Beware of being blinded by your own success.
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.
Interpretation
A healthy creative environment encourages open communication and diverse input for better decision-making.
In this quote, Edwin Catmull emphasizes the importance of fostering a creative culture where individuals feel safe to express their thoughts and critiques. By promoting an atmosphere of openness and collaboration, organizations can enhance their decision-making processes by leveraging the collective insights and honest perspectives of their members.
In practice
In a team meeting, you can share this quote to encourage everyone to express their opinions freely.
Beware of being blinded by your own success.
I 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
You can't write a script in your mind and then force yourself to follow it. You have to let yourself be.
Don't wait for permission to do something creative.
But neither money nor machines can create. They shuttle tokens of energy, but they do not transform. A civilization based on them puts people out of touch with their creative powers.
If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play.
You don't have to work for Google, or any of the other firms encouraging staff to pursue personal projects on company time, to use slowness to unlock your creativity. Anyone can do it. Start by clearing space in your schedule for rest, daydreaming and serendipity. Take breaks away from your desk, especially when you get stuck on a problem.
Everything that's created comes out of silence. Your thoughts emerge from the nothingness of silence. Your words come out of this void. Your very essence emerged from emptiness. All creativity requires some stillness.
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