they yield results through empowering creative people in business. Below are three cases that particularly illustrate this point: Steve Jobs, Jonathan Ive and Pixar.

Steve Jobs, co-founder and CEO of Apple Computers, is a name that most folks have heard. Mr Jobs' achievements, his industry-shifting, market-shaping concepts and strategies, his creativity in brand strategy, product deployment, the building of an exceptionally loyal user base, and often-controversial statements and decisions, provide enough material to fill several books. His example is a compelling case for emphasizing the role that innovative individuals play in the world of industry.

The following regards the results of two instances where Steve empowered the right individuals to become market-leaders and paradigm-shifters within their industries: employing Jonathan Ive and buying The Graphics Group, now known as Pixar. Ive's product design work at Apple and the work of the geniuses who make up Pixar have been revolutionary and the sheer creativity of their endeavors has spurred industry-wide changes.

The Apple iMac was the brainchild of genius design chief Jonathan Ive. Ten years ago, the 1st generation iMac, a revolutionary all-in-one desktop, became the highest-selling PC in the US shortly after its release. The current iMac is still a giant in the market, but Ive and his team have not been idle in the meantime. With the release of the iPod, then the iPhone and recently, the iPad, Apple has become not only a global household name, but a coveted consumer brand.

Industry-changing technology, Apple's (and Ive's) attractive design aesthetics, easy-to-use operating systems and customizable functionality (not to mention the massive success of the iTunes and App Stores) have made Apple's iDevices coveted status symbols.

Pixar's successful formula can be said to be a perfect blend of state-of-the-art technology, a deep appreciation for and prioritizing of the human element in every endeavor, artistic integrity and superior standards of quality. The company's stable of eleven (as of early 2011) astronomically-grossing animated feature films, modern company model and technological innovations have won scores of technical, business and creative awards from the most respected organizations in the field. Pixar bases much of their model on Frank Gehry's integrity-, talent- and creativity-prioritized 'Organization of the Artist'.

Empowering creative people in business will always be a good strategy for success. The luminaries described above have made massive technological and developmental contributions to their industries, and have developed new models for market strategies, trendsetting, management and best practices.




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