Creativity, Inc.：Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

NEWYORKTIMESBESTSELLER“Whatdoesitmeantomanagewell?”FromEdCatmull，co-founder(withSteveJobsandJohnLasseter)ofPixarAnimationStudios，comesanincisivebookaboutcreativityinbusiness—suretoappealtoreadersofDanielPink，TomPeters，andChipandDanHeath.ForbesravesthatCreativity，Inc.“justmightbethebusinessbookeverwritten.”Creativity，Inc.isabookformanagerswhowanttoleadtheiremployeestonewheights，amanualforanyonewhostrivesfororiginality，andthefirst-ever，all-accesstripintothenervecenterofPixarAnimation—intothemeetings，postmortems，and“Braintrust”sessionswheresomeofthemostsuccessfulfilmsinhistoryaremade.Itis，atheart，abookabouthowtobuildacreativeculture—butitisalso，asPixarco-founderandpresidentEdCatmullwrites，“anexpressionoftheideasthatIbelievemakethebestinuspossible.”Fornearlytwentyyears，Pixarhasdominatedtheworldofanimation，producingsuchbelovedfilmsastheToyStorytrilogy，Monsters，Inc.，FindingNemo，TheIncredibles，Up，andWALL-E，whichhavegoneontosetbox-officerecordsandgarnerthirtyAcademyAwards.Thejoyousnessofthestorytelling，theinventiveplots，theemotionalauthenticity：Insomeways，Pixarmoviesareanobjectlessoninwhatcreativityreallyis.Here，inthisbook，CatmullrevealstheidealsandtechniquesthathavemadePixarsowidelyadmired—andsoprofitable.Asayoungman，EdCatmullhadadream：tomakethefirstcomputer-animatedmovie.HenurturedthatdreamasaPh.D.studentattheUniversityofUtah，wheremanycomputersciencepioneersgottheirstart，andthenforgedapartnershipwithGeorgeLucasthatled，indirectly，tohisfoundingPixarwithSteveJobsandJohnLasseterin1986.Nineyearslater，ToyStorywasreleased，changinganimationforever.Theessentialingredientinthatmovie’ssuccess—andinthethirteenmoviesthatfollowed—wastheuniqueenvironmentthatCatmullandhiscolleaguesbuiltatPixar，basedonphilosophiesthatprotectthecreativeprocessanddefyconvention，suchas：•Giveagoodideatoamediocreteam，andtheywillscrewitup.Butgiveamediocreideatoagreatteam，andtheywilleitherfixitorcomeupwithsomethingbetter.•Ifyoudon’tstrivetouncoverwhatisunseenandunderstanditsnature，youwillbeillpreparedtolead.•It’snotthemanager’sjobtopreventrisks.It’sthemanager’sjobtomakeitsafeforotherstotakethem.•Thecostofpreventingerrorsisoftenfargreaterthanthecostoffixingthem.•Acompany’scommunicationstructureshouldnotmirroritsorganizationalstructure.Everybodyshouldbeabletotalktoanybody.•Donotassumethatgeneralagreementwillleadtochange—ittakessubstantialenergytomoveagroup，evenwhenallareonboard.PraiseforCreativity，Inc.“Overmorethanthirtyyears，EdCatmullhasdevelopedmethodstorootoutanddestroythebarrierstocreativity，tomarrycreativitytothepursuitofexcellence，and，mostimpressive，tosustainacultureofdisciplinedcreativityduringsetbacksandsuccess.Pixar’sunrivaledrecord，andthejoyitsfilmshaveaddedtoourlives，giveshismethodthemostimportantvalidation：Itworks.”—JimCollins，co-authorofBuilttoLastandauthorofGoodtoGreat“Toooften，weseektokeepthestatusquoworking.Thisisabookaboutbreakingit.”—SethGodin