Imagine this: your next L&D programme doesn’t start with a slide deck or a spreadsheet. It starts with a story.
There’s a nervous but determined character (your employee). A mission they didn’t fully sign up for (new tech, new strategy, new manager). A cast of quirky supporting characters (their team). Some epic failures. A personal breakthrough. And eventually — after growth, reflection, and maybe a montage — they emerge more confident, capable, and connected to something bigger.
If that sounds like the plot of a Pixar movie… it is. And if Pixar ran your L&D strategy, your training wouldn’t feel like another checkbox. It would feel like an experience. A transformation. A journey.
At DCo, we love a thought experiment — especially one that challenges how learning should feel. So let’s ask:
What if Pixar designed your L&D programme?
Act 1: Start with the Character Arc, Not the Learning Outcome
Pixar doesn’t write stories about what characters do. They write about how characters change.
Buzz Lightyear doesn’t just learn he’s not a real space ranger — he goes from arrogant solo hero to loyal team player. Joy learns that sadness isn’t the enemy, but essential to growth. These arcs drive everything else.
Yet in corporate L&D, we often focus first on content: “They need to learn X.” What if we started instead with the transformation? What shift do you want this person to go through — in confidence, mindset, behaviour?
DCo tip: Build your training around an emotional arc. What’s the moment of challenge? The aha? The struggle? Design activities that let people feel their way through change — not just read about it.
Act 2: Embrace Feedback Loops (and a Lot of Iteration)
Every Pixar film goes through thousands of changes. They storyboard, test, fail, refine. Feedback isn’t an afterthought — it’s the engine of quality.
Compare that to most corporate training: written once, delivered forever, measured by attendance. It’s a world away.
Case in point: One DCo client in healthcare wanted to improve decision-making confidence in new managers. Instead of rolling out a static module, we designed a series of animated leadership “shorts” with branching paths. Based on learner choices, the story changed — and so did the consequences. We ran test groups, used analytics to track where learners hesitated or clicked “back,” and iterated content weekly.
Result? 86% reported they’d used something from the training in the same week. Because it evolved with them.
DCo tip: Treat your L&D content like a draft. Build in feedback, update often, and see what lands emotionally — not just cognitively.
Act 3: Storytelling > Slides
Pixar knows that humans remember stories, not bullet points.
If your L&D strategy is packed with facts, frameworks, and acronyms, ask yourself: is anyone emotionally invested? Stories give learning stickiness. They turn theory into something people can see, feel, and share.
Example: For a fast-scaling fintech, we replaced a dry compliance module with a scripted drama that followed two fictional team members navigating grey areas of ethical decision-making. Told in podcast form, with cliffhangers and character development, it became a topic of team discussion — not just an e-learning box to tick.
DCo tip: Bring your training to life through narrative. Use characters, conflict, and curiosity to pull learners in. And don’t be afraid to be a little entertaining.
Bonus Scene: Make It Visually (and Emotionally) Compelling
Pixar doesn’t make PowerPoints. They create rich, visual universes that people want to explore.
Learning environments — digital or physical — should do the same. Think interactive journeys, colourful metaphor worlds, or even gamified missions. Emotional connection isn’t fluff; it’s how people learn deeply.
DCo tip: Work with designers and behavioural scientists to create environments that spark imagination. Consider how emotion drives memory. A sense of play, vulnerability, or pride can take a module from forgettable to transformative.
The Pixar Pitch: Could You Summarise It Like a Movie?
Pixar has a simple template called “The Pixar Pitch”:
Once upon a time…
Every day…
Until one day…
Because of that…
Because of that…
Until finally…
What if every L&D programme had to pass this test?
Here’s one:
Once upon a time, our managers avoided giving feedback.
Every day, their teams got more frustrated.
Until one day, we created a programme where they practised giving feedback to animated characters.
Because of that, they felt safer to try it in real life.
Because of that, confidence soared.
Until finally, feedback became a team norm — not a taboo.
Simple. Emotional. Memorable.
The End (Or Just the Beginning)
Training shouldn’t be a chore. It should be a compelling narrative that draws people in, makes them feel something, and leaves them changed.
If Pixar designed your L&D programme, it would be:
- Character-led
- Emotionally resonant
- Feedback-rich
- Visually engaging
- Iterative and alive
Sound good?
DCo: Your Story Starts Here
At DCo, we don’t do boring training. We create experiences that stick — and stories your people want to be part of.
Whether it’s:
- Designing behaviour-led learning journeys
- Building feedback cultures that grow from the inside
- Or crafting coaching programmes with true narrative power
We’re here to help you flip the script.
Let’s talk — and reimagine your L&D programme as something worthy of the big screen.
