Steve Jobs vs Email?
October 31st, 2011 // 8:13 pm @ Jim // No Comments
Does email Subvert Creativity? Steve Jobs thought so. In this quote from his biography by Walter Isascson, Steve expresses his concern for company cultures and physical spaces that discourage face-to-face meetings:
‘”There’s a temptation in our networked age to think ideas can be developed by email and iChat” he said. “That’s crazy. Creativity comes from spontaneous meetings, from random discussions. You run into someone, you ask what they’re doing, you say ‘Wow’ and soon you’re cooking up all sorts of ideas.”‘
So in designing Pixar’s new headquarters, he insisted that it be designed to promote encounters and unplanned collaborations. When the building was completed, Pixar’s co-founder, John Lassiter, said Steve’s theory worked from the day the building opened. From day one, he kept running into people he hadn’t seen in ages, even though they’d worked in the same company for years!
How does your company promote informal collaboration?
Category : Blog
