🎬 From Set to Strategy: What Hollywood Can Teach Us About the Future of Work
Project-based teamwork and AI are reshaping how we get things done
This issue is the first in a two-part series focused on a new way of working. I use Hollywood as an analogy for how companies are rethinking the traditional departmental model and using project-based teams and AI to produce better outcomes. The next issue (coming in two weeks) outlines a four-part framework design to improve production and ensure people don’t get lost along the way.
When you think about how movies get made, what comes to mind? Glitz, glamor, maybe the red carpet. But behind the scenes, Hollywood runs on a powerful and surprisingly relevant model for the modern workplace—one that businesses are starting to mirror more and more.
It’s not about departments or rigid hierarchies. It’s about assembling the right talent for the job, getting the work done, and then moving on.
Welcome to the "Hollywood model" of work and its corporate cousin, the work chart.
🎥 Lights, Camera, Collaboration
In Hollywood, every film is a standalone project. A producer brings together a crew of specialists—the director, cinematographer, production designer, screenwriter, actors, and editors—each one selected based on the story's requirements.
These professionals often don’t work for the same company. Many are freelancers, independents, or part of small firms.
They don’t belong to permanent departments. They’re brought in to solve a creative challenge together.
And once the movie wraps? They go their separate ways until the next project calls.
It’s an incredibly agile, purpose-built model.
🗂️ Goodbye Org Chart, Hello Work Chart
That’s exactly what’s happening in the workplace today.
Traditional org charts, with departments, titles, and reporting lines, aren’t built for the speed and complexity of modern business. Instead, forward-thinking companies are shifting to work charts, where:
Cross-functional teams form around a specific goal (a product launch, campaign, or AI rollout).
Individuals are selected for their expertise, not their department.
The team dissolves once the work is done and reconfigures as new priorities emerge.
Like a film crew, teams are temporary but tightly aligned around an outcome.
It’s not about who you report to. It’s about what you’re building and who can help create it.
🔁 The Hollywood-Work Chart Parallels
Both models thrive on agility, specialization, and outcome-focused—three traits critical in a rapidly evolving marketplace.
🤖 The AI Factor: Accelerating the Shift
Now layer in AI.
With AI automating repetitive tasks and speeding up execution, human teams are being freed to focus on what machines can’t do well:
Strategic judgment
Emotional intelligence
Creative problem-solving
Interpersonal collaboration
In this new iteration, organizations don’t need large, permanent teams. They need nimble, project-based ensembles who can flex in and out depending on the mission at hand.
AI may become the backstage crew handling lighting cues and set changes, but humans? We’re the cast and crew delivering the performance.
🧠 Rethinking Talent and Teamwork
The work chart model doesn’t just benefit organizations. It empowers people.
Employees aren’t boxed into one department. They become contributors across many roles, applying their talents to diverse challenges.
Like a cinematographer might shoot a big-budget film, then a passion project, then a commercial, knowledge workers will find themselves solving real problems across different domains.
It’s dynamic, human-centered, and increasingly AI-enabled.
🎬 The Credits Roll… and Then Reset
So, what does this mean for your business?
That building the future of work might not look like building a bigger organizational chart. It might look more like casting a film:
Define the mission.
Assemble the right people.
Empower them to collaborate.
Deliver the outcome.
Then get ready for the next story.
And thanks to AI, the stage is set for more fluid, efficient, and human-first teamwork than ever before.
The script is changing, and we’re all part of the production this time.
The Hollywood model is similar to the one I use in my other business: Prescriptive Writing. I’ve transformed it from a service-oriented to a systems-based approach to fit the AI era.
I use AI to assist humans in producing outcomes that get results. Whether you are a marketing agency or an in-house content team, I can help you install a full workflow that uses AI-human collaboration. Contact me to learn more.
Sounds a lot more active and interesting than the more traditional work environment, I would say this helps to keep staff/specialists on their toes because they work to the completion of the project rather than for a company.
You’ve highlighted just how reasonable a producer has to be, the same as a contractor who is on a fixed term position.
I like the metaphor, Paul.
Paul, this resonated deeply. Your analogy of Hollywood’s agile, project-based teams formed around specific goals is compelling and timely.
Interestingly, I've been exploring a similar concept through what I call the "Greenhouse Model", where teams intentionally step away from traditional structures for one day every two weeks to form around purpose-driven projects. In this environment, diverse and seemingly random combinations of skills aren’t accidental, they’re intentional features, enabling creativity and adaptability.
Both the Hollywood Model and the Greenhouse Model highlight a fundamental rethinking of how work is structured in the AI age:
Efficiency → Adaptability
Control → Empowerment
Rigid Roles → Fluid Teams
Measurement → Meaning
This alignment feels powerful, clear, and actionable, providing leaders and teams with a tangible way forward amid the complexity and speed of the AI-driven landscape.
I’d love your thoughts on this. Do you see additional connections or practical ways these ideas might enrich each other even further?
Thanks again for the thoughtful insights, I eagerly look forward to your next installment.