Creativity, Inc.

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.

It's a very good book if u are looking to enhance ur management skills and want to learn about what kind of challenges people face in a creative company and how to nurture ur people.

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

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.

I am a long time Pixar fan (I am sure most of the people who consider this book will be) and so buying this book was a no brainer.What I loved about this book is the authority and honesty with which this book is written. It is not a book in which Pixar is shown as a wonderland where everything is perfect. This book shows the efforts it truly takes to build a creative team and culture.The fact that Pixar as a company is popular helps when it comes to understanding the anecdotes and instantly connecting with them.What helps this book the most is that it is written by an insider and an insider with a lot of authority to speak about the company. It is not written by a journalist or a author who has to take lot of permissions to access the material / archives of the company and has to get the material approved by the company before it goes to print.It is straight from the heart of someone who believes in the power of creative culture and teams and it shows.I would recommend it to anybody who is interested in any kind of team management.

Insights in this book will shape up any organization. We hope to build a better organization with these insights. Great Book.Thank you Mr. Ed.

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.

Exceptional book about leadership and how to create a supportive culture for a growing company. Tremendous book that I am recommending to my friends and colleagues.

Ainda lendo, mas o livro te leva pra uma aventura de criatividade! Ótima leitura e ensinamentos.

Ha soddisfatto le mie aspettative.

Absolutely fantastic. Ed gives great guidelines on how innovative and creative organisations should be managed.As mentioned in the title his self awareness and modesty fill every page, he gives examples of where Pixar have even had it wrong at times but then details how focusing on the importance of taking the learnings from these situations made them constantly improve.There’s also some great stories of Steve Jobs in there. I found these very interesting as you rarely hear what he was like outside of the Apple world.Essential reading for managers.

Excelente libro. A todo el que esté en un ambiente de gestión de equipos o que tenga que ver con temas de creatividad y generación de ideas se lo recomiendo mucho. Más que una historia sobre Pixar, es un recuento de experiencias para ejemplificar cómo generar un ambiente donde la gente se sienta cómoda y se propicie la creatividad para tener un desempeño más eficiente.En cuanto a la calidad del libro, es de primerísima calidad y llegó en poco tiempo y buenas condiciones