Dare to inspire : sustain the fire of inspiration in work and life

“What does it mean to manage well?” From Ed Catmull, co-founder (with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter) of Pixar Animation Studios, comes an incisive book about creativity in business—sure to appeal to readers of Daniel Pink, Tom Peters, and Chip and Dan Heath. Creativity, Inc. is a book for managers who want to lead their employees to new heights, a manual for anyone who strives for originality, and the first-ever, all-access trip into the nerve center of Pixar Animation—into the meetings, postmortems, and “Braintrust” sessions where some of the most successful films in history are made. It is, at heart, a book about how to build a creative culture—but it is also, as Pixar co-founder and president Ed Catmull writes, “an expression of the ideas that I believe make the best in us possible.” For nearly twenty years, Pixar has dominated the world of animation, producing such beloved films as the Toy Story trilogy, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Up, and WALL-E, which have gone on to set box-office records and garner thirty Academy Awards. The joyousness of the storytelling, the inventive plots, the emotional authenticity: In some ways, Pixar movies are an object lesson in what creativity really is . Here, in this book, Catmull reveals the ideals and techniques that have made Pixar so widely admired—and so profitable. As a young man, Ed Catmull had a dream: to make the first computer-animated movie. He nurtured that dream as a Ph.D. student at the University of Utah, where many computer science pioneers got their start, and then forged a partnership with George Lucas that led, indirectly, to his founding Pixar with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter in 1986. Nine years later, Toy Story was released, changing animation forever. The essential ingredient in that movie’s success—and in the thirteen movies that followed—was the unique environment that Catmull and his colleagues built at Pixar, based on philosophies that protect the creative process and defy convention, such as: • Give a good idea to a mediocre team, and they will screw it up. But give a mediocre idea to a great team, and they will either fix it or come up with something better. • If you don’t strive to uncover what is unseen and understand its nature, you will be ill prepared to lead. • It’s not the manager’s job to prevent risks. It’s the manager’s job to make it safe for others to take them. • The cost of preventing errors is often far greater than the cost of fixing them. • A company’s communication structure should not mirror its organizational structure. Everybody should be able to talk to anybody. • Do not assume that general agreement will lead to change—it takes substantial energy to move a group, even when all are on board. Résumé : "From Ed Catmull, co-founder (with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter) of Pixar Animation Studios, comes an incisive book about creativity in business--sure to appeal to readers of Daniel Pink, Tom Peters, and Chip and Dan Heath. Creativity, Inc. is a book for managers who want to lead their employees to new heights, a manual for anyone who strives for originality, and the first-ever, all-access trip into the nerve center of Pixar Animation--into the meetings, postmortems, and "Braintrust" sessions where some of the most successful films in history are made. It is, at heart, a book about how to build a creative culture--but it is also, as Pixar co-founder and president Ed Catmull writes, "an expression of the ideas that I believe make the best in us possible." For nearly twenty years, Pixar has dominated the world of animation, producing such beloved films as the Toy Story trilogy, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Up, and WALL-E, which have gone on to set box-office records and garner thirty Academy Awards. The joyousness of the storytelling, the inventive plots, the emotional authenticity : In some ways, Pixar movies are an object lesson in what creativity really is. Here, in this book, Catmull reveals the ideals and techniques that have made Pixar so widely admired--and so profitable. As a young man, Ed Catmull had a dream : to make the first computer-animated movie. He nurtured that dream as a Ph. D. student at the University of Utah, where many computer science pioneers got their start, and then forged a partnership with George Lucas that led, indirectly, to his founding Pixar with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter in 1986. Nine years later, Toy Story was released, changing animation forever. The essential ingredient in that movie's success--and in the thirteen movies that followed--was the unique environment that Catmull and his colleagues built at Pixar, based on philosophies that protect the creative process and defy convention, such as : Give a good idea to a mediocre team, and they will screw it up. But give a mediocre idea to a great team, and they will either fix it or come up with something better. If you don't strive to uncover what is unseen and understand its nature, you will be ill prepared to lead. It's not the manager's job to prevent risks. It's the manager's job to make it safe for others to take them. The cost of preventing errors is often far greater than the cost of fixing them. A company's communication structure should not mirror its organizational structure. Everybody should be able to talk to anybody. Do not assume that general agreement will lead to change--it takes substantial energy to move a group, even when all are on board"--Publisher's description From Ed Catmull, co-founder (with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter) of Pixar Animation Studios, comes an incisive book about creativity in business--sure to appeal to readers of Daniel Pink, Tom Peters, and Chip and Dan Heath. Creativity, Inc. is a book for managers who want to lead their employees to new heights, a manual for anyone who strives for originality, and the first-ever, all-access trip into the nerve center of Pixar Animation--into the meetings, postmortems, and "Braintrust" sessions