I was not even aware of this book being published until I drifted by a poster in a London Tube station.  I saw the outline of Buzz Lightyear and I quickly snapped a picture to remind myself to the read the book.  I finally got around to borrowing the eBook from the library to read on one of my many plane trips.  The book was so great that I only made it half way through the book when I ordered a hardcopy of the book to own and keep.  I do not normally read a lot of “business” books, but being a huge fan of pixar I made an exception and I was not disappointed.

For me, what set this book apart was all of the hard work that Pixar took to continue to take the hard steps to put into place mechanisms for constructive feedback.  Feedback from anyone, for any project and any person.  All without getting suck in the quagmire of egos and corporate politics.  The priority of creating great movies, great stories, trumped everything else.  I am sure that along the way feelings were hurt, but the collective goal of the end product was strong enough for every person.  Even those that felt slighted.

“We realized that our purpose was not merely to build a studio that made hit films but to foster a creative culture that would continually ask questions.”

I have had the fortune on being part of companies that have had great success. I have also seen companies that seemed to have all the answers stumble and nearly collapse.  It was fascinating to read how Pixar has gone through both amazing successes and nearly fatal mistakes, and come through the other side.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who work as part of a team.