“Just might be the best business book ever
written.”—Forbes
“Achieving enormous success while holding fast to the highest
artistic standards is a nice trick—and Pixar, with its creative
leadership and persistent commitment to innovation, has pulled
it off. This book should be required reading for any
manager.”—Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of
Habit
“Steve Jobs—not a man inclined to hyperbole when asked about
the qualities of others—once described Ed Catmull as ‘very
wise,’ ‘very self-aware,’ ‘really thoughtful,’ ‘really, really
smart,’ and possessing ‘quiet strength,’ all in a single
interview. Any reader of Creativity, Inc., Catmull’s new
book on the art of running creative companies, will have to
agree. Catmull, president of both Pixar and Walt Disney
Animation, has written what just might be the most thoughtful
management book ever.”—Fast Company
“It’s one thing to be creative; it’s entirely another—and much
more rare—to build a great and creative culture. Over more than
thirty years, Ed Catmull has developed methods to root out and
destroy the barriers to creativity, to marry creativity to the
pursuit of excellence, and, most impressive, to sustain a
culture of disciplined creativity during setbacks and success.
Pixar’s unrivaled record, and the joy its films have added to
our lives, gives his method the most important validation: It
works.”—Jim Collins, co-author of Built to
Last and author of Good to Great
“Too often, we seek to keep the status quo working. This is a
book about breaking it.”—Seth Godin
“What is the secret to making more of the good stuff? Every so
often Hollywood embraces a book that it senses might provide
the answer. . . . Catmull’s book is quickly becoming the latest
bible for the show business crowd.”—The New York
Times
“The most practical and deep book ever written by a
practitioner on the topic of innovation.”—Prof. Gary P.
Pisano, Harvard Business School
“Business gurus love to tell stories about Pixar, but this is
our first chance to hear the real story from someone who lived
it and led it. Everyone interested in managing innovation—or
just good managing—needs to read this book.”—Chip Heath,
co-author
of Switch and Decisive
“A fascinating story about how some very smart people built
something that profoundly changed the animation business and,
along the way, popular culture . . . [Creativity, Inc.]
is a well-told tale, full of detail about an interesting,
intricate business. For fans of Pixar films, it’s a must-read.
For fans of management books, it belongs on the ‘value added’
shelf.”—The Wall Street Journal
“Pixar uses technology only as a means to an end; its films are
rooted in human concerns, not computer wizardry. The same can
be said of Creativity Inc., Ed Catmull’s endearingly
thoughtful explanation of how the studio he co-founded
generated hits such as the Toy Story trilogy, Up
and Wall-E. . . . [Catmull] uses Pixar’s triumphs and
near-disasters to outline a system for managing people in
creative businesses—one in which candid criticism is delivered
sensitively, while individuality and autonomy are not strangled
by a robotic corporate culture.”—Financial
Times
“A wonderful new book . . . Unlike most books written by
founders, this isn’t some myth-heavy legacy project—it’s far
closer to a blueprint. Catmull takes us inside the Pixar
ecosystem and shows how they build and refine excellence, in
revelatory detail. . . . If you do creative work, you should
read it, now.”—Daniel Coyle, author of The Talent
Code
“A superb debut intended for managers in all fields of endeavor
. . . He takes readers inside candid discussions and retreats
at which participants, assuming the early versions of movies
are bad, explore ways to improve them. Unusually rich in ideas,
insights and experiences, the book celebrates the benefits of
an open, nurturing work environment. An immensely readable and
rewarding book that will challenge and inspire readers to make
their workplaces hotbeds of creativity.”—Kirkus
Reviews (starred review)
“Punctuated with surprising tales of how the company’s films
were developed and the company’s financial struggles, Catmull
shares insights about harnessing talent, creating teams,
protecting the creative process, candid communications,
organizational structures, alignment, and the importance of
storytelling. . . . [Creativity, Inc.] will delight and
inspire creative individuals and their managers, as well as
anyone who wants to work ‘in an environment that fosters
creativity and problem solving.’”—Publishers Weekly
(starred review)
“For anyone managing anything, and particularly those trying to
manage creative teams, Catmull is like a kind, smart godfather
guiding us toward managing wisely, without losing our souls,
and in a way that works toward greatness. Perhaps it’s all
Up from there.”—The Christian Science
Monitor
“Many have attempted to formulate and categorize inspiration
and creativity. What Ed Catmull shares instead is his astute
experience that creativity isn’t strictly a well of ideas, but
an alchemy of people. In Creativity, Inc. Ed reveals,
with commonsense specificity and honesty, examples of how not
to get in your own way and how to realize a creative
coalescence of art, business, and innovation.”—George
Lucas
“This is the best book ever written on what it takes to build a
creative organization. It is the best because Catmull’s wisdom,
modesty, and self-awareness fill every page. He shows how
Pixar’s greatness results from connecting the specific little
things they do (mostly things that anyone can do in any
organization) to the big goal that drives everyone in the
company: making films that make them feel proud of one
another.”—Robert I. Sutton, Stanford professor and author of
The No A**hole Rule and co-author of Scaling Up
Excellence
