{"id":6154,"date":"2015-10-22T09:29:32","date_gmt":"2015-10-22T13:29:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=6154"},"modified":"2015-10-22T09:33:19","modified_gmt":"2015-10-22T13:33:19","slug":"creativity-inc-ed-catmulls-story-of-pixar-working-with-creatives-steve-jobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=6154","title":{"rendered":"Creativity, Inc. – Ed Catmull’s Story of Pixar, Working with Creatives, & Steve Jobs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"untitled\"<\/a>\"IMG_0223\"<\/a>Photo Credit: Amazon.com<\/a> (l)\u00a0& Deb Mills (r)<\/p>\n

Dave, the husband in\u00a0my<\/em> story, has always pointed me in the direction of transformative books and\u00a0learning experiences. That path converged with this year’s Global Leadership Summit<\/a> and Ed Catmull’s Creativity, Inc<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bill Hybels interviewed Ed Catmull about his role in co-founding Pixar Animation Studios and pioneering the field of computer animation. Now President of Pixar Animation and Disney Animation, he has an extraordinary story to tell of leading creatives in innovative film-making. Mr. Catmull’s wisdom and humility can be well-applied in\u00a0any workplace situation.\"Blog<\/a>Photo Credit: brainpickings.org<\/a><\/p>\n

“Science and art are not incongruous. Art isn\u2019t about drawing; it\u2019s about learning to see. Which business or professions do you not want to have enhanced ability to see?”<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

During this interview at GLS15, he talked about the business processes he uses in film-making. We can relate\u00a0this level and quality of \u00a0accountability in any organization or company:<\/p>\n

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  1. Teams working together<\/strong> (using a Brain Trust – a group of colleagues all acting as peers, with vested interest, giving feedback;<\/li>\n
  2. When failures happen in production\u00a0– embracing [failure]<\/strong> but at the same time dealing with it with both total candor and kindness<\/strong>; and<\/li>\n
  3. Operating within constraints<\/strong> (a budget) – actually pushes creativity higher and delivers better outcomes.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    “Stories influence the world. We want to use story-telling for good.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Listening to Ed Catmull talk about leading at Pixar and Disney whetted our appetites to read his book Creativity, Inc.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    Originally, Mr. Catmull worked in the computer graphics department of Lucasfilm, in the beginning years of computer animation. In his book, he tells about his incredible journey in those early years right through to today. It was a wildly bumpy road at first and the work was almost sidelined had it not been for Steve Jobs buying Pixar from Lucasfilm.<\/p>\n

    Toward the end of the book, Catmull writes about Steve Jobs. They worked together for over 25 years, and the Jobs he knew was a much more complex and lovely man than who we knew through other media. A tribute full of “candor and kindness” – as much about how Ed Catmull sees people as about the\u00a0amazing leader that was Steve Jobs.<\/p>\n

    Whatever your work, you want to read this book. Catmull describes how he modeled openness, confidence in,\u00a0and care for his employees. There\u00a0are trust builders and wide gates for innovation\u00a0woven into Pixar’s business processes. Whatever our sphere of influence is, we can all learn to be\u00a0more effective leaders as we think through how Catmull leads.<\/p>\n

    At the end of Creativity, Inc.,<\/strong> <\/em>there are 5 pages of bulleted principles that Mr. Catmull encourages as starting points for critical thinking. Here are just a few:<\/p>\n