Lessons from Ed Catmull

Ed Catmull, a co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios and former president of Walt Disney Animation Studios, has shared a wealth of wisdom on fostering creativity, leadership, and innovation. His insights, primarily captured in his book "Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration," have guided individuals and organizations in building environments where new ideas can flourish.

On People and Teams

"If you give a good idea to a mediocre team, they will screw it up. If you give a mediocre idea to a brilliant team, they will either fix it or throw it away and come up with something better." [1][2]
"Getting the right people and the right chemistry is more important than getting the right idea." [3][4]
"Always hire people who are smarter than you are." [5]
"Find, develop, and support good people, and they in turn will find, develop, and own good ideas." [2]
"A manager's job is to protect & serve their people." [1]
"We start from the presumption that our people are talented and want to contribute." [6]
"What is the point of hiring smart people, we asked, if you don't empower them to fix what's broken?" [7]
"Getting the team right is the necessary precursor to getting the ideas right." [2]
"The responsibility for finding and fixing problems should be assigned to every employee, from the most senior manager to the lowliest person on the production line." [2]
"You don't have to ask permission to take responsibility." [2][7]

On Creativity and Ideas

"You are not your idea, and if you identify too closely with your ideas, you will take offense when they are challenged." [2][7]
"Creativity doesn't follow titles. It just comes from where it comes from." [6]
"Don't wait for things to be perfect before you share them with others. Show early and show often. It'll be pretty when we get there, but it won't be pretty along the way." [3][7]
"Craft is what we are expected to know; art is the unexpected use of our craft." [3][8]
"The most creative people are willing to work in the shadow of uncertainty." [8]
"You'll never stumble upon the unexpected if you stick only to the familiar." [7][8]
"The new needs protection... The challenger needs support to find its footing. And protection of the new—of the future, not the past—must be a conscious effort." [8]
"For me, creativity includes problem-solving. That's the broad definition of it." [6]
"Art isn't about drawing; it's about learning to see. What organization doesn't need this ability?" [6]
"Creativity is more like a marathon than a sprint. You have to pace yourself." [8]

On Failure and Risk

"Failure isn't a necessary evil. In fact, it isn't evil at all. It is a necessary consequence of doing something new." [7][9]
"Mistakes aren't a necessary evil. They aren't evil at all. They are an inevitable consequence of doing something new (and as such should be seen as valuable; without them we have no originality)." [2]
"If you aren't experiencing failure, then you are making a far worse mistake: You are being driven by the desire to avoid it." [3][6]
"It is not the manager's job to prevent risks. It is the manager's job to make it safe to take them." [5][7]
"When it comes to creative endeavors, the concept of zero failures is worse than useless. It's counterproductive." [2]
"We must remember that failure gives us chances to grow, and we ignore those chances at our own peril." [7]
"Is the question being asked: Whose fault is it? If so your culture is one that vilifies failure. Failure is difficult enough without being compounded by the search for a scapegoat." [2]
"If we allow more people to solve problems without permission, and if we tolerate (and don't vilify) their mistakes, then we enable a much larger set of problems to be addressed." [2]
"Managers don't prevent problems, they help recover from them." [1]
"The cost of preventing errors is often far greater than the cost of fixing them." [8][10]

On Leadership and Management

"My job as a manager is to create a fertile environment, keep it healthy, and watch for the things that undermine it.” [1]
"If you don't strive to uncover what is unseen and understand its nature, you will be ill-prepared to lead." [8][11]
"The person who can't change his or her mind is dangerous." [2][7]
"Trust doesn't mean that you trust that someone won't screw up—it means you trust them even when they do screw up." [12]
"Fear can be created quickly; trust can't." [7]
"An Open Door Policy does not work." [1] Catmull learned that proactive engagement is necessary to unearth problems. [4]
"Be patient. Be authentic. And be consistent. The trust will come." [7]
"A hallmark of a healthy creative culture is that its people feel free to share ideas, opinions, and criticisms." [2]
"The fundamental tension is that people want clear leadership, but what we're doing is inherently messy." [13]
"If a person with a powerful voice starts speaking first, that distorts the room because people will respond to that. Leaders needed to shut up for the first 15 minutes." [14]

On Process and Culture

"Quality is the best business plan." [2][7]
"The story must come first and be prioritized over all else (including egos, titles, technology, time and budget)." [15][16]
"Don't confuse the process with the goal. Working on our processes to make them better, easier, and more efficient is something we should continually do, but it is not the goal. Making the product great is the goal." [5]
"Success hides problems...you don't need to address problems." [6]
"When downsides coexist with upsides, as they often do, people are reluctant to explore what's bugging them, for fear of being labeled complainers." [2][8]
"We had made the mistake of confusing the communication structure with the organizational structure." [4]
"Anyone should be able to talk to anyone else, at any level, at any time, without fear of reprimand." [4]
"The past should be our teacher, not our master." [8]
"Since change is inevitable, the question is: Do you act to stop it and try to protect yourself from it." [12]
"The future is not a destination—it is a direction." [7]

Learn more:

Lessons from Ed Catmull

On People and Teams

On Creativity and Ideas

On Failure and Risk

On Leadership and Management

On Process and Culture

Written by Antoine Buteau

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