Ed Catmull’s book Creativity, Inc is the greatest book on creativity and one of the top three on leadership I have ever read. Written by the President of Pixar Animation and Disney Animation, it is a classic which should be on every reader’s bookshelf. You can order a copy HERE or on the image provided.
If you are unfamiliar with Catmull, he along with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter founded Pixar in 1986. The following are 20 Quotes On Leadership and Creativity from Creativity, Inc. Every leader should read and apply these truths immediately.
- Give a good idea to a mediocre team, and they will screw it up. Give a mediocre idea to a great team, and they will either fix it or come up with something better.
- When looking to hire people, give their potential to grow more weight than their current skill level. What they will be capable of tomorrow is more important than what they can do today.
- Always try to hire people who are smarter than you. Always take a chance on better, even if it seems a potential threat.
- If there are people in your organization who feel they are not free to suggest ideas, you lose. Do not discount ideas from unexpected sources. Inspiration can, and does, come from anywhere.
- There is nothing quite as effective, when it comes to shutting down alternative viewpoints, as being convinced you are right.
- If there is more truth in the hallways than in meetings, you have a problem.
- Many managers feel that if they are not notified about problems before others are or if they are surprised in a meeting, then that is a sign of disrespect. Get over it.
- The first conclusions we draw from our successes and failures are typically wrong. Measuring the outcome without evaluating the process is deceiving.
- It is not the manager’s job to prevent risks. It is the manager’s job to make it safe to take them.
- Failure isn’t a necessary evil. In fact, it isn’t evil at all. It is a necessary consequence of doing something new.
- Trust doesn’t mean that you trust that someone won’t screw up – it means you trust them even when they do screw up.
- Finding and fixing problems is everybody’s job. Anyone should be able to stop the production line.
- The desire for everything to run smoothly is a false goal – it leads to measuring people by the mistakes they make rather than by their ability to solve problems.
- Don’t wait for things to be perfect before you share them with others. Show early and show often.
- A company’s communication structure should not mirror its organizational structure. Everybody should be able to talk to anybody.
- Engaging with exceptionally hard problems forces us to think differently.
- Do not assume that general agreement will lead to change – it takes substantial energy to move a group, even when all are on board.
- The healthiest organizations are made up of departments whose agendas differ but whose goals are interdependent. It one agenda wins, we all lose.
- Our job as managers in creative environments is to protect new ideas from those who don’t understand that in order for greatness to emerge, there must phases of not-so-greatness. Protect the future, not the past.
- Excellence, quality, and good should be earned words, attributed by others to us, not proclaimed by us about ourselves.
What is one thing you learned from Catmull’s comments? Once again, I cannot recommend this book enough. Order your copy today by clicking HERE.
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