I recently finished reading the book Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces that Stand in the Way of True Inspiration, by Ed Catmull (Random House, 2014). On the book jacket, Catmull, who is president of Pixar Anitmation Studios and Walt Disney Animation Studios, provides six great ideas for managing and leading a creative organization. Inside he wraps up with 33 “starting points.”

In a fascinating afterword honoring Steve Jobs, Catmull shares one of the high points of the book for me: “He [Jobs] believed, as I do, that it is precisely by acting on our intentions and staying true to our values that we change the world.” What I best understood from the book, however, was that he consciously wrote it as a story. Throughout the book, he continually reflected on the need to have not only state-of-the-art technology but also a great story to tell if a production is to be successful. I was reminded of how often I have heard that theme and how it is important to my own teaching style.

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