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# Lessons from Ed Catmull
- URL: https://www.antoinebuteau.com/lessons-from-ed-catmull/
- Published: 2025-08-17T03:08:31.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-13T01:21:30.000Z
- Description: Ed Catmull, Pixar co-founder and former Walt Disney Animation Studios president, examines how leaders can foster creativity and innovation. His work focuses on people, teams, and the unseen organizational forces that can prevent new ideas from flourishing.
- Author: Antoine Buteau
- Tags: Profile, Operations, Business Leaders & Executives Profiles

Ed Catmull co-founded Pixar and later led Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. In Creativity, Inc. and direct interviews, he describes the management practices behind collaborative creative work. Odyssey announced in December 2024 that he had joined its board and invested in the company; that dated announcement does not establish his current status. — [Odyssey: World Models for Film, Gaming, and Beyond](https://odyssey.systems/introducing-explorer?ref=antoinebuteau.com).

![Infographic for "Lessons from Ed Catmull".](https://www.antoinebuteau.com/content/images/2026/07/3a6f5b4a-a566-4a74-ae97-3ed8d8ac1aeb-06b4b6a0-65ae-4037-a054-5976542368ac-optimized.webp)

## On People and Teams

1. **Put the team ahead of the initial idea:** A film is shaped by thousands of decisions, not one opening concept. Catmull therefore treats the people who solve problems and generate those ideas as more important than the first pitch. — [HBR IdeaCast: Pixar and Collective Creativity](https://hbr.org/podcast/2008/08/harvard-business-ideacast-109?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
2. **Build a team that can solve the story:** When the Toy Story 2 team was not functioning as more than the sum of its members, Pixar changed the team rather than simply searching for a better script. Catmull says the team then developed and owned the solution. — [Diane Rehm Interview](https://dianerehm.org/shows/2014-05-05/ed-catmull-creativity-inc-overcoming-unseen-forces-stand-way-true-inspiration/?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
3. **Hire people who can surpass you:** Catmull advises managers to hire people smarter than themselves, even when that feels threatening. — [Rotman: Questions for Ed Catmull](https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/news-events-and-ideas/rotman-magazine/back-issues/2023/fall-2023/-ed-catmull/?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
4. **Hire for future growth:** Catmull says a person's potential to grow can matter more in hiring than their current skill level; managers should also keep drawing ideas out of their teams. — [Rotman: Questions for Ed Catmull](https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/news-events-and-ideas/rotman-magazine/back-issues/2023/fall-2023/-ed-catmull/?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
5. **Remove barriers to creative work:** Rather than trying to manufacture creativity in employees, managers should protect their ability to use it by removing organizational obstacles. — [Ed Catmull: Why Creatives Need To Be Protected](https://www.fastcompany.com/3027546/pixars-ed-catmull-on-why-creatives-need-to-be-protected?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
6. **Assume colleagues are trying:** When Catmull entered Disney Animation, he began by listening and assuming people were trying to do their best. If someone faltered, his first response was to help, not to write them off. — [McKinsey Interview with Ed Catmull](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organization/our-insights/staying-one-step-ahead-at-pixar-an-interview-with-ed-catmull?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
7. **Keep creative ownership with the team:** Pixar's Braintrust could identify problems and offer suggestions, but could not override a film's director. Catmull says removing that authority helped directors listen without losing ownership of the work. — [Masters of Scale: Throw out your rules](https://mastersofscale.com/throw-out-your-rules/?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
8. **Share responsibility for hard problems:** Catmull says leaders and colleagues do their best work when they surface difficult problems and take shared responsibility for solving them, rather than leaving all discovery to managers. — [Rotman: Questions for Ed Catmull](https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/news-events-and-ideas/rotman-magazine/back-issues/2023/fall-2023/-ed-catmull/?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
9. **Assess the team as well as the idea:** Early ideas can be too rough to judge reliably. Catmull says leaders can instead look at whether a team is working well together and able to keep solving its problems. — [Stanford: Creativity, Inc. Talk](https://stvp.stanford.edu/av/creativity-inc-entire-talk?ref=antoinebuteau.com).

