Creativity, Inc.

Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

Ed Catmull, Amy Wallace | 4.45 | 63,468 ratings and reviews

Recommended by Mark Zuckerberg, Timothy Ferriss, Ezra Klein, and 24 others. See all reviews

Ranked #3 in Movie Biography, Ranked #5 in Creativity — see more rankings.

“What does it mean to manage well?”
From Ed Catmull, co-founder (with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter) of Pixar Animation Studios, comes an incisive book about creativity in business—sure to appeal to readers of Daniel Pink, Tom Peters, and Chip and Dan Heath. Creativity, Inc. is a book for managers who want to lead their employees to new heights, a manual for anyone who strives for originality, and the first-ever, all-access trip into the nerve center of Pixar Animation—into the meetings, postmortems, and “Braintrust” sessions where some of the most successful films in history are made. It is, at heart, a book about how to build a creative culture—but it is also, as Pixar co-founder and president Ed Catmull writes, “an expression of the ideas that I believe make the best in us possible.” For nearly twenty years, Pixar has dominated the world of animation, producing such beloved films as the Toy Story trilogy, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Up, and WALL-E, which have gone on to set box-office records and garner thirty Academy Awards. The joyousness of the storytelling, the inventive plots, the emotional authenticity: In some ways, Pixar movies are an object lesson in what creativity really is. Here, in this book, Catmull reveals the ideals and techniques that have made Pixar so widely admired—and so profitable.

As a young man, Ed Catmull had a dream: to make the first computer-animated movie. He nurtured that dream as a Ph.D. student at the University of Utah, where many computer science pioneers got their start, and then forged a partnership with George Lucas that led, indirectly, to his founding Pixar with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter in 1986. Nine years later, Toy Story was released, changing animation forever. The essential ingredient in that movie’s success—and in the thirteen movies that followed—was the unique environment that Catmull and his colleagues built at Pixar, based on philosophies that protect the creative process and defy convention, such as:

• Give a good idea to a mediocre team, and they will screw it up. But give a mediocre idea to a great team, and they will either fix it or come up with something better.
• If you don’t strive to uncover what is unseen and understand its nature, you will be ill prepared to lead.
• It’s not the manager’s job to prevent risks. It’s the manager’s job to make it safe for others to take them.
• The cost of preventing errors is often far greater than the cost of fixing them.
• A company’s communication structure should not mirror its organizational structure. Everybody should be able to talk to anybody.
• Do not assume that general agreement will lead to change—it takes substantial energy to move a group, even when all are on board. less

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Reviews and Recommendations

We've comprehensively compiled reviews of Creativity, Inc. from the world's leading experts.

Mark Zuckerberg Founder/FacebookThis book is written by the founder of Pixar and is about his experience building a culture that fosters creativity. His theory is that people are fundamentally creative, but many forces stand in the way of people being able to do their best work. I love reading first-hand accounts about how people build great companies like Pixar and nurture innovation and creativity. This should be inspiring to anyone looking to do the same, and hopefully there will be lessons we can apply to connecting the world! (Source)

Timothy Ferriss Author & EntrepreneurNo matter your circumstances, storytelling and creativity are two 'meta-skills' that can take your business and life to the next level. Ed is a master. (Source)

Ezra Klein An amazing, amazing book. (Source)

Ken Norton Recommends this book

James Altucher Founder/StockPickrRecommends this book

Marin Gerov As for a non-fiction/business book I would say Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull. It is a great look inside the mind of one of the founders of Pixar, but also a great case study on how to deliver blockbuster success time and time again. (Source)

Audrey Russo Question: What books would you recommend to young people interested in your career path? Answer: Anything by Peter Senge. The Hard Thing About Hard Things – Ben Horowitz Once you are Lucky, Twice you are good – Sara Lacey Revolutionary Wealth – Alvin Toffler Black Swan – Taleb Reset: My Fight for Inclusion and Lasting Change, by Ellen Pao. Creative Class – Richard Florida Creativity Inc. by Ed Catmull & Amy Wallace Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis American Government 101: From the Continental Congress to the Iowa Caucus, Everything You Need to Know About US Politics – Kathleen Spears The Tao... (Source)

Kevin Lamping I've read many, many great business books out there; each building upon the others to provide a valuable sense of direction. If I had to pick one to recommend above all overs, it would have to be Creativity, Inc. Not only is it an engaging story about the cherished Animated Movie studio, it holds several valuable lessons about creativity in the workplace, and the natural human tendencies that squash that creativity. What makes Pixar special is that we acknowledge we will always have problems, many of them hidden from our view; that we work hard to uncover these problems, even if doing so... (Source)

Bogdan Iordache Creativity, Inc. - I know it's a classical book, but I just got to read it. (Source)

Gunhee Park Some other books I’ve really enjoyed: Creativity, Inc. [...] (Source)

Brene Brown I opened this book seeking answers about the relationships between creativity, vulnerability, and courage. I didn't expect it to profoundly change the way I work. This is one of the most important leadership books of our time. (Source)

Paul Boag Recommends this book

Eytan Levit Recommends this book

Julie Zhuo Recommends this book

Anop Anthony Creativity Inc, narrated by Pixar's co-founder Ed Catmull, documents the meteoric rise of Pixar from its humble roots as a technology company to the movie studio powerhouse it is today. The book offers a treasure of insights to anyone running a business that involves creative production of any kind. Ed talks about crucial strategies used by Pixar — the idea that every person in an organization is accountable for quality, that creative freedom and exploration are instrumental to building great products, that failure early in the process is not just acceptable but also to be encouraged, and... (Source)

Benjamin Humphrey This book gives a fascinating insight into how Pixar works, and a lot of what they do to create amazing movies is highly relevant to designing and building great products. It's been a while since I read it, but it's full of useful and practical examples to boost creativity and problem solving in teams. (Source)

Rankings by Category

Creativity, Inc. is ranked in the following categories:

#30 in Advertising
#6 in Animation
#40 in Branding
#42 in Business
#15 in Business Biography
#73 in Business Competition
#79 in Business Development
#60 in Business Economics
#34 in Business Management
#55 in Business Strategy
#32 in CEO
#44 in Career Guide
#20 in Cinema
#7 in Creative
#71 in Decision Making
#20 in Design
#37 in Devops
#31 in Entrepreneurship
#67 in Film
#20 in Filmmaking
#27 in Game Design
#11 in Game Development
#50 in Insightful
#67 in Inspiration
#31 in Leadership
#15 in Learn English
#94 in Learning
#25 in Linkedin
#33 in Management
#98 in Marketing
#36 in Media
#43 in Organization
#30 in Photography
#22 in Podcast
#38 in Process
#14 in Product Design
#23 in Product Management
#82 in Productivity
#35 in Project Management
#96 in Self Development
#13 in Silicon Valley
#32 in Startup
#37 in Storytelling
#73 in Strategy
#66 in Technology
#92 in Thinking
#6 in Video
#76 in Wisdom

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