where some of the most successful films in history are made. It is, at heart, a book about how to build a creative culture--but it is also, as Pixar co-founder and president Ed Catmull writes, "an expression of the ideas that I believe make the best in us possible." For nearly twenty years, Pixar has dominated the world of animation, producing such beloved films as the Toy Story trilogy, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Up, and WALL-E, which have gone on to set box-office records and garner thirty Academy Awards. The joyousness of the storytelling, the inventive plots, the emotional authenticity: In some ways, Pixar movies are an object lesson in what creativity really is. Here, in this book, Catmull reveals the ideals and techniques that have made Pixar so widely admired--and so profitable. As a young man, Ed Catmull had a dream: to make the first computer-animated movie. He nurtured that dream as a Ph. D. student at the University of Utah, where many computer science pioneers got their start, and then forged a partnership with George Lucas that led, indirectly, to his founding Pixar with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter in 1986. Nine years later, Toy Story was released, changing animation forever. The essential ingredient in that movie's success--and in the thirteen movies that followed--was the unique environment that Catmull and his colleagues built at Pixar, based on philosophies that protect the creative process and defy convention, such as: Give a good idea to a mediocre team, and they will screw it up. But give a mediocre idea to a great team, and they will either fix it or come up with something better. If you don't strive to uncover what is unseen and understand its nature, you will be ill prepared to lead. It's not the manager's job to prevent risks. It's the manager's job to make it safe for others to take them. The cost of preventing errors is often far greater than the cost of fixing them. A company's communication structure should not mirror its organizational structure. Everybody should be able to talk to anybody. Do not assume that general agreement will lead to change--it takes substantial energy to move a group, even when all are on board.--From the Hardcover edition __“What does it mean to manage well?”__From Ed Catmull, co-founder (with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter) of Pixar Animation Studios, comes an incisive book about creativity in business—sure to appeal to readers of Daniel Pink, Tom Peters, and Chip and Dan Heath.is a book for managers who want to lead their employees to new heights, a manual for anyone who strives for originality, and the first-ever, all-access trip into the nerve center of Pixar Animation—into the meetings, postmortems, and “Braintrust” sessions where some of the most successful films in history are made. It is, at heart, a book about how to build a creative culture—but it is also, as Pixar co-founder and president Ed Catmull writes, “an expression of the ideas that I believe make the best in us possible.” For nearly twenty years, Pixar has dominated the world of animation, producing such beloved films as thetrilogy,andwhich have gone on to set box-office records and garner thirty Academy Awards. The joyousness of the storytelling, the inventive plots, the emotional authenticity: In some ways, Pixar movies are an object lesson in what creativity really. Here, in this book, Catmull reveals the ideals and techniques that have made Pixar so widely admired—and so profitable.As a young man, Ed Catmull had a dream: to make the first computer-animated movie. He nurtured that dream as a Ph.D. student at the University of Utah, where many computer science pioneers got their start, and then forged a partnership with George Lucas that led, indirectly, to his founding Pixar with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter in 1986. Nine years later,was released, changing animation forever. The essential ingredient in that movie’s success—and in the thirteen movies that followed—was the unique environment that Catmull and his colleagues built at Pixar, based on philosophies that protect the creative process and defy convention, such as:• Give a good idea to a mediocre team, and they will screw it up. But give a mediocre idea to a great team, and they will either fix it or come up with something better.• If you don’t strive to uncover what is unseen and understand its nature, you will be ill prepared to lead.• It’s not the manager’s job to prevent risks. It’s the manager’s job to make it safe for others to take them.• The cost of preventing errors is often far greater than the cost of fixing them.• A company’s communication structure should not mirror its organizational structure. Everybody should be able to talk to anybody.• Do not assume that general agreement will lead to change—it takes substantial energy to move a group, even when all are on board. The co-founder and longtime president of Pixar updates and expands his 2014 New York Times bestseller on creative leadership, reflecting on the management principles that built Pixar's singularly successful culture, and on all he learned during the past nine years that allowed Pixar to retain its creative culture while continuing to evolve.“Might be the most thoughtful management book ever.”—Fast Company For nearly thirty years, Pixar has dominated the world of animation, producing such beloved films as the Toy Story trilogy, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Up, and WALL-E, which have gone on to set box-office records and garner eighteen Academy Awards. The joyous storytelling, the inventive plots, the emotional authenticity: In some ways, Pixar movies are an object lesson in what creativity really is. Here, Catmull reveals the ideals and techniques that have made Pixar so widely admired—and so profitable. As a young man, Ed Catmull had a dream: to make the first computer-animated movie. He nurtured that dream as a Ph.D. student, and then forged a partnership with George Lucas that led, indirectly, to his founding Pixar with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter in 1986. Nine years later, Toy Story was released, changing animation forever. The essential ingredient in that movie's success—and in the twenty-five movies that followed—was the unique environment that Catmull and his colleagues built at Pixar, based on philosophies that protect the creative process and defy convention, such as:• Give a good idea to a mediocre team and they will screw it up. But give a mediocre idea to a great team and they will either fix it or come up with something better.