## On Creativity and Ideas

1. **Separate your identity from the idea:** Catmull describes a feedback culture in which colleagues can challenge an unfinished idea without treating that challenge as a judgment of the person who proposed it. — [Ed Catmull on Creative Collaboration](https://www.fastcompany.com/90262530/ed-catmulls-approach-to-creative-collaboration-at-disney-and-pixar?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
2. **Invite ideas from unexpected places:** Catmull says inspiration can come from anywhere in an organization. Managers have to invite contributions rather than let job titles determine whose ideas are heard. — [Rotman: Questions for Ed Catmull](https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/news-events-and-ideas/rotman-magazine/back-issues/2023/fall-2023/-ed-catmull/?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
3. **Show unfinished work to colleagues:** Pixar animators show one another incomplete work in daily reviews. Catmull says the practice reduces embarrassment, lets colleagues learn from one another and improves the work before it is polished. — [HBR IdeaCast: Pixar and Collective Creativity](https://hbr.org/podcast/2008/08/harvard-business-ideacast-109?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
4. **Use observation to make something new:** Catmull connects art and science through careful observation followed by invention. Technical skill matters, but creative work applies what is seen to a problem not yet solved. — [Diane Rehm Interview](https://dianerehm.org/shows/2014-05-05/ed-catmull-creativity-inc-overcoming-unseen-forces-stand-way-true-inspiration/?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
5. **Stay with uncertainty long enough:** Catmull says originality often emerges between the familiar and the unknown; creative teams need to remain there long enough to discover what the work can become. — [Creativity, Inc. Authorized Excerpt](https://www.salon.com/2015/06/21/if%5Fyou%5Fthink%5Fyou%5Fstink%5Ffrom%5Ftoy%5Fstory%5Fto%5Finside%5Fout%5Fhow%5Fthe%5Fcreative%5Fgeniuses%5Fat%5Fpixar%5Fbring%5Fnew%5Fthings%5Finto%5Fbeing/?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
6. **Do not mistake familiarity for originality:** Reusing what worked before can feel safe, but Catmull warns that a familiar template can keep a team from discovering a genuinely new direction. — [Ed Catmull: Balancing Art and Commerce](https://www.fastcompany.com/3027549/pixars-ed-catmull-on-how-to-balance-art-and-commerce?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
7. **Protect fragile new ideas:** Early creative ideas can be awkward and incomplete. Catmull argues for giving them time and protection while they develop, without shielding them from scrutiny forever. — [Ed Catmull: Protecting New Ideas](https://www.fastcompany.com/3027548/pixars-ed-catmull-on-the-importance-of-protecting-new-ideas?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
8. **Treat problem-solving as creativity:** Catmull uses creativity in a broad sense: finding new ways to solve problems, including problems in management, not only making artwork. — [Diane Rehm Interview](https://dianerehm.org/shows/2014-05-05/ed-catmull-creativity-inc-overcoming-unseen-forces-stand-way-true-inspiration/?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
9. **Learn to notice what the work reveals:** Catmull links artistic practice with observation: seeing what is actually happening can help teams discover new possibilities, whether the problem is visual or organizational. — [Diane Rehm Interview](https://dianerehm.org/shows/2014-05-05/ed-catmull-creativity-inc-overcoming-unseen-forces-stand-way-true-inspiration/?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
10. **Pace the creative marathon:** Catmull writes that creative people discover their vision through sustained work over time: 'Creativity is more like a marathon than a sprint. You have to pace yourself.' — [Creativity, Inc. Authorized Excerpt](https://www.salon.com/2015/06/21/if%5Fyou%5Fthink%5Fyou%5Fstink%5Ffrom%5Ftoy%5Fstory%5Fto%5Finside%5Fout%5Fhow%5Fthe%5Fcreative%5Fgeniuses%5Fat%5Fpixar%5Fbring%5Fnew%5Fthings%5Finto%5Fbeing/?ref=antoinebuteau.com).

## On Failure and Risk

1. **Expect mistakes when taking real risks:** Catmull says new stories and teams sometimes fail. The important work is to respond, understand what went wrong and move forward, rather than expect a flawless first attempt. — [Ed Catmull: Why Real Risk Means Real Failures](https://www.fastcompany.com/3027551/pixars-ed-catmull-on-why-real-risk-means-real-failures?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
2. **Do not let fear set the agenda:** Catmull says people may avoid experiments because they fear failure in advance. Leaders need to recognize that fear when asking teams to try uncertain work. — [McKinsey Interview with Ed Catmull](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organization/our-insights/staying-one-step-ahead-at-pixar-an-interview-with-ed-catmull?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
3. **Make risk safer to take:** The manager's task is not to eliminate every risk. Catmull says leaders should make it safer for people to attempt risky work and speak honestly when it does not work. — [Rotman: Questions for Ed Catmull](https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/news-events-and-ideas/rotman-magazine/back-issues/2023/fall-2023/-ed-catmull/?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
4. **Allow experiments that go nowhere:** Catmull advocates running many experiments, knowing some will lead nowhere. A creative team cannot demand a successful outcome from every exploratory attempt. — [McKinsey Interview with Ed Catmull](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organization/our-insights/staying-one-step-ahead-at-pixar-an-interview-with-ed-catmull?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
5. **Do not turn failure into a weapon:** Catmull distinguishes learning from a failed experiment from using failure to attack someone. The latter makes future experimentation feel dangerous. — [McKinsey Interview with Ed Catmull](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organization/our-insights/staying-one-step-ahead-at-pixar-an-interview-with-ed-catmull?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
6. **Let people raise problems early:** Catmull says managers should invite ideas and problems from across the organization. People contribute more when they can speak up without waiting for a formal chain of permission. — [HBR IdeaCast: Pixar and Collective Creativity](https://hbr.org/podcast/2008/08/harvard-business-ideacast-109?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
7. **Budget for revision, not perfect foresight:** Catmull rejects the idea that a team can know the complete story before making a film. Revisions after seeing the first version can be costly, but may be necessary to move from an adequate film to a great one. — [McKinsey Interview with Ed Catmull](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organization/our-insights/staying-one-step-ahead-at-pixar-an-interview-with-ed-catmull?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
8. **Accept the disruption of fixing a weak film:** Restarting a film is painful and expensive, Catmull says, but Pixar used that option when the work was not improving rather than release a film it believed was inadequate. — [McKinsey Interview with Ed Catmull](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organization/our-insights/staying-one-step-ahead-at-pixar-an-interview-with-ed-catmull?ref=antoinebuteau.com).

## On Leadership and Management

1. **Keep the creative environment healthy:** Catmull describes his managerial role as creating a fertile environment, keeping it healthy and watching for forces that undermine it. — [Rotman: Questions for Ed Catmull](https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/news-events-and-ideas/rotman-magazine/back-issues/2023/fall-2023/-ed-catmull/?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
2. **Look for what leadership cannot see:** Catmull warns that leaders are ill prepared if they do not work to uncover problems and perspectives hidden from their own view. — [Rich Roll Podcast: Ed Catmull](https://richroll.com/podcast/ed-catmull-789/?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
3. **Change course when an idea fails:** Catmull praises a leader's ability to switch direction when an idea does not work, citing Steve Jobs as someone he saw do this at Pixar. — [Rotman: Questions for Ed Catmull](https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/news-events-and-ideas/rotman-magazine/back-issues/2023/fall-2023/-ed-catmull/?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
4. **Build trust through consistent listening:** Catmull says colleagues want to be heard even when a leader ultimately disagrees. Taking their perspective seriously builds trust over time. — [Rotman: Questions for Ed Catmull](https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/news-events-and-ideas/rotman-magazine/back-issues/2023/fall-2023/-ed-catmull/?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
5. **Make every door open, not just yours:** Catmull says an open-door policy should mean that everyone can talk to everyone else. Making that real takes active work because new employees may defer to a successful organization. — [HBR IdeaCast: Pixar and Collective Creativity](https://hbr.org/podcast/2008/08/harvard-business-ideacast-109?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
6. **Be patient and consistent with trust:** Catmull links trust to patient, authentic and consistent leadership, then describes listening respectfully even when he does not agree with a colleague. — [Rotman: Questions for Ed Catmull](https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/news-events-and-ideas/rotman-magazine/back-issues/2023/fall-2023/-ed-catmull/?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
7. **Make candor a normal practice:** Catmull writes that a healthy creative culture lets people share ideas, opinions and criticism. Pixar's Braintrust is one mechanism intended to make that candor routine. — [Ed Catmull: Inside the Pixar Braintrust](https://www.fastcompany.com/3027135/inside-the-pixar-braintrust?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
8. **Lead clearly through messy work:** Catmull says creative work requires a balance between clear leadership and the disorder that comes with solving new problems; either rigid adherence to a plan or uncontrolled chaos can fail. — [McKinsey Interview with Ed Catmull](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organization/our-insights/staying-one-step-ahead-at-pixar-an-interview-with-ed-catmull?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
9. **Let less powerful voices speak first:** At some Pixar meetings, more powerful participants stayed silent for the first 15 minutes so they would not set the tone before others could contribute. — [Rotman: Questions for Ed Catmull](https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/news-events-and-ideas/rotman-magazine/back-issues/2023/fall-2023/-ed-catmull/?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
10. **Do not require information to follow rank:** Catmull argues that managers should welcome direct communication across levels, even when they learn about an issue for the first time in a meeting, rather than treating that as disrespect. — [Fast Company: Catmull on Creative Business](https://www.fastcompany.com/3029190/pixar-president-ed-catmull-on-how-to-run-a-creative-business?ref=antoinebuteau.com).

