Managing Creativity & The story behind "Toy story"

Visual booknotes for Creativity inc. bestseller - Part 3

Last time, we left Ed Catmull and Steve Jobs with the initial success of having given birth to “Pixar”, but in this next chapter, new troubles are coming!

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Chapter 3 - A Defining Goal

Now in charge of Pixar, Ed Catmull quickly realized that being successful in his role meant mastering areas that he hadn't touched as a research leader - sales, marketing, manufacturing etc.

He turned to books for guidance but found most of the the books were full of catchy but vague advice, like "Focus, Focus, Focus." But what exactly should he focus on? None of them said anything about that.

Instead, Ed found inspiration in the teachings of Edward Deming, whose philosophy revolutionized the Japanese industry. One principle, famously applied by Toyota, resonated with him:

"You don’t have to ask permission to take responsibility."

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Meanwhile, Pixar was struggling. Their computer graphics machine wasn’t selling well, and communication with Steve Jobs was difficult.

Just when things seemed bleak, a lifeline appeared - Disney hired Pixar to produce an animated movie!

Ed’s dream of creating a full-length animated film was finally within reach! The team eagerly began working on what would become "Toy Story." However, in their enthusiasm to please Disney, they forgot their original vision, resulting in a version of Woody that was edgy and unlikable.

The first screening was a disaster. Disney was so disappointed that they almost shut the project down—an event known at Pixar as "Black Friday."

Check the video below to see the team talking about it years later:

The team was given two weeks to fix the story, and they worked tirelessly to return to their original concept.

Their hard work paid off! and "Toy Story" became a massive success!

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In the aftermath of this success, however, Ed came to a critical realization:

“Looking out for problems doesn't mean seeing them!”

Although Pixar had made history with the first computer-animated film, Ed Catmull discovered that the process had been extremely challenging for the production managers.

🤐 Being contractors they had felt pressured to stay silent about their difficulties,
🛑The communication setup forced them to act as middle men between teams, making the artists and technicians feeling micro-managed.

The solution?

→ Ed took the decision to separate the Communication channels from the Organization chart:

Everyone should be able to speak directly with anyone, regardless of their position in the organization chart.

Having managed to fulfill his child dream of an animated movie, Ed had just found a new mission:

To constantly seek out and address the blind spots that could hinder the team's creativity and success.

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Thanks for reading! and see you on the next one !

The next part is now available here: