Creativity, Inc. (L)

Ed Catmull, President and co-founder (with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter) of Pixar Animation Studios, deserves a standing ovation for writing such a candid, inspiring and creative nurturing book. This book is indeed a guiding handbook for all the managers and leaders who want to build a creative, happy, collaborative and progressive successful organization, irrespective of what industry they belong to. Creativity Inc., lists methods and various strategies that invokes and fosters creativity, and robust work culture. Pixar was not an overnight success, it was tested against time not once but several times, some of those problems may have very well led to going south rather than the success it is basking in. It was no easy or overnight execution of vision that led to its success. The acknowledgement of its leaders about their own shortcomings, execution style and thoughtful solutions that were applied upon it to overcome these hurdles is what imparted throughout the chapters. I thank Ed for giving us such a wonderful insight on his world of movies, where our dreams are built, animated and brought to life. Going forward, each time when I will watch Buzz, Nemo or Rapunzel, among others, my mind will wonder as to what went through those Braintrust meetings! For Pixar gave us what we need to see, how did they read my mind? Last but not the least, his Afterward on Steve Jobs, gives us an insight to a wonderful, dedicated, loyal and thoughtful person that we all respect to the core. A perfect homage to one of the most loved persons of this century.

I am not a great fan of books written about a great company / companies. Most of the lists churned out turn out to be lemons over a period of time. From Tom Peters ( remember 'In search of excellence) to Jim Collins ( Good to Great / Greater / Greatest'grandest'and the multiple titles that he authored)'.they write books with an outsider's perspective ' of all the good to great things that these companies do in innovation / customer service / branding / leadership building s etc., The guys who wrote the books never worked inside the companies'.they do not have a first-hand feel for the pains of building world class companies'.mostly successful and prolific authors / journalists or the McKinsey types'.riding the gravy train of somebody else's success. When they are written by the founders / builders of these companies'it is a different story altogether. Remember reading a great book called 'Joy Inc' by Richard Sheridan about a medium sized software products company called Menlo Systems. It was a class act ' a straight from the heart story of a CEO on what it takes to build a highly engaged company. Creativity Inc is a notch above. It is multiple stories woven together'.it is the story of Ed Catmull and his dreams'.and PIXAR '.redefined computer animation and graphics'and produced a series of block busters ( think Toy Story 1 and 2, Think Monsters, Think Finding Nemo'the list is endless)'15 Academy awards, 11 Golden Globes and 7 Grammys and gave Disney Animation a run for their money and their tired tales of Alice in Wonderland, Snow White etc., A whole generation of Americans ( not just kids !) grew up on these newly created characters, their quirky stories and the home truths spun around them'.almost like the ancient Disney stories but set in the modern world and integrating it into the complexities of the new world'. It is also the story of the birth of the 3D Graphics and Computer animation'.and the history and coming of age of these movies'.and the role of hi-tech in entertainment. Concurrently it is also the story of the men (strangely no women in this) who defined a genre which holds on and getting stronger in spite of multiple other slicker franchisees. We go thru the lives of some of the greatest entertainers post Walt Disney'..Starting off from George Lucas, then to John Lasetter and Ed Catmull'and how after merger with Disney'.it is the story of Disney and Pixar combined together but run autonomously by Catmull under the watchful eye of Robert Iger. It is also a great book on how to build great companies'.how to build creative companies'whose value is as much as the collective imagination and motivation of its employees'.the insightful stories of the successes of Catmull and Lasetter in ensuring that an animation company which is a marriage of Technology and Creativity'sustains where neither is swamped by the other'but each function builds on the strengths of the other'..the chapters on Brains Trust, Post Mortems, Story Telling are a must read for anyone who is leading people'.how to build high performance companies and sustain them'.this autobiographical book is like a Bible'.Ditto with the chapters post the Disney acquisition'Read it to appreciate the subtle nuances the author is so sensitive about organizational issues'.and how he carefully navigates the egos and anxieties' And finally'this is a book about Steve Jobs'..who got in as the promoter of the company and bought it from George Lucas'.and the autonomy and independence he provided to Ed Catmull and John Lasetter'through the trying times in the beginning'to its humongous success later.'.and gave birth to an industry'of hi-tech computer animation, 3D graphics and yet narrating simple goofy tales'contrary to the stories of the brilliant but tyrannical Jobs'which comes out from the Apple related books, Steve Jobs comes out pretty well'as a genius'who could appreciate other intelligent and creative people'and challenge them to greater heights. A natural question people would may be tempted to ask is how much of the creative genius of Steve Jobs played a role in the growth and success of PIXAR'.think we should spin the question around and ask 'How much of the creativity and innovation so well nurtured in PIXAR played a key role in shaping Job's genius and its eventual success on a much larger canvas called APPLE Inc ? Normally I look down on management / how to books'I would classify this book more as the story of individual dreams and how you build and nurture them'..Read it'you will be wiser and also get a first-hand feel for hi-tech and the world of entertainment'and the efforts required to fuel and sustain it.

ok book. At some points, it seemed like author gave too much unnecessary praise to Pixar guys..bit of a drag.. Would recommend to managers working in creative field

One of the best eye opening books I’ve come across.

