Name: Matthew Jackson's review of Creativity, Inc. by Amy Wallace
Item: Creativity, Inc.
Rating: 5
Author: Matthew Jackson

Amy Wallace

Ed Catmull

The co-founder and president of Pixar Animation Studios presents a distillation of the ideas and management principles he has used to develop a the company's successful creative culture, reflecting on how Pixar's commitment to specific values has involved a daily effort. 80,000 first printing.

Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

Creativity, Inc.

Ed Catmull Dr

As a young man, Ed Catmull had a dream: to make the worldâe(tm)s first computer-animated movie. He nurtured that dream first as a Ph.D. student at the University of Utah, where many computer science pioneers got their start, and then forged an early partnership with George Lucas that led, indirectly, to his founding Pixar with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter in 1986. Nine years later and against all odds, Toy Story was released, changing animation forever. Since then, Pixar has dominated the world of animation, producing such beloved films as Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Up, and WALL-E, which have gone on to set box-office records and garner twenty-seven Academy Awards. The joyousness of the storytelling, the inventive plots, the emotional authenticity: In some ways, Pixar movies are an object lesson in what creativity really is. Now, in this book, Catmull reveals the ideals and techniques, honed over years, that have made Pixar so widely admiredâe"and so profitable. Creativity, Inc. is a book for managers who want to lead their employees to new heights, a manual for anyone who strives for originality, and the first-ever, all-access trip into the nerve center of Pixar Animation Studiosâe"into the story meetings, the postmortems, and the âe~Braintrustâe(tm) sessions where art is born. It is, at heart, a book about how to build and sustain a creative cultureâe"but it is also, as Pixar co-founder and president Ed Catmull writes, âe~an expression of the ideas that I believe make the best in us possible.âe(tm)

Overcoming the Unseen Forces that Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

Creativity, Inc

Alexander Gerrese

Matthew Jackson

Yuval Shoshan

Colleen

Well, in the process of trying to edit my bookshelves, I apparently deleted my non-fiction shelve along with all the books on it, my reviews of them, and my quotes from them. I won't try to recreate my original review of this book, but I will say that I enjoyed it. It was very interesting how Catmull combined many different business models -such as Deming's- to come up with a custom model for nurturing creativity. Although at times it did seem more like a memoir, it was still fascinating. And there were a lot of really good quotes!

Anthony

This book was excellent. It's no surprise that Pixar is a stunning company but what goes into cultivating the creativity there is quite astounding. There have been plenty of ups and downs throughout Pixar's life cycle but look at the company that was born out of those struggles!

Ed Catmull is a terrific and engaging author. I don't know much about him at this point but would love to learn more. I'll have to re-listen to his episode of the Tim Ferriss podcast.

Finally, I really enjoyed hearing more about Steve Jobs' role at Pixar. It was briefly touched upon in his bio (which was splendid) but Ed brought another level to that. The words written at the end of the book, about Steve, almost had me crying.

Great book, would recommend!

Matthew Royal

Musings on how to focus an organization on creativity rather than the typical fears and games of most businesses. How to sustain a creative culture as an organization grows. Lots of humility from the head of Pixar, and also a perspective on Steve Jobs that's useful, rather than worshipful or derisive.

Cristian Garcia

One of the most insightful books on business and creativity I have read. The story is sustained on methods, frameworks and freedom at the same time. Really valuable reading.

Keven Wang

I was surprised by the management content for this book about creative cultures.

From Ed Catmull, co-founder (with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter) of Pixar Animation Studios, the Academy Award–winning studio behind Inside Out and Toy Story, comes an incisive book about creativity in business and leadership—sure to appeal to readers of Daniel Pink, Tom Peters, and Chip and Dan Heath. Fast Company raves that Creativity, Inc. “just might be the most thoughtful management book ever.” Creativity, Inc. is a book for managers who want to lead their employees to new heights, a manual for anyone who strives for originality, and the first-ever, all-access trip into the nerve center of Pixar Animation—into the meetings, postmortems, and “Braintrust” sessions where some of the most successful films in history are made. It is, at heart, a book about how to build a creative culture—but it is also, as Pixar co-founder and president Ed Catmull writes, “an expression of the ideas that I believe make the best in us possible.” For nearly twenty years, Pixar has dominated the world of animation, producing such beloved films as the Toy Story trilogy, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Up, WALL-E, and Inside Out, which have gone on to set box-office records and garner thirty Academy Awards. The joyousness of the storytelling, the inventive plots, the emotional authenticity: In some ways, Pixar movies are an object lesson in what creativity really is. Here, in this book, Catmull reveals the ideals and techniques that have made Pixar so widely admired—and so profitable. As a young man, Ed Catmull had a dream: to make the first computer-animated movie. He nurtured that dream as a Ph.D. student at the University of Utah, where many computer science pioneers got their start, and then forged a partnership with George Lucas that led, indirectly, to his founding Pixar with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter in 1986. Nine years later, Toy Story was released, changing animation forever. The essential ingredient in that movie’s success—and in the thirteen movies that followed—was the unique environment that Catmull and his colleagues built at Pixar, based on leadership and management philosophies that protect the creative process and defy convention, such as: • Give a good idea to a mediocre team, and they will screw it up. But give a mediocre idea to a great team, and they will either fix it or come up with something better. • If you don’t strive to uncover what is unseen and understand its nature, you will be ill prepared to lead. • It’s not the manager’s job to prevent risks. It’s the manager’s job to make it safe for others to take them. • The cost of preventing errors is often far greater than the cost of fixing them. • A company’s communication structure should not mirror its organizational structure. Everybody should be able to talk to anybody. Praise for Creativity, Inc. “Over more than thirty years, Ed Catmull has developed methods to root out and destroy the barriers to creativity, to marry creativity to the pursuit of excellence, and, most impressive, to sustain a culture of disciplined creativity during setbacks and success.”—Jim Collins, co-author of Built to Last and author of Good to Great “Too often, we seek to keep the status quo working. This is a book about breaking it.”—Seth Godin From the Hardcover edition.

