“What makes Pixar special is that we acknowledge we will always have problems, many of them hidden from view; that we work hard to uncover these problems, even if doing so means making ourselves uncomfortable; and that, when we come across a problems, we marshal all of our energies to solve it” (pg x).
“If we made something that we wanted to see, others would want to see it, too” (pg xi).
“We start from the presumption that our people are talented and want to contribute. We accept that, without meaning to, our company is stifling that talent in myriad unseen ways. Finally, we try to identify those impediments and fix them” (pg xv).
“The obvious payback of exceptional people are that they innovate, excel, and generally make your company - and, by extension, you - look good” (pg 23).
“The responsibility for finding and fixing problems should be assigned to every employee, from the most senior manager to the lowliest person on the production line” (pg 50).
“When downsides coexist with upsides, as they oftedn do, people are reluctant to explore what’s bugging them, for fear of being labeled complainers.” But, “if left unaddressed, {it} could fester and destroy Pixar”. Or anything (pg 63).
“Our purpose was not merely to build a studio that made hit films but to foster a creative culture that would continually ask questions” (pg 64).
“It would be a mistake to think that merely gathering a bunch of people in a room for a candid discussion every couple of months will automatically cure your company’s ills” (pg 104).
“If you aren’t experiencing failure, then you are making a far worse mistake: You are being driven by the desire to avoid it. And, for leaders especially, this strategy - trying to avoid failure by out-thinking it - dooms you to fail” (pg 109).
“How do you make failure into something people can face without fear? . . . If leaders can talk about our mistakes and our part in them, then we make it safe for others . . . Being open about problems is the first step toward learning from them” (pg 111).
“When experimentation is seen as necessary and productive, not as a frustrating waste of time, people will enjoy their work - even when it is confounding them” (pg 113).
“One of the most crucial responsibilities of leadership is creating a culture that rewards those who lift not just our stock prices but our aspirations as well” (pg 123).
“Originality is fragile” (pg 131).
“Fear makes people reach for certainty and stability, neither of which guarantee the safety they imply” (pg 148).
“If you don’t try to uncover what is unseen and understand its nature, you will be ill prepared to lead” (pg 169).
“Confirmation Bias: the tendency of people to favor information true or not, that confirms their preexisting beliefs . . . If our mental models are mere approximations of reality, then, the conclusions we draw cannot help but be prone to error. A few words uttered by someone close to us can carry enormous weight, for example, whereas the same words uttered by a stranger won’t resonate at all. At our jobs, we may interpret not being invited to a meeting as a threat to us or to our projects, even when no threat is intended. But because we often don’ see the flaws in our reasoning - or our biases - it’s easy to be deluded while being quite convinced that we are the only sane ones around . . . once a model of how we should work gets in our head, it is difficult to change” (pg 181, 182).
“There are limits to data, and some people rely on it too heavily. Analyzing it correctly is difficult, and it is dangerous to assume that you always know what it means. It is very easy to find false patters” because, “a large portion of what we manage can’t be measured, and not realizing this has unintended consequences” (pg 219).
“People want decisivenss, but they also want honesty about when you’ve effed up. It’s a huge lesson: include people in your problems, not just your solutions” (pg 228).
“If you’re sailing across the ocean and your goal is to avoid weather and waves, then why the hell are you sailing? You have to embrace that sailing means that you can’t control the elements and that there will be good days and bad days and that, whatever comes, you will deal with it because your goal is to eventually get to the other side. You will not be able to control exactly how you get across. That’s the game you’ve decided to be in. If your goal is to make it easier and simpler, then don’t get in the boat” (pg 228).
“While everyone appreciates cash bonuses, they value something else almost as much: being looked in the eye by someone they respect and told, ‘Thank you"‘“ (pg 272).
Personal Project Days:
The allowance “to work on anything they wanted, using Pixar’s resources to engage with whatever problem or question they found interesting . . . any idea that sparked their curiosity, they were free to pursue.”
”Just give people time, and they come up with the ideas . . . that’s the beauty of it: It comes from them” (pg 281).
Thoughts for Managing a Creative Culture:
There is nothing quite as effective, when it comes to shutting down alternative viewpoints, as being convinced you are right.
Be wary of making too many rules. Rules can simplify life for managers, but they can be demeaning to the 95 percent who behave well. Don’t create rules to rein in the other 5 percent - address abuses of common sense individuality. this is more work but ultimately healthier.
Don’t confuse the process with the goal. Working on our process to make them better, easier, and more efficient is an indispensable activity and something we should continually work on - but it is not the goal. Making the product great is the goal.