## On Process and Culture

1. **Make a great film the governing goal:** Catmull says Pixar's real rule is to make a great movie. That priority shapes difficult decisions, while still requiring attention to cost and commercial success. — [McKinsey Interview with Ed Catmull](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organization/our-insights/staying-one-step-ahead-at-pixar-an-interview-with-ed-catmull?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
2. **Revise the story when it needs work:** Catmull says an early story attempt may produce only an adequate film. The team has to respond to what the work reveals, even when rewriting or restarting costs more than following the original plan. — [McKinsey Interview with Ed Catmull](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organization/our-insights/staying-one-step-ahead-at-pixar-an-interview-with-ed-catmull?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
3. **Do not confuse a smooth process with the goal:** Catmull says making a movie would be easier if its story were solved in advance, but ease and first-pass accuracy were not Pixar's goal; the best movie it could make was. — [Ed Catmull: Why Real Risk Means Real Failures](https://www.fastcompany.com/3027551/pixars-ed-catmull-on-why-real-risk-means-real-failures?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
4. **Success can conceal weak assumptions:** Catmull says Disney Animation repeated a successful formula after its 1990s hits. The success discouraged deep introspection and helped leaders draw the wrong conclusions about what would work next. — [McKinsey Interview with Ed Catmull](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organization/our-insights/staying-one-step-ahead-at-pixar-an-interview-with-ed-catmull?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
5. **Make room for uncomfortable feedback:** People may withhold concerns when they fear looking foolish, offending a colleague or facing retaliation. Catmull says leaders have to address those barriers to candor directly. — [Ed Catmull: Inside the Pixar Braintrust](https://www.fastcompany.com/3027135/inside-the-pixar-braintrust?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
6. **Separate communication from hierarchy:** Pixar could remain organized by role while allowing information to travel across those roles. Catmull says the communication structure need not mirror the organizational chart. — [HBR IdeaCast: Pixar and Collective Creativity](https://hbr.org/podcast/2008/08/harvard-business-ideacast-109?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
7. **Let anyone speak with anyone:** Catmull says people at Pixar should be able to talk across levels at any time, and disagreement should not carry a penalty. That openness helps leaders hear what others see. — [HBR IdeaCast: Pixar and Collective Creativity](https://hbr.org/podcast/2008/08/harvard-business-ideacast-109?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
8. **Participate in change:** Catmull says changes in technology and how audiences spend time are inevitable and hard to forecast far ahead. Pixar and Disney treat participation in technological change as part of staying creative. — [McKinsey Interview with Ed Catmull](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organization/our-insights/staying-one-step-ahead-at-pixar-an-interview-with-ed-catmull?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
9. **Create the unmade future:** Catmull writes that creative teams cannot see their finished work or technical future clearly at the outset. They use principles and choices to bring that future into being. — [Creativity, Inc. Authorized Excerpt](https://www.salon.com/2015/06/21/if%5Fyou%5Fthink%5Fyou%5Fstink%5Ffrom%5Ftoy%5Fstory%5Fto%5Finside%5Fout%5Fhow%5Fthe%5Fcreative%5Fgeniuses%5Fat%5Fpixar%5Fbring%5Fnew%5Fthings%5Finto%5Fbeing/?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
10. **Keep tending an unstable organization:** Catmull says a creative organization does not arrive at a permanent stable point. Its leaders have to keep revisiting how people and processes work together as conditions change. — [Masters of Scale: Throw out your rules](https://mastersofscale.com/throw-out-your-rules/?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
11. **Revisit rules as the work changes:** Catmull says no creative process is a fixed recipe. Teams should adjust their rules and methods when reality shows that the current approach is not working. — [Masters of Scale: Throw out your rules](https://mastersofscale.com/throw-out-your-rules/?ref=antoinebuteau.com).
12. **Keep feedback on the problem:** Pixar's Braintrust uses candid discussion to identify and solve problems in a film. Catmull says the feedback works best when ideas are challenged without judging the people who offered them. — [Ed Catmull on Creative Collaboration](https://www.fastcompany.com/90262530/ed-catmulls-approach-to-creative-collaboration-at-disney-and-pixar?ref=antoinebuteau.com).