Anyone who are familiar with Pixar movies will love this.

Catmull's very engaging, story-telling, style presents essential leadership principals in a format that makes it seem like an older friend giving sage advice about what to do and what to not do to form a creative organization. The insight into the inner workings of the history and major projects at Pixar is a revelation. I had to read this as part of a doctorate program in educational leadership. The whole time i was reading i never felt i was doing an assignment, or a labor-it is a fascinating and completely enjoyable education in model leadership and creative process.

Not only does the book reveal the creative aspect of animation, but also it convincingly takes the reader through a journey of leadership, teamwork and struggle pertaining to the startup life. It beautifully describes how each movie is made with love, blood, sweat and tears to bring to life endearing characters and captivating imaginary worlds, while acknowledging how external factors, too, conduce to the destiny of the movie...and of life in general. Any entrepreneur, aspiring or established, investing in a creative venture must pick up this book and challenge his/her core values to pave way for improvement, both in his/her business and life. I could go on and on lavishing praises upon this book, but I would recommend going through the beautiful philosophy of this book on you own terms and conditions. Happy reading!

Good

Defintively worth buying. It changes your entire view on pixar, but also and most importantly on the creative industry or any kind of industry. It lends you insight into one of the most unconventional and succesfull companies and the evolution of computer grafics. Even of you don't understand s**t about economy or managing or filmmaking or computers (like me) it's easy to understand and interesting to read and changes a lot of your preconcieved ideas. The only downside is the price. It costs thrice as much as the spanish version which is odd and I discovered too late.

Importance of vision and passion. Always think that "I understand it, perfectly!", but it reminds me one more. It gives me hundreds of insight about organization management, simultaneously. Thank you Ed. This is "must-have" and "must-read" for all executive.

