Book Review - Creativity, Inc. #2

Ever wondered what it takes for big corporations that begin as small entities to survive, remain relevant, and sustain growth in today’s fast-paced society? This forms the central theme of the book Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration written by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace. In the book, Ed Catmull, President of Pixar Animation and Disney Animation, demystifies the world of creativity and creative thinking in business.

Discovery Shoppe Book Club comes up with two thought-provoking book reviews per month. These reviews give a good summary of our current read and also serve as a guide to potential readers. Read through for the second half of Creativity, Inc. following the first review.

Creativity, Inc.: Chapters 10-13

Chapters 10-13 focuses on building and sustaining the culture and practices that have made Pixar not just a pioneer and global brand, but also an authority in the field of graphics and animation movies. Some of the key learnings include the importance of collectively solving problems, research trips in business, integrating technology and art, postmortem and self-evaluation.

Solving problems collectively provides diverse perspectives and increases interaction. Research trips open a world of possibilities that fuels inspiration and ultimately leads to achieving a detailed realism in business operations. Integrating technology and art, in a way that "Art challenges technology, technology inspires art", articulates Pixar's philosophy of a mindset that doesn't fear change and has the impetus for innovation. This explains how both spur each other to new heights. Postmortems is a general review done at the end of a project. It helps in consolidating lessons learned, teaching others who were not there, forcing a reflection and essentially self-assessment. The ways and methods of ensuring the successful execution of postmortems were also discussed.

Furthermore, Ed explains several mental models that have been adopted at Pixar by himself, the directors, producers, and managers that show their preconceptions, how they view the world and its influence on business and management. He describes one of his mental models in these words, “This model of paying attention to what is in front of you, not hanging on too tightly to the past or the future, has proved immensely useful to me as I have tried to sort out organizational issues and to dissuade my colleagues from clinging to processes or plans that have outlived their usefulness. Likewise, the notion of acknowledging problems (rather than putting in place rules that seek to suppress them) has meaning to me.”

In the final chapter, Ed takes us through life at Pixar and Disney. He uses life events to explain how the concepts he had shared previously were put to test, how they responded and eventually weathered the storms, ultimately preserving their culture. Events such as the acquisition of Pixar by Disney with all that transpired in-between, the patient and gradual infusion of Pixar’s culture in the daily operations at Disney, and the pick of the bunch being the ideation and organization of the almighty “Notes Day”.

Other takeaways from the book are:

• Although a business should have goals, it shouldn't be constrained by them.

• Leaders need to acknowledge their own shortcomings and listen to the views of their staff.

• Leaders should always strive to hire people smarter than themselves.

• Any staff should be able to halt the assembly line to ensure quality control.

• Managers need to trust their employees to empower them to make decisions.

• Companies need to use their working environment as a tool to foster creativity.

The style employed in this book is both narrative and descriptive. The authors do not fail to keep their audience in a storytelling mood while discussing the nitty-gritty of a business. The progression of the book is also superb; the authors were able to sustain a consistent timeline by discussing business creativity and sharing what we would call Ed's life history cum Pixar’s own.

Any leader or aspiring will definitely find this book useful in honing their leadership and creative skills. We would rate Creativity, Inc. an 8/10 because it genuinely appeals to me, it is very easy to read, and the concepts taught are practicable. Finally, if you’d love to get an inside perspective into the person of Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Inc., you sure won’t be disappointed hearing from one of his closest buddies of over 20 years.

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- Azuka Success & Mesharch Ikenna

Discovery Shoppe Book Club

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