Top Takeaway:
Great examples of how creativity can be accessed in a business setting and in collaborative teams to create amazing innovations.
Overview
Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the unseen forces that stand in the way of true inspiration is written by Ed Catmull, the founder of Pixar. He’s been the driving force for popular, innovative movies such as Toy Story, Monsters Inc, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo and many more.
His book takes us on behind-the-scene tours of Pixar and Disney Animation, diving right in to the history of Pixar and what it takes to make their iconic, ground-breaking movies.
Mr. Catmull calls out some big lessons he’s learned along the way for how to encourage creative collaboration, inspiration, and innovation. These lessons can be applied to just about any team which is looking to create and innovate, not just movie makers.
Here’s one of those lessons, found on page 74 after he and his team struggled with Toy Story 2:
The takeaway here is worth repeating: Getting the team rights is the necessary precursor to getting the ideas right. It is easy to say you want talented people, and you do, but the way those people interact with one another is the real key. Even the smartest people can form an ineffective team if they are mismatched. That means it is better to focus on how a team is performing, not on the talents of the individuals within it. A good team is made up of people who complement each other. There is an important principle here that may seem obvious, yet – in my experience – is not obvious at all. Getting the right people and the right chemistry is more important than getting the right idea.
This book reinforces many creative process elements we’ve seen in the other four books in the creativity series. Principles like the one mentioned above and these as well:
- “failure” is where the process really gets good… and productive
- there’s only so much one can control in a creative environment – embrace risk
- research, especially first person research, brings deeper insight
- chaos often happens before finding clarity – embrace the suck
So what’s my top takeaway then? How all of these elements (and more) of a creative process can thrive in a business and even propel a business.
We really get an insider’s view at how the creative process can flourish inside the constraints of a for-profit business. Not only is it possible, but it’s possible to create iconic art and products as a result.
This is a great book to read for that aspect, but also for anyone who’s been impacted by Pixar’s movies – and really, who hasn’t! It’s fun to get those behind-the-scenes peeks into such beloved movies.
Would love to hear what your top takeaways are from Creativity, Inc.
