

A conversation with Pixar's Ed Catmull - tim_sw
http://www.scottberkun.com/blog/2010/inside-pixars-leadership/

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apu
I'm always amazed every time I read or watch interviews or talks by Catmull
for his incisiveness.

It's so rare to find someone who's both technically and organizationally
brilliant, with a track record as phenomenal as he has had at Pixar.

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jayair
Wow. I couldn't stop paying attention to it in fear that I might miss
something he says.

Any other of his talks or interviews that you might recommend?

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tim_sw
there's this one called "keep your crisis small"
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2h2lvhzMDc>

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jayair
Oh I just finished watching that :P Thanks!

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d0m
I really appreciate how he's always searching for things that went/go/will go
wrong even thought everything seems to go so well for Pixar. I find that
inspiring.

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anamax
> I really appreciate how he's always searching for things that went/go/will
> go wrong even thought everything seems to go so well for Pixar.

Of course, the fact that things are going fairly well makes it easier for him
to find and focus on things that aren't going well.

It's a virtuous circle wrt technical debt. The less you have, the more effort
that you can apply to each bit that you do have. And, if things are going
well, the less that you spend in total on reducing your technical debt.

~~~
Oxryly
That seems right. However I think with an organization like Pixar there is an
enormous energy that can potentially spew technical debt like nobody's
business. If it goes off the rails, it _could_ go off in a big way.

For that reason a manager in his position has to be hyper vigilant and really
have his approach down pat, which appears to be the case.

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Oxryly
Very cool stuff. I was expecting a lot and still I was blown away.

