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rodcasts's review
3.0
Fostering creativity is not an easy feat, specially going through changes in administration and unexpected partnerships along the way. Creativity Inc. is a solid compilation of lessons learned behind the creation of an organization that would change the paradigm of its entire industry.
Even though Ed's stories are told quite eloquently, the book drags itself more often than not, showing clear lack of conciseness. As such, the ideal of telling an engaging story about the pitfalls and upsides of pushing the envelope unintentionally becomes at times a slow journey with redundant commentary.
As a whole, the book conveys useful advice that can be implemented in leadership settings, however it is safe to say that it could be condensed in half its length.
Even though Ed's stories are told quite eloquently, the book drags itself more often than not, showing clear lack of conciseness. As such, the ideal of telling an engaging story about the pitfalls and upsides of pushing the envelope unintentionally becomes at times a slow journey with redundant commentary.
As a whole, the book conveys useful advice that can be implemented in leadership settings, however it is safe to say that it could be condensed in half its length.
saxifrage_seldon's review
3.0
Ed Catmull’s (with Amy Wallace) 2014 book, Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces that Stand in the Way of True Inspiration is my forty-third book this year. I read this book as a recommendation by Dr. Patrick Love, a veteran student affairs professional, who recently came to speak to Binghamton University’s new Innovation Council that I am a part of.
Ed Catmull is one of the most innovative American computer scientists but also the co-founder of Pixar, along with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter. While I really liked the book, it was confusing in terms of its focus. On the one hand, the book tells a mostly linear story of Catmull’s life, as well as Pixar’s. On the other hand, through the telling of that narrative, Catmull talks about management strategy, particularly one focused on developing creativity. No management strategy or theory was separate from that of what was implemented in Pixar and Disney. Moreover, Catmull tells the story from only one perspective, his own, at the helm of Pixar, and later Disney, not those low-level or middle managers, or the countless workers. While these nameless thousands are referenced, and even some talked about, Catmull never asks their point of view.
Despite this, I really liked the book, mostly because I have a very limited knowledge about the history of Pixar, but also, there were some good ideas that Catmull noted. Some of these things include creating an environment that sees failure as a means to learn, or an environment focused on creativity for creativity's sake. Or the idea of the braintrust, in which a diverse group of colleagues at Pixar get together to “truthfully” review the process of Pixar’s films. Throughout the book, Catmull notes the importance of not staying in stasis and constantly looking to better things at the company, particularly as it pertains to the quality of the films that are made.
While this book can be dissected more upon closer inspection, particularly as it relates to flexible labor regimes, or the fact that many of its movies over the past couple of years haven’t captured national attention, much like those of the 1990s or 2000s, I think it is still a very interesting book that mixes both personal history and tried ideas.
Ed Catmull is one of the most innovative American computer scientists but also the co-founder of Pixar, along with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter. While I really liked the book, it was confusing in terms of its focus. On the one hand, the book tells a mostly linear story of Catmull’s life, as well as Pixar’s. On the other hand, through the telling of that narrative, Catmull talks about management strategy, particularly one focused on developing creativity. No management strategy or theory was separate from that of what was implemented in Pixar and Disney. Moreover, Catmull tells the story from only one perspective, his own, at the helm of Pixar, and later Disney, not those low-level or middle managers, or the countless workers. While these nameless thousands are referenced, and even some talked about, Catmull never asks their point of view.
Despite this, I really liked the book, mostly because I have a very limited knowledge about the history of Pixar, but also, there were some good ideas that Catmull noted. Some of these things include creating an environment that sees failure as a means to learn, or an environment focused on creativity for creativity's sake. Or the idea of the braintrust, in which a diverse group of colleagues at Pixar get together to “truthfully” review the process of Pixar’s films. Throughout the book, Catmull notes the importance of not staying in stasis and constantly looking to better things at the company, particularly as it pertains to the quality of the films that are made.
While this book can be dissected more upon closer inspection, particularly as it relates to flexible labor regimes, or the fact that many of its movies over the past couple of years haven’t captured national attention, much like those of the 1990s or 2000s, I think it is still a very interesting book that mixes both personal history and tried ideas.
iancarpenter's review
2.0
Some great stuff here especially at the managerial level. I suspect managers working in creative fields will gain creative understanding and the opposite will happen for creators who end up managing teams. But, there was something in the attitude of this all: despite claiming otherwise it really does read as a history of triumph and for me that's not relatable or enjoyable.
mandoreviews's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
8/10
Overall, this is a great book that gives a long-term reflection of leadership from the co-founder of Pixar, with an emphasis on making creative environments.
I think the book could’ve been about a fourth shorter, though. There are some points when he spends too much time talking about his philosophy of some “crazy lesson they learned at Pixar” and then he reveals that it was some common sense stuff like “have empathy!”
Where the book really shines is when he explains the “how”. There are several times when he breaks down the exact steps he took as a leader to solve some major issues at Pixar and those were incredibly helpful.
#MandoReviews
Overall, this is a great book that gives a long-term reflection of leadership from the co-founder of Pixar, with an emphasis on making creative environments.
I think the book could’ve been about a fourth shorter, though. There are some points when he spends too much time talking about his philosophy of some “crazy lesson they learned at Pixar” and then he reveals that it was some common sense stuff like “have empathy!”
Where the book really shines is when he explains the “how”. There are several times when he breaks down the exact steps he took as a leader to solve some major issues at Pixar and those were incredibly helpful.
#MandoReviews
laureng_88's review
3.0
An interesting read. More organizational than anecdotal based. Focuses more on managing and engaging employees in a creative work environment than behind the scenes stories of your favorite movies, but still very good.
dmaurath's review
4.0
Only after I finished reading did I discover that this book is 8 years old and not new for 2022 like I had thought. The advice here is still fresh and challenges the status quo. For example, he argues against managing only what you can measure because that assumes everything can be measured, which is simply not true. Not all his advice is great though. Near the end he praises a "Notes Day" process to identify and fix problems. Essentially, it consisted of the entire company getting together to identify problems and then spend a day discussing them. That's far too intensive, time-consuming and is textbook case of reinventing the wheel. Just send a survey. Is an open discussion about entitled employees—the example discussion he used—going to solve anything? Finally he gives the most fair assessment of Steve Jobs, explaining his behavior without excusing it.
Overall, the advice here is sometimes enlightening like a Pixar lamp, while other times derivative like Cars 2 and 3, but on the whole there is some great ideas here especially if you have some experience in companies to relate it to.
Overall, the advice here is sometimes enlightening like a Pixar lamp, while other times derivative like Cars 2 and 3, but on the whole there is some great ideas here especially if you have some experience in companies to relate it to.
onlyjustlucy's review
2.0
Couldn’t read to the end… just not overly interesting unfortunately. Expected more.
emmaemmaemmaemma's review
4.0
Such a fascinating book, written by the head of a company I look up to! It was definitely a mix between the story of Pixar, a string of tips for running a creative company, and a biography of Steve Jobs.
Kept me mostly entertained, and I loved learning about the history of the Animation powerhouse and it’s works. Interesting read :)
Kept me mostly entertained, and I loved learning about the history of the Animation powerhouse and it’s works. Interesting read :)