• It's not the manager's job to prevent risks. It's the manager's job to make it safe for others to take them.• The cost of preventing errors is often far greater than the cost of fixing them.• A company's communication structure should not mirror its organizational structure. Everybody should be able to talk to anybody.Creativity, Inc. has been significantly expanded to illuminate the continuing development of the unique culture at Pixar. It features a new introduction, two entirely new chapters, four new chapter postscripts, and changes and updates throughout. Pursuing excellence isn't a one-off assignment but an ongoing, day-in, day-out, full-time job. And Creativity, Inc. explores how it is done. " Dare to Inspire shows how to spark and sustain exponential growth." —Shawn Achor, New York Times bestselling author of Big Potential and The Happiness Advantage Inspiration is a most critical resource to be managed in modern work. The problem is that the power of inspiration often feels fleeting. But what if you could design your own way to be inspired at work on a regular basis? What if you could make your own inspiration last? Rooted in 18 engines of inspiration that emerged from interviews with leaders across different industries, Dare to Inspire shows how to supercharge inspiration for yourself, your team, and your organization. Each chapter offers tools, strategies, and examples of how to make inspiration happen and last. Through stories of pioneers in business, health, education, and other industries, readers learn how to effectively use the engines to spark inspiration, along with specific practices to sustain it. Dare to Inspire features Chef Wes Avila, the founder of L.A. sensation Guerrilla Tacos, who was inspired to revolutionize his industry; crowdfunding pioneer Charles Best, who founded DonorsChoose to meet the challenge of connecting teachers in need with donors interested in supporting educational programs; and many others. This will be a vital book for anyone interested in creativity, success, achievement, and happiness. What drives the spark of inspiration in the world's most creative and accomplished people, and how anyone can transform a "Eureka" moment into concrete, sustainable results and positive change After the initial moment of inspiration, many people find that the spark goes away. It sometimes seems that, while inspiration is a powerful stimulus, it's not a lasting one, and there's nothing you can do to sustain it. But what if you could' Dare to Inspire shows readers how to approach inspiration as a designed, deliberate practice-like other practices for thriving in life, you get to choose it, own it, and maintain it. By effectively managing your energy, practicing positive rituals, and creating a support system and accountability, you can learn how to intentionally re-spark the engines of inspiration. Featuring examples including Andy Puddicombe's invention of the popular app Headspace (based on a spiritual revelation to offer a service making meditation accessible to everyone, whether they are on a Himalayan mountaintop or living in a noisy New York City walkup) to Chance the Rapper's commitment to a music career, and many more, Dare to Inspire will be a key book for readers interested in creativity, success, achievement, and happiness In 1986, Ed Catmull Co-founded Pixar, A Modest Start-up With An Immodest Goal: To Make The First-ever Computer Animated Movie. Nine Years Later, Pixar Released Toy Story, Which Went On To Revolutionize The Industry, Gross $360 Million, And Establish Pixar As One Of The Most Successful, Innovative, And Emulated Companies On Earth. This Book Details How Catmull Built An Enduring Creative Culture -- One That Doesn't Just Pay Lip Service To The Importance Of Things Like Honesty, Communication, And Originality, But Committed To Them, No Matter How Difficult That Often Proved To Be. As He Discovered, Pursuing Excellence Isn't A One-off Assignment. It's An Ongoing, Day-in, Day-out, Full-time Job. And One He Was Born To Do-- Introduction: Lost And Found -- Getting Started. Animated ; Pixar Is Born ; A Defining Goal ; Establishing Pixar's Identity -- Protecting The New. Honesty And Candor ; Fear And Failure ; The Hungry Beast And The Ugly Baby ; Change And Randomness ; The Hidden -- Building And Sustaining. Broadening Our View ; The Unmade Future -- Testing What We Know. A New Challenge ; Notes Day -- Afterword: The Steve We Knew -- Starting Points: Thoughts For Managing A Creative Culture. Ed Catmull ; With Amy Wallace. Includes Index. As a young man, Ed Catmull had a dream: to make the world's first computer-animated movie. He nurtured that dream first as a Ph. D. student at the University of Utah, where many computer science pioneers got their start, and then forged an early partnership with George Lucas that led, indirectly, to his founding Pixar with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter in 1986. Nine years later, Toy Story was released, changing animation forever. Since then, Pixar has dominated the world of animation, producing such films as Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Up, and WALL-E, which have gone on to set box-office records and garner twenty-seven Academy Awards. Now, in this book, Catmull reveals the ideals and techniques, honed over years, that have made Pixar so widely admired -- and so profitable. Creativity, Inc. is a book for managers who want to lead their employees to new heights, a manual for anyone who strives for originality, and the first-ever, all-access trip into the nerve center of Pixar Animation Studios -- into the story meetings, the postmortems, and the 'Braintrust' sessions where art is born