Pixar University

via 37 Signals:

The operation has more than 110 courses: a complete filmmaking curriculum, classes on painting, drawing, sculpting and creative writing. “We offer the equivalent of an undergraduate education in fine arts and the art of filmmaking,” [Randy Nelson, dean of Pixar University,] said. Every employee — whether an animator, technician, production assistant, accountant, marketer, or security guard — is encouraged to devote up to four hours a week, every week, to his or her education.

Randy Nelson is adamant: these classes are not just a break from the office routine. “This is part of everyone’s work,” he said. “We’re all filmmakers here.

This reminds me of another company that follows a similar policy: Zappos.

At Zappos, customer-service employees don’t use scripts and aren’t pressed to keep calls short. Hsieh says customer loyalty is so important to the company culture that the call center and headquarters have to be in the same place — Las Vegas. Every new hire spends four weeks as a customer-service rep and a week in the Kentucky warehouse before starting work. Staff is treated well: Health insurance premiums are 100% company-paid (though employees contribute to dependents’ premiums). All 650 employees, from execs to warehouse workers, get a free lunch every day.

Emphasis mine
For Zappos, it’s customer service that differentiates them from everyone other shoe dot com, so why not inculcate that throughout the organization?

Southwest gets everyone pitch in to clean planes and help with customer service. Apple drowns itself in design meetings. I wonder if there is one singularly overwhelming theme that Microsoft, Dell, Sony, or others commit to?