Creativity, Inc.
“I like Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull.”
Why it is worth your time
Creativity, Inc. is Ed Catmull's 2014 account of running Pixar, written with the journalist Amy Wallace. Catmull co-founded Pixar, led it through Toy Story and the 2006 sale to Disney, and then ran Disney Animation as well. The book covers the Braintrust, the group of directors who critique films in progress, the practice of candor, and the risks of hiding problems from management. This edition is the expanded version from 2023, with new material on Catmull's later years. Jason listed it on TWiST in May 2020 and included it on his 2019 list of biographies that outsiders should read to learn how insiders got there. It suits managers of creative or engineering teams who want practical rules for feedback. The caveat is that it is an insider's account: Catmull co-founded Pixar and ran it for decades.