Nast Marrero

I’m updating my score from 4 to 5, years after I read it. This book was great food for thought and it has kept coming to mind as inspiration for many different challenges.

I guess my initial 4 ⭐️ was in part due to how the book feeds the mythology of the Silicon Valley entrepreneurship pantheon.

But despite that, this narration is full of insight and edifying reflections about creativity and collaboration.

Tomek Skupiński

Its a good read, there is more about business approach then Pixar story itself so some people might be disappointed. I really liked it, there are few good points on how to create creative environment.

Mudita

It was an amazing read to help me set some standards and aspirations for future workplaces as a designer. Got a little boring for me halfway through but picked up pace when the part on the Pixar-Disney merger came up.

Nelson Zagalo

Magical. This is the only word I can find to describe what I felt reading this roller-coaster non-fiction book. Amazing, thrilling, emotional, and highly inspiring. This is a book that any lover of animation will adore, more even if you love Pixar movies. 

But more important than that, this is a book that every manager of creative companies should read and re-read. I know this is asking too much, but it should be obligatory in every MBA. It'll not be, because it professes such a different philosophical perspective of what a company is, and what it must be. However people in the business domains should stop and look at the legacy of Pixar, and question why the hell Pixar has not yet made one single flop movie? A book that brings the entire story of Pixar into the open, sharing the entire secret of its success, shows immediately what kind of vision is behind these minds!

Thanks Ed Catmull, thanks for the legacy, and thanks for this amazing book.

Análise do livro em maior profundidade em português: http://virtual-illusion.blogspot.pt/2...

Les secrets de l'inspiration par le fondateur de PIXAR

Wouter ter Keurs

Immens inspirerend en bomvol praktische tips en uitleg om creatieve bedrijven te laten floreren. Op driekwart bijna te droog, maar dat duurt niet lang. Prachtige voorbeelden uit het oeuvre van Ed Catmull, John Lasseter, Steve Jobs, Pixar én Walt Disney Animation.

Ugis

Difficult to describe. Was interesting, but not too exciting. Some inspiration and some good points, but felt a bit too extended. It was more like an autobiography in context of Pixar. So not really what the title says, nevertheless a good read. [reading time: 11h44m]

Volkan Yorulmaz

Rather than trying to prevent all errors, we should assume, as is almost always the case, that our people’s intentions are good and that they want to solve problems. Give them responsibility, let the mistakes happen, and let people fix them. If there is fear, there is a reason—our job is to find the reason and to remedy it. Management’s job is not to prevent risk but to build the ability to recover.

There are many management tips in this book similar to the one aboe. For more, please read:

https://myhighlightz.blogspot.com/201...

Nadine 

I'd come across the idea of the brain trust before in other management literature about Pixar, and this book gave some background and more about the type of dynamic inside Pixar that made it so special. One of the most interesting sentences in the book are where Steve Jobs was reflecting on how the power of the story and creations would outlast technology that ended up on a scrap heap. I think that's very telling.
What I liked a lot was the combination of visionary and creativity with the imperative of delivering a product at a manageable cost and while keeping relationships intact. Also the idea of candor as opposed to honesty and how to create an environment of tough but respectful and meaningful feedback. There is also a healthy respect for the need for change and how have environment where people could move forward without fearing failure, since there was a lack of personal recrimination.

ANDREW BRYK

Erin Noel

Powerful perspective on leading creative organizations

This will be a book I return to again and again throughout my career. It is chocked full of experience and wisdom that demonstrates the least and more effective approaches for getting the best out of a creative organization.

Sloan, Kara

Not entirely what I was hoping for in this book, although the story of how Pixar came to be and grew was entertaining. Good thoughts on management, especially for a creative company. But all in all a bit longer than needed, and more for management/business side of things and less cerebral than I was hoping for. (Although I acknowledge the two are interconnected.)

Nat Welch

Really interesting read both providing a nice history of Pixar and some ideas on how to foster creativity in the work place.

Meredith Rose

If ever there was a book that deserved 6 stars, it's this one! I went into Creativity, Inc. thinking I would learn a few practical but somewhat boring lessons about management techniques. I was so wrong! Yes, this book has a lot of great management advice and lessons, but it also offers so much more than that.

