Our 3-D bespectacled crew: Brian Lubluban, Michael Cole, Liz Peterman, Jeff Woelker, Gary Slack, Dawn Perry, Maritza Valle, Josh Schober, Karianne Wardell, Lauren Buchman, Chad Whitt
In 2007, thanks to Economic Club of Chicago board member and Ariel Investments President Mellody Hobson, the great George Lucas graced the Club’s annual December dinner, an event that traditionally features a leading entertainment industry figure and the one dinner a year to which members are encouraged to bring their adult children.
Dreamworks Animation SKG CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg
This past Tuesday, Dec. 15, thanks again to Mellody, Dreamworks Animation SKG CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg mesmerized the 1,500-person audience at the Chicago Hilton & Towers with a history of movie animation and clips of past, current and upcoming 3-D movies, including some hilarious and touching scenes, respectively, from “Shrek Forever After” and “How to Train Your Dragon,” both slated for release in 2010.
Because our adult children don’t live here, I’ve begun a tradition, starting with the George Lucas dinner, of taking a full table at the December dinner and inviting many of the very talented young adults who work in our firm. The impressive group shown above includes experts in graphic design, web development, search marketing, media, social media, accounting and account management.
The official dinner program and a pair of the RealD cinema eyeglasses
I’d heard the evening would have a large audio-visual component (and budget), so I knew we were in for a treat. Not only did we have a theatre-size screen and projection, but the Club had placed a pair of RealD cinema eyeglasses at each seat. Being new to 3-D movies, I was floored by the effect and suddenly realized why this innovation, which has been around since the 1950s but improved dramatically by Dreamworks, is proving to be such a hit at the box office. Now I can’t wait to see “Avatar” this weekend.
In his formal talk and during the Q&A session, masterfully led by Club Chairman and Ariel Investments CEO John Rogers, Katzenberg repeatedly turned to an umbrella theme of innovation, citing how shifting to computer design helped save Disney Studios and how 3-D technology is driving creativity, growth and profitability at Dreamworks.
“Change is good,” Katzenberg said, “if you’re going to choose the path of innovation,” noting that success can breed complacency and that even Dreamworks has been caught flat-footed from time to time. Of his very public and litigated firing from his role as head of Disney Studios by Disney’s Michael Eisner in 1994, Katzenberg, who also cited Eisner as a mentor, likened this forced career change to a blessing in disguise.
Club Chairman John Rogers, a master at Q&A
In the extended, nearly 45-minute Q&A session, John Rogers made every minute count, with some 15-20 probing business and lifestyle questions for Katzenberg, whose answers were often as riveting as the 3-D scenes he showed us during his talk. Quite aware of the many young people in the audience, Katzenberg directed many of his responses to them: “You have to believe in yourself in order to expect others to believe in you.” When asked what single thing he’s done to insure a great culture, he commented, only half-jokingly, “ping pong tables.” As might be imagined, I’ve been getting an earful every day since Tuesday.
Addendum: To read more about Katzenberg’s talk to the Economic Club, check out Brad Spirrison’s “Tech Matters” column from the Monday, Dec. 21, issue of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Gary,
Thanks for that great summary. I wasn’t there but wish I were. Good for you in bringing along your young talent. Innovators like you like to keep ideas flowing! Thanks, Karen
What a fine group of people, Gary. So grateful to be part of this experience and be encouraged first hand by Katzenberg. Here’s to innovation and great ideas. Cheers!
Gary, thank you again for the opportunity to attend such a great event! I was particularly keen on Katzenberg’s comments regarding innovation and change. He cited the importance of evaluating and addressing failure early in the innovation process as a way to overcome obstacles. The fact that he encourages the assessment of failure is a concept that most of us want to avoid and yet has been a clear path to his success. I found this encouraging!
Gary, as a new transplant to Chicago, I was thrilled to be able to attend an event of this caliber. It was wonderful to get to see first-hand the level of business leadership that this city has to offer. Hopefully Katzenberg’s call for the fostering of innovation will be taken up by more companies/managers/individuals in our business community especially as we leave behind such a tough year and look to 2010 as a time of growth.
Hey, all. Brad Spirrison, my good friend, a fellow Economic Club member and the Monday morning “Tech Matters” columnist at the Chicago Sun-Times, devoted most of today’s column to Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Tuesday dinner address. Check it out at: http://www.suntimes.com/business/spirrison/1950345,CST-NWS-spirr21.article
Gary, thank you for inviting us to the dinner. It was a great experience being with coworkers, outside of the office; and with such a great speaker, it was easy to be inspired. When Mr. Katzenberg spoke about his career, he spoke with the facial expressions of a man who was not only happy but was thrilled to be doing what he does. He even said he felt like he never worked a day in his life; yet we all know he works long hours and many days without rest. It is people with that contagious passion that sparks the flame in the new generation of innovators, and rekindles the flame in others. He spoke with passion, but he also spoke with wisdom. What I took away from the evening was not to be afraid of change, failure, or small beginnings.