Book review: "Creativity, Inc." by Ed Catmull
This is an untypical management book. Aside of the fact that it is very well written, it is full of insights that you can actually relate to and use. It makes sense, and unlike other management books that “make sense” because they preach obvious trivialities, this one brings up points that are truly insightful.
Ed Catmull managed Pixar, which is an animated movie studio. His stories and examples are thus those of a movie studio manager. However, each message he conveys lends itself easily to interpretation in any other domain that requires creativity. When reading the book, you can feel that the author has some serious mileage as a manager and that he did learn a thing or two before going to write about it.
Finally, the book presents an image of Steve Jobs which is quite different than the image that other writers drew of him. Jobs was as talented and as assertive of an individual as first advertised, but after reading “Creativity, Inc.” one realizes that aside of his occasional harsh attitude towards the people he worked with, he had softer, well meaning sides; he was actually a friend.
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Suzie Nien on :
For someone like me who have watched all animation movies produced by Pixar will try not to treat this book as regular management tool but a book to get closer to how they create those beloved films insde Pixar!
Ed did put efforts and has great senses for management, so he can face fears and failures calmly, lead employee how to make it safe to take risks! I still have to say, even Ed wrote “Making something great is the goal” , it actually just presents the sprint of Steve Jobs who did this in his entire life. (so I can have both iPhone and Pixar to cheer up my life for years)
Quoted what Neil Gaiman (author of “The Ocean at the End of the Lane”) said at school graduation (I also take it for myself): "Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.
Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, Do it.
Make your mistakes, next year and forever."