Top 5 Management Pills, From "Creativity, INC." by Ed Catmull

Do you like reading?

I would like to start this post sharing that I love reading. During 2021 I read a total of 20 books (Kindle stats). I usually read fantastic literature, crime and historical novels. From time to time I also like reading biographies, just to change a bit. The idea of this post came up right after ending my last book, one biography: Creativity, INC. by Ed Catmull (link to purchase here). You can also check more info about me by following this link.

I really think reading is one of the best ways to learn. It helps you to be open minded and makes you work your imagination, which will help you facing issues at work from different perspectives.

During this post we will change a bit the approach. Until now, I've been sharing with you some tips and tricks I learnt about Project Management. This time I will be sharing some Management pills I got after ending my last book: Creativity, INC. by Ed Catmull.

Management pills

If you are in a Management position I would strongly recommend reading this book. Ed Catmull is one of the founders of Pixar Animation Studios and in this book he shares some of the lessons learned through his career. In this section we will go through them and I will be sharing my thoughts with you.

1. First pill

"Always give the best a chance, even if it seems threatening."

We as managers, should always be looking for the best, even if it seems threatening. We should overcome our fears to reach the success. 

2. Second pill

"It is not enough for managers to have good ideas, they must be able to generate a feeling of acceptance of those ideas among the people who will be in charge of using them."

This pill is about engagement. A part from coming up with good ideas for our business, we should be sure these ideas will be taken into consideration and put in practice.  

3. Third pill

"The task of managing is not to avoid risks but to create the ability to solve problems." 

I really like this one. We need to mitigate risks, but prior to that we need to be ready to solve problems when they will rise. Some actions to be taken would be training and leveraging your employees. 

4. Fourth pill

"Social conditioning prevents us from telling the truth to those we perceive to be in a more power position."

This is a fact. Once you become manager you must realize you'll start losing visibility of certain areas. The sooner you realize about it, the earlier you will take action to solve it.

5. Fifth pill

"Give a good idea to a mediocre team and you'll screw it up.  Give a mediocre idea to a great team and they'll either improve it or find a better one."

I left the best (at least for me) to the end. This is about the importance of hiring skilled people and trusting them to execute difficult work. 

So, what about you? Did you find these pills of your interest? Would you recommend some interesting book (same topic)? Please, feel free to share with me your thoughts about this topic by adding a comment to this post.