For a glimpse into what all this book has to offer (which is a lot), continue reading. If you want my overall impression and the most important takeaway, skip to the last paragraph!

Creativity, Inc. teaches general life lessons (the importance of honesty, how to stay humble, why failure is a good thing, etc.); it has lessons for writers (how to craft meaningful stories, the importance of teamwork to story development, how to trust yourself through the writing process, etc.); it even offers lessons in history (the development of Pixar as an animation studio, a brief look at Disney Animation Studios, the partnership between Steve Jobs and Pixar, Ed Catmull's personal and professional journey, and even the origins of the Internet, etc.). 

As I read through this book, I felt that I needed four different color pens in which to underline: of course, one color pen for my professional, PR/management self to underline the many lessons in management, marketing, and organizational culture; a second color pen for my personal self to underline general life lessons and inspirational aphorisms; a third color pen for my writer self to underline lessons in plot, character, and setting development; and a fourth color pen for my history self to underline historical lessons of all kinds. 

And now that I think about it, even a fifth color pen (glittery gold) in which to underline perhaps the coolest parts of this book: when Catmull gives personal glimpses into the conception and development of several beloved Pixar movies. I was utterly captivated by Catmull's description of the story and design changes - both big and small - that my favorite Pixar movies went through before their release!

It has been hard to summarize this long, grand book in one short review. The most important thing to know is that it isn't your typical manager's self-help book. It is an enjoyable, relevant, and insightful read for anyone interested in creativity, management, writing, design, history and more. As the silhouette of Buzz Lightyear on the jacket suggests, Creativity, Inc. covers everything to infinity and beyond!

Francisco Gusmão

By the end of the book you realize you read a management book while it seemed you were reading some friend’s story written on a letter. The author’s lessons are no more than the hard experiences he went through and what he learned with them. His messages gets through, and you close the book feeling prepared to lead your own company.

Nikolay Bachiyski

Problem-solving at its best. The problem at hand is how to build a sustainable creative culture:

“What had drawn me to science, all those years ago, was the search for understanding. Human interaction is far more complex than relativity or string theory, of course, but that only made it more interesting and important; it constantly challenged my presumptions.”

The book follows the path of Pixar, Inc. Along the way Ed Catmull (one of its founders) both reveals the core of what's needed for few hundred people to work together to build a great product and shares a lot of tactics that either did or not work for Pixar itself.

If you work or play with groups of people of two or more, I would recommend you have a look at Creativity, Inc.

You might also want to check out Dave Martin’s 36 Things You Might Take Away From “Creativity, Inc.”

Magdalene Lim

Lance Willett

I enjoyed the book but couldn't focus on it much past the halfway mark.

Here's an more in-depth review from my friend and former colleague Dave Martin: http://davemart.in/2015/02/04/36-thin...

Things I noted down:

How his job at Pixar wasn't just technical. The human side was also challenging. "... not just solving technical problems, but learning about sound management principles."

Thesis of the book: "There are many blocks to creativity, but there are active steps we can take to protect the creative process."

The best managers:
1. Make room for uncertainty. Humility is a virtue.
2. Loosen controls; not tighten.
3. Accept risk.
4. Trust people they work with — and clean the path for them.
5. Pay attention to anything that creates fear.
6. Admit what we don't know.

Another thesis: "This book is about the ongoing work of paying attention — leading by being self-aware."

Cool life philosophy: "I've been searching all my life for better ways of seeing."

Andrew Marti

Sustaining a creative culture is hard, requiring constant, uncomfortable evaluation of projects, from yourself and (more importantly) your peers. Pixar Studios and their founder, Ed Catmull, built an environment to encourage creativity through a constant adherance to what encourages creativity. One method was these regular, uncomfortable evaluations, which were vital for an open culture and the creation of a string of animation classics. 

These evaluations, called Braintrusts, brought tough scrutinty to their projects. Catmull described a process of "constructive criticism" in the Braintrusts, where ideas are presented in a constructive manner to build, not to destroy. The purpose of the Braintrust was not to dictate or tell filmmakers what to do. Instead they inserted different points of views and questions into the thought process to ensure that the product was a strong as possible. 

The formula for the Braintrusts was simple: Put smart passionate people in a room and empower them to solve problems in a candid manner.

Catmull also describes how important fear is to an organization. All great and new ideas are scary. An organization must be mature enough to nuture these new ideas. Catmull calls these new ideas his 'babies' and says his job is to "protect our babies from being judged too quickly."

Chaos is also an important catalyst to creativity. An organization that tries too hard to structure or compartmentalize creativity is likely to lose it. Catmull desribes how Disney Animation Studios fell into this trap. Upon the merger of Disney and Pixar, Catmuall and his colleague John Lasseter introduced Pixar techniques into the Disney process to encourage a culture of creativity. The results have been impressive, with Disney studios on an amazing roll, most notably with the success of "Frozen". 

The sucess of "Frozen" is directly attributable to the processes Catmull describes here. "Creativity, Inc" is full of interesting insights that can be applied to any team or organizations that aspires to ensure a constant flow of creativity.

Matthew Jackson &
Creativity, Inc. by Amy Wallace

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