“Here are the qualifications required: The people you choose must (a) make you think smarter and (b) put lots of solutions on… — Ed Catmull Copy Share Image
“Moreover, successful leaders embrace the reality that their models may be wrong or incomplete. Only when we admit what we don’t know… — Ed Catmull Leadership Copy Share Image
“What is the point of hiring smart people, we asked, if you don’t empower them to fix what’s broken?” — Ed Catmull Intelligence Copy Share Image
“So when problems arise—and they always do—disentangling them is not as simple as correcting the original error. Often, finding a solution is… — Ed Catmull Problem solving Copy Share Image
“This was a critical decision that was not obvious to most people. Most people assumed that Pixar would do 3D movies and… — Ed Catmull Disney Copy Share Image
“If there are people in your organization who feel they are not free to suggest ideas, you lose.” — Ed Catmull Ideas Copy Share Image
“They had to offer feedback when needed but also had to be willing to stand back and give us room.” — Ed Catmull Copy Share Image
“The first principle was “Story Is King,” by which we meant that we would let nothing—not the technology, not the merchandising possibilities—get… — Ed Catmull Principle Copy Share Image
“Before I go on, I want to say something about the word protection. I worry that because it has such a positive… — Ed Catmull Copy Share Image
“A culture that allows everyone, no matter their position, to stop the assembly line, both figuratively and literally, maximizes the creative engagement… — Ed Catmull Assembly line Copy Share Image
“A hallmark of a healthy creative culture is that its people feel free to share ideas, opinions, and criticisms. Lack of candor,… — Ed Catmull Creativity Copy Share Image
“From a very early age, the message is drilled into our heads: Failure is bad; failure means you didn’t study or prepare;… — Ed Catmull Failure Copy Share Image
“The way I see it, my job as a manager is to create a fertile environment, keep it healthy, and watch for… — Ed Catmull Creativity Copy Share Image
“Braintrust meetings require giving candid notes, but they do a great deal more than that. The most productive creative sessions allow for… — Ed Catmull Philosophy of Mind Copy Share Image
“You might say I’m an advocate for humility in leaders. But to be truly humble, those leaders must first understand how many… — Ed Catmull Humble Copy Share Image
“A lively debate in a Braintrust meeting is not being waged in the hopes of any one person winning the day. To… — Ed Catmull Debate Copy Share Image
“At one point in this period, I met with Steve and gently asked him how things got resolved when people disagree with… — Ed Catmull Eye to eye Copy Share Image
“In the end, if you do it right, people come out of the theater and say, “A movie about talking toys—what a… — Ed Catmull Movie Copy Share Image
“In big organizations there are advantages to consistency, but I strongly believe that smaller groups within the larger whole should be allowed… — Ed Catmull Business Copy Share Image
“Another area where limits are invaluable is what we call “appetite control.” In Pixar’s case, when we are making a movie the… — Ed Catmull Copy Share Image
“Communication would no longer have to go through hierarchical channels. The exchange of information was key to our business, of course, but… — Ed Catmull Communication Copy Share Image
“What makes Pixar special is that we acknowledge we will always have problems, many of them hidden from our view; that we… — Ed Catmull Disney Copy Share Image
“This doesn’t mean that Andrew enjoys it when he puts his work up for others to judge, and it is found wanting.… — Ed Catmull Copy Share Image
“In the very early days of Pixar, John, Andrew, Pete, Lee, and Joe made a promise to one another. No matter what… — Ed Catmull Constructive criticism Copy Share Image
“My belief is that good leadership can help creative people stay on the path to excellence no matter what business they’re in.” — Ed Catmull Business Copy Share Image
“but its most important characteristic was an ability to analyze the emotional beats of a movie without any of its members themselves… — Ed Catmull Copy Share Image
“We want people to feel like they can take steps to solve problems without asking permission.” — Ed Catmull Copy Share Image
“So if your primary goal is to have a fully worked out, set-in-stone plan, you are only upping your chances of being… — Ed Catmull Goals Copy Share Image
“failure is a manifestation of learning and exploration. If you aren’t experiencing failure, then you are making a far worse mistake:” — Ed Catmull Failure Copy Share Image
“Andrew Stanton spoke next. Andrew is fond of saying that people need to be wrong as fast as they can.” — Ed Catmull Copy Share Image
“But when it comes to creativity, the unknown is not our enemy. If we make room for it instead of shunning it,… — Ed Catmull Creativity Copy Share Image
“Despite good intentions, the result is troubling: Feeding the Beast becomes the central focus.” — Ed Catmull Animals Copy Share Image
“Once you master any system, you typically become blind to its flaws; even if you can see them, they appear far too… — Ed Catmull Flaws Copy Share Image
“You needed to show your people that you meant it when you said that while efficiency was a goal, quality was the… — Ed Catmull Excellence Copy Share Image
“Getting the right people and the right chemistry is more important than getting the right idea.” — Ed Catmull Copy Share Image
“When downsides coexist with upsides, as they often do, people are reluctant to explore what’s bugging them, for fear of being labeled… — Ed Catmull Copy Share Image
“Our mental models aren’t reality. They are tools, like the models weather forecasters use to predict the weather.” — Ed Catmull Psychology Copy Share Image
“Which meant that the people working on Up had to be able to roll with that evolution without panicking, shutting down, or… — Ed Catmull Biology Copy Share Image
“most of us do not realize that we distort our own view of the world, largely because we think we see more… — Ed Catmull Copy Share Image
“It is one of life’s cruel ironies that when it comes to feeding the Beast, success only creates more pressure to hurry… — Ed Catmull Life Copy Share Image
