What a doctorate in collaboration taught me about filmmaking

Helping others and investing in networks really does pay off

My research topic for my doctorate in business leadership was about collaboration through online social networks and how it leads to increased innovation and improved problem solving. Before gathering my primary research data, I had to absorb all I could from the canon of scholarly literature about leadership, collaboration, social networks and a dozen or so other broad topics. This was a wonderful refresher on many great ideas about leadership, the strength of weak ties, information sharing and the power of helping others.

My primary research involved an extensive survey of individuals who used online social networks, as well as in-depth interviews with senior managers who had attempted to embrace the use of online social networks in their organizations. My research was able to show that people and organizations that used social networks to collaborate and share information were able to solve problems more effectively and were more innovative as a result.

Many of the lessons from my thesis research are universal in nature, and now that I am a filmmaker, I see how the truths of my research really play out in film directing and the business of film production. Let me share some of my insights:

1. Leadership happens at all levels. On a film set, good ideas can come from anywhere, and it is the job of the director to encourage those ideas to flow. It’s true that we have to make our days and move fast, but little is lost and much is gained by creating a culture where people can share ideas. In my experience, sharing the problems I am encountering with the team almost always results in a great new idea.
2. Connected people are innovative people. The more we are connected to other people around the world, the greater the brain trust we have to draw upon. People who are strong investors of time and effort into their connections are more likely to be able to come up with cool ideas or solutions to problems, because they have helped others in the past, and those people will help them back. Give more than you take.
3. Leaders are increasingly called upon to be brokers of both knowledge and connections. Especially valuable are those who can join previously unconnected clusters of people and knowledge. This is why it is very helpful for filmmakers to know all aspects of the filmmaking process themselves, but also to know networks of people who have knowledge in all the different areas. Be a boundary spanner.
4. Weak ties are more powerful than strong ones. This area of research has shown that a near-stranger, with whom you only have a weak connection, will actually be willing to help you more than someone who is closer and more connected to you. It may seem counter-intuitive, but developing weak ties with many people in far flung parts of the world will result in a more helpful network overall. Reach out globally.

I got to have a first-hand experience of many of these truths over the course of making many films in recent years. One that stands out for me is the feature film “Breathe Easy” which was a global collaboration of filmmakers from around the world who connected up via social media, and produced individual segments of the film in their home countries that all rolled up into an amazing final product,  setting some new records for collaboration in film. For me personally, that was such a huge payoff for all the years I put into my doctorate, because I got to see my findings come to life in the filmmaking world that I love!

For more about the ideas in my thesis, you can read the whole thing via the link here, or get a PDF copy of the book I wrote afterwards, “Collaborative Intelligence,” here. Happy collaborating to you!

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