Given the context of this book, it seems appropriate that Dick Costolo, the CEO of the company I worked at while reading this book, recommended it in one of our company’s all hands. I heard that it was written by the president of Pixar, and was aware that the infamous Steve Jobs played some role in founding it, but I really didn’t know much more than that. I had no idea what to expect from this book but I knew that I loved Pixar movies, so picking up this book couldn’t have been that bad of a decision. In fact, it was a great decision!
As someone whose whole childhood revolved around Disney movies during their golden years, I was able to instantly connect with Ed. That warm bliss I so fondly recall from rewatching The Lion King, Mulan, Hercules, The Beauty and The Beast (just to name a few) doesn’t compare to any other childhood memory I have. The flawless drawings driven by the heart felt story draws you in and takes you to a whole new world (yes, that’s an Aladdin reference).
I have also always been fascinated by graphics and animations. Never a big gamer, but always interested in seeing what kind of games are out, or what kind of 3D worlds there are to explore. I never really understood the technology that made it possible, but I loved observing the results. When I first started taking Computer Science courses in high school, I kind of went overboard with my animations. Though they weren’t very appealing, I just hungered for more when I saw what kind of dynamic animations a few lines of code could produce.
Though I got a little of topic, I think the paragraph above is a good depiction of the context that Ed had set up in his book. Even though him and I are a generation apart, I was able to very easily connect with him through his writing, which made the rest of the book a lot more personal. Bottom line is that if you are a Disney fan who is interested in graphics, calling this book a “must read” would be an understatement.
Ed discusses his academic career and achievements, very modestly, touching up on technical details very superficially while trying not to overwhelm his non-technical audience, and not to bore most of the other readers. His use of personal anecdotes and what seems like complete honesty helps you both understand and believe what he is saying. Rather than just taking his word, he is able to convince you without directly imposing his ideas.
I won’t go into any details, but I will just say that the lessons one can take away from this book are priceless. You can see how the techniques he lists were formed, how they have evolved, and how people react to them. On numerous occasions, Ed answered a question or addressed a thought I had on the next page.
Ed also discussed what it’s been like to work with Steve Jobs for over a quarter of a century. He is one of the few people in the world who knew Steve that well on both a personal and a professional level, so getting a first hand insight into the kind of man that Steve was, and how he changed over the years, was really eye-opening.
This book is extremely inspiring! It provides you with a really good insight of what a great workplace could be like, and explains how it is an ever-changing target that can never been achieved. There were many amazing ideas on how to lead a team and a company, how to be a better colleague, how to better work with your colleagues, how to find your passion, and how to really get better at what you do while enjoying it! I consider myself to be a little biased reviewing this book because the transparency Ed described in this book is very close to how Twitter functions now adays, but I loved every page nonetheless.