Mattel’s Ted Wu discusses the artistic and business success roadmap plotted out in the new book, “Hot Wheels: The Creative Drive.”
Last summer, I lived out my 10-year-old self’s wildest dream. While writing the new book, Hot Wheels: The Creative Drive, I got to roam Mattel’s design studio, which is part Willy Wonka factory, part museum, part Frankenstein’s lab. One of the many brilliant people I met there is Ted Wu, SVP of Hot Wheels and Global Head of Vehicles and Building Sets at Mattel. In 23 years at the company, Ted has produced TV shows, run marketing around the globe and led design. Now he oversees a business that produces hundreds of millions of vehicles a year, and Hot Wheels is coming off eight straight record years. Ted joined me on How Success Happens to talk about his toy car career journey, and we’ve broken down five highlights to help fuel your personal success.
Ted has bounced between creative and business roles, and he says both sides want the same thing: a great product. But a gorgeous idea that ignores business realities never sees the light of day. “We are artists, but we’re not just artists, we are designers,” he told me. ” For Hot Wheels, that might mean shortening a cool tail fin so it survives a three-year-old’s grip, or cleverly finding a gap in the car’s shell so that a flashlight held up to it makes the headlights appear to glow. Takeaway: Before you fall in love with an idea, write down the real-world limits it has to live within, and design for them from day one.
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