Five Reasons to read “Creativity, Inc.” by Pixar Co-Founder Ed Catmull

I know this book is over a year old, but I just got around to reading it.

Please make time to check out Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull, Co-Founder of Pixar.

Five Reasons to Read this Book now:

1. You love a great underdog story – shared by a master storyteller.
2. You love Pixar – you’ll learn about early creative iterations of favorite films.
3. You have no idea how important Pixar was to the advancement of 3D graphics and animation – you may remember “Luxo Jr.” but probably aren’t aware of half the technologies Pixar invented or pioneered.
4. You still don’t know enough about Steve Jobs – encounter a few heartfelt stories you may not have heard before.
5. You could use fresh inspiration for how to build and run your team or company – hear what worked (and didn’t) for Pixar as it grew and grew.

Five Bonus Quotes by Ed Catmull:

1. “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.”
2. “When it comes to creative inspiration, job titles and hierarchy are meaningless.”
3. “If you aren’t experiencing failure, then you are making a far worse mistake: You are being driven by the desire to avoid it.”
4. “Craft is what we are expected to know; art is the unexpected use of our craft.”
5. “What is the point of hiring smart people, we asked, if you don’t empower them to fix what’s broken?”

While these quotes independently come off as platitudes, I promise when consumed in context of the Pixar stories shared by Ed Catmull, you will be inspired.