Creativity, Inc.
Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
by Ed Catmull
“In Creativity, Inc., Ed Catmull takes us inside Pixar and reveals not just the secrets of this incredibly successful company but also provides a roadmap, via the Pixar way, for anyone who seeks to unleash creativity, create a culture of innovation, and build a sustainable creative enterprise.”
The Pixar Playbook: A Guide to Building a Culture of Fearless Creativity
We tend to think of creativity as a lightning strike—a mystical, unpredictable force that hits a lone genius in a moment of brilliant inspiration. But if that's true, how does a company like Pixar manage to produce hit after critically acclaimed, commercially successful, and wildly original film for decades? It can't just be luck. There must be a system. There must be a secret.
In his masterful book, Creativity, Inc., Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull pulls back the curtain and reveals that secret. And it's not what you think. The book is a fascinating journey into the heart of one of the world's most innovative companies, and it argues that creativity is not a mysterious event, but a team sport that can be managed and nurtured. The leader's job is not to be the visionary with all the answers, but to be the architect of a culture where great ideas can emerge from anyone, be challenged without fear, and be developed into brilliance.
What You'll Learn
Why your best and most innovative ideas almost always start as "ugly babies" that need protection.
The secret rules behind Pixar's legendary "Braintrust" feedback meetings.
How to build a culture of true candor where honest feedback is a gift, not a threat.
Why embracing failure is a non-negotiable part of the creative process.
Practical management techniques for leading creative teams to breakthrough success.
The First Rule of Creativity: Protect Your "Ugly Babies"
The most powerful and humane concept in the book is Catmull's idea of the "ugly baby." Every single one of Pixar's beloved films—from Toy Story to Up to Inside Out—started as a fragile, incomplete, and frankly, "ugly" idea. The original story reels were a mess. The characters were undeveloped, the plots had holes, and the endings didn't work.
Catmull argues that the single biggest enemy of creativity is fear—the fear of looking stupid, the fear of making a mistake, the fear of showing something that isn't perfect. A manager's first and most important job is to create a safe environment where these "ugly babies" can be shown without fear of premature judgment. You have to give new ideas the time and space to grow, to get feedback, and to evolve from a fragile mess into something beautiful. The rest of Pixar's legendary culture is designed to serve this one core principle.
The Pixar Toolkit: Systems for Fearless Creativity
Pixar's success is not an accident; it's the result of specific, repeatable practices designed to foster candor and remove fear from the creative process.
The Braintrust: Candor Without Power
At the heart of Pixar's development process is the Braintrust. This is a meeting where a director shows their film-in-progress to a group of other directors and veteran storytellers to get feedback. But this is not a typical studio notes session where executives give orders. The Braintrust operates on a set of strict rules that make it work:
It's a meeting of peers. The people giving notes are fellow directors who know how hard the job is. The formal hierarchy of the company is left at the door.
Feedback is a gift, not a command. The Braintrust offers observations and suggestions based on their own experience. The notes are data points for the director to consider; they are not a to-do list.
It's about the project, not the person. The feedback is always focused on the film's problems ("The third act isn't working for me because I'm not clear on the villain's motivation"), not on the director's ability.
The director has total ownership. After the meeting, the film's director is completely free to use or ignore any and all of the feedback. This is crucial. By separating feedback from authority, the director can listen honestly without feeling defensive.
The Dailies: Making Vulnerability a Habit
To make showing unfinished work a normal, everyday occurrence, Pixar uses a process called "dailies." Every day, animators and directors gather in a screening room to watch the shots that were completed the day before. These shots are out of order, without sound, and often rough.
The purpose of dailies is not to critique, but to provide a quick, low-stakes feedback loop and to make the act of sharing incomplete work a routine. A director might see a shot and say, "That's great," or "Let's try that one again from a different angle." By making vulnerability a daily habit, the fear associated with showing your work slowly melts away.
Embracing Failure as a Discovery Process
Catmull is adamant that if you aren't failing, you aren't innovating. The goal is not to avoid failure, but to build a culture that can recover from it quickly and learn from it.
The most powerful example is the story of Toy Story 2. The film was originally planned as a lower-budget, direct-to-video sequel. Deep into production, the leadership team realized the story was a mess and the film simply wasn't good enough to carry the Pixar name. Instead of pushing forward to meet a deadline, they made the incredibly difficult decision to effectively start over. This massive "failure" was a pivotal moment. The team "failed fast," learned from their mistakes, and rebooted the project to create the beloved, critically acclaimed classic we know today. Failure was not the end of the process; it was a painful but necessary part of it.
The Braintrust Rules of Engagement
Want to make your own team's feedback sessions more effective? Apply Pixar's rules.
1. A Meeting of Peers: Ensure the feedback group is made up of trusted colleagues who understand the work, not just senior executives.
2. Feedback, Not Directives: Frame all notes as suggestions or personal reactions. Start sentences with "For me..." or "What if..." instead of "You should..."
3. Be Specific and Constructive: Don't just say, "I don't like it." Explain why it's not working for you. ("I felt confused in this section because I wasn't sure what the character's main goal was.")
4. Separate the Idea from the Person: Always focus the conversation on making the project better, not on judging the person who created it.
5. Preserve Ownership: The project leader must have the final say and the freedom to reject feedback. This ensures they remain fully responsible for and invested in the outcome.
How to Build Your Own 'Creativity, Inc.'
You don't need to be making animated films to apply these principles.
1. Protect an "Ugly Baby": The next time a team member brings you a half-formed, fragile idea, your first job is to protect it from criticism. Ask curious questions to understand it better ("Tell me more about what you're thinking here"), but resist the urge to immediately point out its flaws.
2. Run a Mini-"Dailies": At the start of your next team meeting, have everyone share something they are currentlyworking on for just 60 seconds, even if it's not perfect. Normalize the act of showing work-in-progress.
3. Model Vulnerability: Be the first person on your team to admit when you don't know the answer or when you've made a mistake. Your vulnerability gives others the permission to be vulnerable too.
4. Give Feedback That Empowers: The next time you give notes on a colleague's work, frame it as your personal perspective. Try saying, "Here's how that landed with me..." or "A question that came up for me was..." This invites a conversation rather than creating a defense.
Final Reflections
Creativity, Inc. is a profound and humble look inside one of the most successful creative endeavors in modern history. Ed Catmull masterfully reveals that Pixar's "magic" is not magic at all; it is the result of a deep, disciplined, and humane commitment to building a culture of trust. It’s a culture where people feel safe enough to share their "ugly babies," where honest feedback is a gift, and where failure is seen as a necessary part of the journey to excellence. It is an essential guide for any leader who understands that their most important job is not to have all the great ideas, but to create an environment where great ideas can be born, nurtured, and allowed to flourish.
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