What We Learn from Pixar
March 27, 2012 § Leave a Comment
Steve Jobs’ impressive and lengthy biography describes many twists and turns across a career that included the co-founding of the personal computer industry and the total transformation of the mobile phone product category. After a lost decade, Jobs’ big turnaround came from two unlikely protagonists–Woody and Buzz Lightyear. As much as anyone else, these two Toy Story characters – created under the Pixar umbrella – resurrected a career that appeared to be abandoned on the scrap heap of high tech careers.
At the heart of the story, was a central belief that every object – living and inanimate – had an essence or a purpose that went beyond the immediate perception. For those of us who create things, communicating that central purpose is vital to realizing the potential of the creation. Obviously, the ability of Pixar to communicate this essence was the key to their billion dollar financial success.
At Preventice, we create technology that helps to provide a better understanding of the underlying DNA that connects patients with their doctors and health care providers. We will succeed as a company to the extent that we can extract that DNA and inject it into the solutions that we build. I am convinced that the singular focus that Pixar had on its characters works well for any company that is creating something new.
Given the enormity of the gap created by patients who fail to hold up their end of the health care contract, the creation of ways to close that gap is our primary principle. If we can do this, it could be paramount to launching more than a couple of Toy Story like franchises.