Creativity Inc: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in The Way of True Inspiration is the intertwined stories of Ed Catmull and Pixar Animation. It’s more than that, though. It may be the best book you’ll ever read about how leaders and organizations can make it possible for people to use their whole creative brain power. I know that’s a bold statement. Here’s why I make it. There is a vast literature out there about how individual people can tap into their natural, God-given creativity. There’s no one best book in this crop, but if you find one that works for you, that one’s the best as far as you’re concerned. There’s not a lot about how organizations and leaders can unleash creativity and most of it is platitudes on parade. We’re told to “fail fast and fail often” as if failing was the point. It’s not. Learning is the point. We’re told to tell people they should not be afraid to fail. What nonsense. Nobody likes to fail, and if they’re afraid to fail, it’s not their fault. It’s yours. We’re also given that advice as if there is an alternative to doing creative cutting-edge work without getting it wrong, mostly at the beginning. There isn’t. That’s the way the world works. Some writers do a better job on this by talking about ways you can structure things so that a failure is more likely to be seen as a learning experience and where criticism and bad news can be received as gifts rather than attacks. But there’s precious little in those books about how you actually make it work and then keep it working over time. Creativity Inc is different. The primary reason is Ed Catmull and his willingness to talk about the details of both his and Pixar’s journeys. Here’s what I consider the key quote from very early in the book. “What makes Pixar special is that we acknowledge we will always have problems, many of them hidden from our view; but we work hard to uncover those problems, even if doing so means making ourselves uncomfortable; and that when we come across a problem, we marshal all of our energies to solve it.” Early in the book, Catmull tells the story of a table in a meeting room at Pixar. The table, evidently, looks like most of the tables in most meeting rooms that I’ve been in. It was rectangular. Most of us have heard that tables with that shape aren’t exactly symbols of an egalitarian culture and that they stifle open discussion. But we keep meeting around those tables. So did Pixar. “Over the course of a decade, we held countless meetings around this table in this way – completely unaware of how doing so undermined our own core principles.” When Catmull and his crew become aware of the effect of the table, they change it. Good for them. Then they discover that there are other behaviors that may have been linked to the table originally but continue after the table is changed. For example, on the old table there were place cards indicating where people sat. Powerful people at the ends, junior people toward the middle. The new square table removed the power of shape but the place cards had become common practice, too. So, when Catmull came into the room for a meeting around the new table, he found place cards indicating where everyone should sit. That is the book in a nutshell. Catmull covers a lot of ground and many topics, but the core book is about how he, John Lasseter, and other people at Pixar, uncovered problems and worked to solve them, nurtured creative energy, and dealt with the inevitable conflicts and surprises. Every organization that I’ve ever worked with or visited has had similar issues. One problem putting together the review for this book is that it is simply riddled with wisdom. So, rather than give you the standard chapter summaries that I put in most reviews, I’m going to list each of the four sections and name the chapters that are in it, then share some quotes from that section. I’m sure that when you read the book, you will find your own insightful bits that are different from mine. Part 1 is called Getting Started. The four chapters, Animated, Pixar Is Born, A Defining Goal, and Establishing Pixar’s Identity, tell the story of Ed Catmull and Pixar up until the success of “Toy Story.” "I also didn’t yet know that my self-assigned mission was about much more than technology. To pull it off, we’d have to be creative not only technically but also in the ways that we worked together." "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. As we made more movies, I would learn that some of my beliefs about why and how Pixar had been successful were wrong. But one thing could not have been more plain: Figuring out how to build a sustainable creative culture—one that didn’t just pay lip service to the importance of things like honesty, excellence, communication, originality, and self-assessment but really committed to them, no matter how uncomfortable that became—wasn’t a singular assignment. It was a day-in-day-out, full-time job. And one that I wanted to do." Part 2 is titled Protecting the New. That’s a theme that will run through the book from here on. The chapters are: Honesty and Candor, Fear and Failure, The Hungry Beast and The Ugly Baby, Change and Randomness, and The Hidden. “Because early on, all of our movies suck. That’s a blunt assessment, I know, but I make a point of repeating it often, and I choose that phrasing because saying it in a softer way fails to convey how bad the first versions of our films really are. I’m not trying to be modest or self-effacing by saying this. Pixar films are not good at first, and our job is to make them so—to go, as I say, ‘from suck to not-suck.’ This idea—that all the movies we now think of as brilliant were, at one time, terrible—is a hard concept for many to grasp” “So if your primary goal is to have a fully worked out, set-in-stone plan, you are only upping your chances of being unoriginal.” "One of the biggest barriers is fear, and while failure comes with the territory, fear shouldn’t have to. The goal, then, is to uncouple fear and failure—to create an environment in which making mistakes doesn’t strike terror into your employees’ hearts." "If you don’t try to uncover what is unseen and understand its nature, you will be ill prepared to lead." Part 3 is titled Building and Sustaining. There are only two chapters: Broadening Our View and The Unmade Future. "This third section of the book is devoted to some of the specific methods we have employed at Pixar to prevent our disparate views from hindering our collaboration. In each case, we are trying to force ourselves—individually and as a company—to challenge our preconceptions." "Companies, like individuals, do not become exceptional by believing they are exceptional but by understanding the ways in which they aren’t exceptional. Postmortems are one route into that understanding.” Part 4, titled Testing What We Know, also has just two chapters. They are A New Challenge and Notes Day. "The future is not a destination—it is a direction." One more thing. Steve Jobs played a critical role in Pixar’s success and Ed Catmull has included an afterword called The Steve Jobs We Knew. My friend, Bob Sutton, has said that Steve Jobs is something of a Rorschach test for people. You see what you think you see, and other people see the same thing and interpret it differently. My problem has always been that most of the views of Jobs freeze him in time and they don’t indicate any growth or maturity. No one as intelligent or introspective as Steve Jobs would have stayed the same for his entire life. What I loved about the afterword is that it not only gave a unique view of Jobs as both a business partner and a friend, but also talked about his growth during his life. Bottom Line Creativity Inc: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in The Way of True Inspiration is a great book about creativity and about how to lead an organization. More importantly it is the very best book I’ve ever read about unleashing the initiative and creativity of people in an organization.

The first couple of chapters were the tonic I needed to get inspired in my chosen idea I am attempting to accomplish. Then the author talks about how to be a manager of a company, moral and ethical standards regarding managerial issues at the workplace. I will continue reading the book at some point. But I was more interested in the author having close interaction with great entrepreneurs aka Steve Jobs and George Lucas

This book is fantastic and full of well thought out concepts that would work for any industry but especially those in entertainment. I’ll be transferring my learnings to my game team for sure!