I’m currently reading Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull, former President of Pixar Animation and Disney Animation.

In his introduction he shares:

What makes Pixar special is that we acknowledge we will always have problems, many of them hidden from our view; that we work hard to uncover these problems, even if doing so means making ourselves uncomfortable; and that, when we come across a problem, we marshal all of our energies to solve it.

For more than twenty years, Catmull pursued a vision that many believed was impossible: creating the world’s first fully computer-animated feature film. The goal became the organizing principle of his professional life. It influenced the decisions he made, the people he worked with, the problems he chose to solve and the sacrifices he was willing to make. Like many ambitious goals, it provided direction, meaning and a clear sense of purpose.

Then Toy Story was released.

The film was successful. Pixar was successful. The dream that had once seemed distant and improbable had finally been achieved.

What surprised him was what happened next.

Having spent decades focused on reaching a destination, he found himself confronting a question he had not anticipated.

If the goal had been achieved, what now?

As I reflected on that, it struck me that many of us carry an assumption that achievement will deliver something lasting. We imagine that once the business reaches a certain size, once the revenue target is met, once the restructuring is complete, once the new role is secured, something fundamental will settle into place.

Yet what Catmull discovered was that the satisfaction of achievement is often temporary. The excitement fades. The milestone becomes part of the past. The destination that occupied so much attention eventually becomes another point on the map.

What remains is the work itself.

The learning. The challenge of solving difficult problems. The relationships built through shared effort. The opportunity to create, improve and contribute.

That realization led him to a deeper question.

If achieving the goal was not enough, how could Pixar continue to create exceptional work year after year? How could an organization avoid becoming trapped by its own success?

As he looked around at other successful companies, another question began to emerge.

Why do intelligent, capable leaders make decisions that eventually send their organizations off the rails?

He wasn’t interested in dismissing these leaders as foolish. He assumed they were smart people making what they believed were sensible decisions. What fascinated him was the possibility that something was preventing them from seeing the threats developing around them. Time and again he observed companies become so focused on competition, growth and execution that they failed to recognize the forces quietly undermining them from within.

That became his next challenge.

His attention shifted from creating groundbreaking technology to understanding what causes talented people, strong teams and successful organizations to lose their way.

The answer, he concluded, was not found in chasing the next achievement. It was found in building an environment where creativity, learning and honest dialogue could continue to flourish.

He came to believe that leadership begins with the assumption that people are talented and want to contribute. The challenge is that organizations often suppress that talent in countless unseen ways. The responsibility of leadership is to identify those impediments and remove them.

He also came to believe that leaders must make room for what they do not know.

Not simply because humility is admirable, but because breakthroughs become impossible when certainty occupies all the available space. Managers must loosen controls rather than tighten them. They must accept risk. They must trust the people they work with. They must actively engage with anything that creates fear because fear distorts communication long before it distorts results.

There is an important leadership lesson in that.

Many organizations become intensely focused on outcomes. Revenue targets, growth objectives, market share, customer acquisition and strategic initiatives dominate attention. These things matter, but an exclusive focus on results can distract leaders from the conditions that produce those results in the first place.

• Culture.
• Trust.
• Communication.
• Curiosity.
• Psychological safety.
• The willingness to challenge assumptions.
• The capacity to learn from mistakes.

These are often less visible than the outcome, but they shape the outcome nonetheless.

The introduction, which is all I’ve read so far, is called Lost and Found, and I suspect that title carries a meaning beyond Catmull’s personal experience. Sometimes we lose ourselves in the pursuit of a goal, believing the destination holds the answer. Along the way, if we are fortunate, we discover something more valuable: that meaningful work is not sustained by achievement alone. It is sustained by the conditions that allow people to continue growing, learning and creating long after the goal has been achieved.

Strategic Reflection Prompt

Before looking for the next opportunity, target or initiative, take a moment to consider:

What assumptions, fears, habits or organizational norms may be quietly limiting the contribution, creativity or effectiveness of the people around you, including yourself?

About Giselle

Most costly decisions begin with an inaccurate understanding of the situation.

I’m increasingly interested in how leaders make sense of uncertainty, complexity, and important decisions. If you could better understand one thing about your business right now, what would it be?

Giselle Hudson is a Pre-Decision Diagnostic Advisor who helps leaders gain clarity before major decisions are made or resources are committed to the wrong solution.