Create Yours

Top 70 Ed Catmull Quotes (2026 Update)
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Ed Catmull Quote: “We humans like to know where we are headed, but creativity demands that we travel paths that lead to who-knows-where.”

51. “We humans like to know where we are headed, but creativity demands that we travel paths that lead to who-knows-where.”

Ed Catmull Quote: “Only when we admit what we don’t know can we ever hope to learn it.”

52. “Only when we admit what we don’t know can we ever hope to learn it.”

Ed Catmull Quote: “Fear makes people reach for certainty and stability, neither of which guarantee the safety they imply.”

53. “Fear makes people reach for certainty and stability, neither of which guarantee the safety they imply.”

Ed Catmull Quote: “Where, along the way, do we turn from the wide-eyed child into the adult who fears surprises and has all the answers and seeks to control all outcomes?”

54. “Where, along the way, do we turn from the wide-eyed child into the adult who fears surprises and has all the answers and seeks to control all outcomes?”

Ed Catmull Quote: “But the bitter truth we critics must face is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so.”

55. “But the bitter truth we critics must face is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so.”

Ed Catmull Quote: “That means any outcome is a good outcome, because it yields new information.”

56. “That means any outcome is a good outcome, because it yields new information.”

Ed Catmull Quote: “But as challenging as that problem proved to be, it paled in comparison to the bigger, and eternal, impediment to our progress: the human resistance to change.”

57. “But as challenging as that problem proved to be, it paled in comparison to the bigger, and eternal, impediment to our progress: the human resistance to change.”

Ed Catmull Quote: “While the allure of safety and predictability is strong, achieving true balance means engaging in activities whose outcomes and payoffs are not yet apparent. The most creative people are willing to work in the shadow of uncertainty.”

58. “While the allure of safety and predictability is strong, achieving true balance means engaging in activities whose outcomes and payoffs are not yet apparent. The most creative people are willing to work in the shadow of uncertainty.”

Ed Catmull Quote: “But the truth is, I have no way of accounting for all of the factors involved in any given success, and whenever I learn more, I have to revise what I think. That’s not a weakness or a flaw. That’s reality.”

59. “But the truth is, I have no way of accounting for all of the factors involved in any given success, and whenever I learn more, I have to revise what I think. That’s not a weakness or a flaw. That’s reality.”

Ed Catmull Quote: “It is easy to be critical of the micromanaging many managers resort to, yet we must acknowledge the rock and the hard place we often place them between. If they have to choose between meeting a deadline and some less well defined mandate to “nurture” their people, they will pick the deadline every time.”

60. “It is easy to be critical of the micromanaging many managers resort to, yet we must acknowledge the rock and the hard place we often place them between. If they have to choose between meeting a deadline and some less well defined mandate to “nurture” their people, they will pick the deadline every time.”

Ed Catmull Quote: “I’m not the first to say that failure, when approached properly, can be an opportunity for growth.”

61. “I’m not the first to say that failure, when approached properly, can be an opportunity for growth.”

Ed Catmull Quote: “Fear of change – innate, stubborn, and resistant to reason – is a powerful force.”

62. “Fear of change – innate, stubborn, and resistant to reason – is a powerful force.”

Ed Catmull Quote: “Clearly, something in our process had broken – the desire for quality had gone well beyond rationality. But because of the way production unfolded, our people had to work on scenes without knowing the context for them – so they overbuilt them just to be safe.”

63. “Clearly, something in our process had broken – the desire for quality had gone well beyond rationality. But because of the way production unfolded, our people had to work on scenes without knowing the context for them – so they overbuilt them just to be safe.”

Ed Catmull Quote: “To ensure that it succeeded, I needed to attract the sharpest minds; to attract the sharpest minds, I needed to put my own insecurities away.”

64. “To ensure that it succeeded, I needed to attract the sharpest minds; to attract the sharpest minds, I needed to put my own insecurities away.”

Ed Catmull Quote: “I know that a lot of our successes came because we had pure intentions and great talent, and we did a lot of things right, but I also believe that attributing our successes solely to our own intelligence, without acknowledging the role of accidental events, diminishes us.”

65. “I know that a lot of our successes came because we had pure intentions and great talent, and we did a lot of things right, but I also believe that attributing our successes solely to our own intelligence, without acknowledging the role of accidental events, diminishes us.”

