“The Wu-Tang Clan (pronounced /’wu?tæ?/) is a highly influential hip hop group from New York City … They have introduced and launched the careers of affiliated artists and groups … [and] About.com ranked them the number one greatest hip hop group of all time, and stated ‘No weapon … can rival the chaotic cohesion of the Wu-Tang Clan. The Clan had so many characters, each with his own eccentricities. They were fearless in their approach.’” – Wikipedia

When building a Creative team (or really any organization) it wouldn’t hurt to look to The Wu-Tang Clan for inspiration.

National Public Radio (NPR) ran a story the other day about The Wu-Tang Clan and their business and team architecture, so-to-speak. I never really put NPR and Wu-Tang together in my head before, but I was happy for the story and found it interesting. Parts of it were even relevant to my job.

Teams & Chaotic Cohesion

It’s the “chaotic cohesion” in the quote above that stands out to me as a Creative/UX/UI Designer. The ability to bring an ephemeral vision of a brand, site or product into being requires the cohesion of a smart and solid creative team. But there is inherent chaos in bringing that vision together when juggling technical, architectural, time,cost and client concerns.

That’s why you need to set your team up like The Wu-Tang Clan. A quote from the group’s 36 Chambers album that stands out to me:

Each Voltron member had its own robot-lion spaceship and special power that helped it defeat enemies of the galaxy. However, whenever one of those threats was too great for one member to overcome, the team would form into Voltron and defeat the attacker, bringing peace and tranquility to the galaxy once more… or something like that. The point is: each individual on a team was incredible, but it was the dynamic of the team together that got the job done.

“We form like Voltron and GZA happen to be the head You know what I’m sayin?”

Voltron was (and is):

A team of five young pilots commanding five robot lions which could be combined to form Voltron.

Form Like Voltron

Think of the great teams you’ve worked on over the years. So often, it wasn’t the pay or even the project that was necessarily the best part of working; it was the team around you who pushed you, “encouraged” you to work faster and better, made you more awesome —and got your back. Of course, there are times when working together can cause disagreements, but forming like Voltron is the only way big, revolutionary projects come to fruition.

Earlier we learned that GZA is the head of the Wu-Voltron. GZA is “The Genius,” the one with the vision. He, along with RZA, the Wu’s producer-extraordinaire, lay the roadmap but rely on the other 7 core members to be The Wu-Tang Clan proper.

Individually, each member of Wu can stand alone and produce brilliant work — and they do. However, it’s when there’s strong leadership and cohesion between team members that each member is pushed to shine to his fullest.

In the world of the Web, it takes Information Architects, Production Designers, Art Directors, and all the members of a team to produce brilliance in much the same manner. And often with the same soundtrack.