Producing and Managing Teams with Jodi McLaughlin
This article, written by Rosie Willoughby, summarises the content of Jodi McLaughlin’s NextGen Showcase presentation from 29 July 2024. Jodi McLaughlin is a former Executive Producer at Walt Disney Imagineering, 2023 TEA Master, and is part of this year’s NextGen Showcase Client Panel.
In this session, Jodi explains how the role of the producer fits into the lifecycle of a themed entertainment project, and offers advice on the key attitudes which will set teams up for success.
Jodi has a background in art history and set design for film and music videos, until she landed a position for set design at Disneyland Paris. From there, she found her calling in Producing, which she remained in until her retirement as an Executive Producer.
Charting the Course
Producing is about charting the course for the project to move down. Jodi, referencing Ed Catmull’s book Creativity Inc., compares it to driving a train. It’s not about driving the train, it’s about controlling how the track is laid.
Charting the Course; from chaos to clarity
From the exploration of the blue-sky phase, you must refine the broad ideas into feasible possibilities for how those ideas could be developed. Artwork will move from establishing a general feeling to defining specific features, the story will be clarified, and the land itself will be planned for how guests will engage with the space. It is in the early phases that the gem of the idea is created, with all the elements interacting with one another. Producers are there to guide this decision making.
“The producers’ role is to help ensure that those interdependencies are being driven by the creative intent, that this creative intent is driving the decision-making, and that the people in the room are defining the experience through quantifiable design intent.” - Jodi McLaughlin
At the ‘Clarity’ stage, we see an alignment between the design, delivery and strategies. Here, the producer, project manager and creative director commit to the finalised concept together. It’s the producer’s job to make sure that - returning to the train metaphor - the track remains clear. They must maintain balance between the priorities of scope, schedule and budget.
Critical Thinking
Critical thinking, Jodi says, is the ability to interpret, evaluate and analyse the available information and facts in order to form a judgement on something. With this judgement, one can make decisions and solve problems.
As a producer, you must sift through priorities and data (budget, timelines, themes, targets etc.) using your critical thinking skills, and put them together in a cohesive manner; one that can chart a course for the project's development.
Doing the job
Next, Jodi takes us through some of the key attitudes that are essential to project management.
Harness the vision: define what you are trying to do, understand why you are doing it
Cast the team: find the right people to get the project to where it needs to go
Keep your eye on the prize: find your target and make sure that every decision moves you towards achieving it.
Know that things get messy: provide the team with guideposts, and make sure they know that you are looking out for them when there are unexpected roadblocks.
Feed the beast: know what needs to happen and when. Make sure you’ve got a planner who can map out the different steps.
Keep things real: be honest with the team about the challenges facing the project. Make sure you’re being responsible with the schedule and budget. Balance the instinct to be daring without the risk of becoming reckless.
Be decisive: using your critical thinking skills, make informed decisions about the project that you can communicate effectively to your team in a way that builds trust.
Collaborate - cajole - reconcile: make sure you have a healthy team dynamic by rooting out tension and conflict.
Manage risk: create a safety net to protect against unexpected risks.
Celebrate the triumphs: big and small accomplishments are important. You can celebrate the successes of individuals, the whole team, and the progress of the project.
Ultimately, producing is about a balancing act. Balancing priorities, targets, personalities and team members in order to achieve success in a project.
After this presentation, Jodi opened the floor to questions, offering tangible advice to participants which will help them advance into the next phase of the program.
Jodi recommends:
Creativity Inc. by Ed Catmull
We at NextGen Showcase would like to express our gratitude to Jodi McLaughlin for her contribution to our Educational Program as a Speaker. Thank you! For more information on the NextGen Showcase Educational Program, go to: NextGenShowcase.com
This article was written by our Editor, Rosie Willoughby.