Ed Catmull Quote: “Fear of change – innate, stubborn, and resistant to reason – is a powerful force. In many ways, it reminded me of Musical Chairs: We cling as long as possible to the perceived “safe” place that we already know, refusing to loosen our grip until we feel sure another safe place awaits.”

66. “Fear of change – innate, stubborn, and resistant to reason – is a powerful force. In many ways, it reminded me of Musical Chairs: We cling as long as possible to the perceived “safe” place that we already know, refusing to loosen our grip until we feel sure another safe place awaits.”

Ed Catmull Quote: “Instead of saying, ‘The writing in this scene isn’t good enough,’ you say, ‘Don’t you want people to walk out of the theater and be quoting those lines?’ It’s more of a challenge.”

67. “Instead of saying, ‘The writing in this scene isn’t good enough,’ you say, ‘Don’t you want people to walk out of the theater and be quoting those lines?’ It’s more of a challenge.”

Ed Catmull Quote: “At the U of U, we were inventing a new language. One of us would contribute a verb, another a noun, then a third person would figure out ways to string the elements together to actually say something.”

68. “At the U of U, we were inventing a new language. One of us would contribute a verb, another a noun, then a third person would figure out ways to string the elements together to actually say something.”

Ed Catmull Quote: “Unlike some theoretical ideas, Occam’s Razor accords easily with human nature. In general, we seek what we think are simple explanations for events in our lives because we believe the simpler something is, the more fundamental – the more true – it is.”

69. “Unlike some theoretical ideas, Occam’s Razor accords easily with human nature. In general, we seek what we think are simple explanations for events in our lives because we believe the simpler something is, the more fundamental – the more true – it is.”

Ed Catmull Quote: “Which brings us to one of my core management beliefs: If you don’t try to uncover what is unseen and understand its nature, you will be ill prepared to lead.”

70. “Which brings us to one of my core management beliefs: If you don’t try to uncover what is unseen and understand its nature, you will be ill prepared to lead.”

Ed Catmull Quote: “That they liked so much of what they were doing allowed them to put up with the parts of the job they came to resent. This was a revelation to me: The good stuff was hiding the bad stuff. I realized that this was something I needed to look out for: When downsides coexist with upsides, as they often do, people are reluctant to explore what’s bugging them, for fear of being labeled complainers. I also realized that this kind of thing, if left unaddressed, could fester and destroy.”

71. “That they liked so much of what they were doing allowed them to put up with the parts of the job they came to resent. This was a revelation to me: The good stuff was hiding the bad stuff. I realized that this was something I needed to look out for: When downsides coexist with upsides, as they often do, people are reluctant to explore what’s bugging them, for fear of being labeled complainers. I also realized that this kind of thing, if left unaddressed, could fester and destroy.”

Ed Catmull Quote: “Pete Docter compares directing to running through a long tunnel having no idea how long it will last but trusting that he will eventually come out, intact, at the other end. “There’s a really scary point in the middle where it’s just dark,” he says. “There’s no light from where you came in and there’s no light at the other end; all you can do is keep going. And then you start to see a little light and then a little more light and then, suddenly, you’re out in the bright sun.”

72. “Pete Docter compares directing to running through a long tunnel having no idea how long it will last but trusting that he will eventually come out, intact, at the other end. “There’s a really scary point in the middle where it’s just dark,” he says. “There’s no light from where you came in and there’s no light at the other end; all you can do is keep going. And then you start to see a little light and then a little more light and then, suddenly, you’re out in the bright sun.”

Ed Catmull Quote: “Not the confidence that we know exactly what to do at all times but the confidence that, together, we will figure it out.”

73. “Not the confidence that we know exactly what to do at all times but the confidence that, together, we will figure it out.”

Ed Catmull Quote: “When experimentation is seen as necessary and productive, not as a frustrating waste of time, people will enjoy their work – even when it is confounding them.”

74. “When experimentation is seen as necessary and productive, not as a frustrating waste of time, people will enjoy their work – even when it is confounding them.”

Ed Catmull Quote: “How do we enable our people to solve problems? Instead, they asked: How do we prevent our people from screwing up?”

75. “How do we enable our people to solve problems? Instead, they asked: How do we prevent our people from screwing up?”

Ed Catmull Quote: “Making the process better, easier, and cheaper is an important aspiration, something we continually work on – but it is not the goal. Making something great is the goal.”

76. “Making the process better, easier, and cheaper is an important aspiration, something we continually work on – but it is not the goal. Making something great is the goal.”

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