Comments on: The Seven Samurai Guide to Team Building

By: Smashing Through Creative Blocks with Lateral Action

Smashing Through Creative Blocks with Lateral Action — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:02:07 +0000

[...] Chock full of solid articles, you’ll find fantastic case studies (How to Succeed in Hollywood; The Kurt Cobain Guide to Startup Success), engaging interviews/talks (Is Everyone Creative?; An Interview with Hugh MacLeod, Cartoonist) and incredibly useful resources (The Top 10 Social Networks for Creative People; The Seven Samurai Guide to Team Building). [...]

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:56:30 +0000

Thanks Ryan. As Hugh says, "Power is never given. Power is taken."

By: Ryan Hanley

Ryan Hanley — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:33:07 +0000

“Takeaway: Without a leader, how will you find followers? Seth Godin tells us leaders don’t lead because they have charisma – they have charisma because they lead. So what’s stopping you?”

I really like this thought. Successful leadership is not given as a present. You must want it. In business and life.

This is great stuff.

Thank you,

Ryan H.

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:14:32 +0000

Adam, Kenji , David – I think you’ll find the DVD a great investment of time and money. Writing this post was the perfect excuse for me to watch it again!

Adam – Yes, we creatives like to think of ourselves as edgy and outsiderish, but if you spend all your time with edgy outsiders it can start to feel a little cosy…

Jenny – A little angst goes a long way.

By: David

David — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:13:38 +0000

Thanks for this great set of insights. Really enjoyed!! Will now go and get the video version of the movie as well.

By: Kenji Crosland

Kenji Crosland — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:52:58 +0000

Wow, excellent post. Not only is Kurosawa one of my favorite directors, but I’ve been thinking of building a team for one of my current projects for some time now. I’m going to watch this movie again when it comes to building my own team. Thanks for this.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:10:30 +0000

I love diversity = creativity as well. Sometimes you need a little angst to push you on down the road.

I recently was able to get some sweet business cards and (pending) a new custom header down for my site in exchange for helping a friend rework his cover letter resume. Much better exchange than the $70 – $80 I would have gotten otherwise.

By: Adam Di Stefano

Adam Di Stefano — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:52:28 +0000

I think my two favourite lessons in here are “don’t take no for an answer” and “diversity = creativity.”

The first because it’s a basic tenet of sales, but most creative types haven’t learned it yet, and should. The second because it’s far too easy to get comfortable with like-minded people and never push your boundaries.

Thanks for the great post, Mark, and thanks for reminding that I’ve been meaning to watch 7 Samurai for a while now.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:30:00 +0000

Thanks Biagio, I do go on about intrinsic/extrinsic motivation, but I really believe it’s critical to success – creatively and in terms of working relationships and team spirit.

By: Biagio

Biagio — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:13:30 +0000

Terrific points, Mark! What a great post.

In my line of work (producing TV and film) every take-away you listed is crucial, but if I had to only pick one, I’d go with your first example. Choose people in it for the intrinsic versus the extrinsic…the one’s working for the fun of it.

Making a TV show or film requires LONG days, manual labor, lousy locations, uncomfortable conditions–you get the point. Anyone who gets in “the biz” just to make money or “take a job” ends up being the biggest pain-in-the-you-know-where by about hour 4 of day 1.

In the interest of keeping this reply short, I chose that point to comment on. But you list reads like a blueprint for success on any Hollywood set.