Beware of being blinded by your own success.
Edwin CatmullRead
We need business leaders who have a respect for technical issues even if they don't have technical backgrounds. In a lot of U.S. industries, including cars and even computers, many managers don't think of technology as a core competency, and this attitude leads them to farm out technical issues.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Business leaders should value technical knowledge even if they lack technical experience.
This quote emphasizes the importance of business leaders understanding and respecting technical issues in their fields, despite their own backgrounds. Edwin Catmull argues that when leaders overlook technical competency, they risk outsourcing crucial technology-related decisions, which can undermine the effectiveness and innovation of their organizations.
Themes
LeadershipTechnologyCompetencyBusinessManagement
In practice
Example use cases
A CEO giving a speech about the importance of technical literacy in leadership roles.
More from Edwin Catmull
All quotes βI started off life at Pixar with interesting technical problems. But as time has moved on, I found that the social and management problem was far more complex and interesting.
Edwin CatmullRead
We encourage our people to build their ideas from scratch, and we give them the resources - and, crucially, the candid feedback - that are required to transform the first wisps of a story into a truly compelling film.
Edwin CatmullRead
A hallmark of a healthy creative culture is that its people feel free to share ideas, opinions, and criticisms. Our decision-making is better when we draw on the collective knowledge and unvarnished opinions of the group.
Edwin CatmullRead
It is only by trying new things that we can hope to create products that are original. Don't just say those words; act like you believe them.
Edwin CatmullRead
The trick is, in everything we do, there are things we love. And sometimes the things we love get us stuck. And it's only if we let go of some of those things that we free the movie up to become greater.
Edwin CatmullRead
Similar quotes
The chief qualification of a mass leader has become unending infallibility; he can never admit an error.
Hannah ArendtRead
I think that the larger and more complex the business gets, I have to listen twice as much as I speak.
Angela AhrendtsRead
Laws made by common consent must not be trampled on by individuals.
George WashingtonRead
When I want my men to remember something important, to really make it stick, I give it to them double dirty. It may not sound nice to some bunch of little old ladies at an afternoon tea party, but it helps my soldiers to remember. You can't run an army without profanity; and it has to be eloquent profanity. An army without profanity couldn't fight its way out of a piss-soaked paper bag. As for the types of comments I make, sometimes I just, By God, get carried away with my own eloquence.
George S. PattonRead
I have been tremendously impacted and influenced by my coaches. It's nice to play for people that are going to support you.
Peyton ManningRead
To not apologize for the behavior of the players to another manager is unthinkable. It's a disgrace, but I don't expect Wenger to ever apologize...he's that type of person.
Alex FergusonRead