---

Learn more:

1. [Harvard Business Review IdeaCast: Pixar and Collective Creativity](https://hbr.org/podcast/2008/08/harvard-business-ideacast-109?ref=antoinebuteau.com)
2. [Stanford Technology Ventures Program: Creativity, Inc. \[Entire Talk\]](https://stvp.stanford.edu/av/creativity-inc-entire-talk?ref=antoinebuteau.com)
3. [Rotman Magazine: Questions for Ed Catmull](https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/news-events-and-ideas/rotman-magazine/back-issues/2023/fall-2023/-ed-catmull/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)
4. [McKinsey Quarterly: Staying one step ahead at Pixar: An interview with Ed Catmull](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organization/our-insights/staying-one-step-ahead-at-pixar-an-interview-with-ed-catmull?ref=antoinebuteau.com)
5. [Ed Catmull: Inside the Pixar Braintrust](https://www.fastcompany.com/3027135/inside-the-pixar-braintrust?ref=antoinebuteau.com)
6. [Ed Catmull: Why Real Risk Means Real Failures](https://www.fastcompany.com/3027551/pixars-ed-catmull-on-why-real-risk-means-real-failures?ref=antoinebuteau.com)
7. [Ed Catmull: Why Creatives Need To Be Protected](https://www.fastcompany.com/3027546/pixars-ed-catmull-on-why-creatives-need-to-be-protected?ref=antoinebuteau.com)
8. [Ed Catmull: The Importance of Protecting New Ideas](https://www.fastcompany.com/3027548/pixars-ed-catmull-on-the-importance-of-protecting-new-ideas?ref=antoinebuteau.com)
9. [Ed Catmull: How To Balance Art And Commerce](https://www.fastcompany.com/3027549/pixars-ed-catmull-on-how-to-balance-art-and-commerce?ref=antoinebuteau.com)
10. [Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace: Creativity, Inc. authorized excerpt on the unmade future](https://www.salon.com/2015/06/21/if%5Fyou%5Fthink%5Fyou%5Fstink%5Ffrom%5Ftoy%5Fstory%5Fto%5Finside%5Fout%5Fhow%5Fthe%5Fcreative%5Fgeniuses%5Fat%5Fpixar%5Fbring%5Fnew%5Fthings%5Finto%5Fbeing/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)
11. [Diane Rehm Show: Ed Catmull on Creativity, Inc. (interview transcript)](https://dianerehm.org/shows/2014-05-05/ed-catmull-creativity-inc-overcoming-unseen-forces-stand-way-true-inspiration/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)
12. [Masters of Scale: Throw out your rules — Ed Catmull](https://mastersofscale.com/throw-out-your-rules/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)
13. [Odyssey: World Models for Film, Gaming, and Beyond](https://odyssey.systems/introducing-explorer?ref=antoinebuteau.com)
14. [Rich Roll Podcast Episode 789: Ed Catmull on the Art & Science of Creativity](https://richroll.com/podcast/ed-catmull-789/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)
15. [Ed Catmull: How He Helped Foster Creative Collaboration at Disney and Pixar](https://www.fastcompany.com/90262530/ed-catmulls-approach-to-creative-collaboration-at-disney-and-pixar?ref=antoinebuteau.com)
16. [Fast Company: Pixar President Ed Catmull on How To Run a Creative Business](https://www.fastcompany.com/3029190/pixar-president-ed-catmull-on-how-to-run-a-creative-business?ref=antoinebuteau.com)