“We think that lasting relationships matter, and we share some basic beliefs: Talent is rare. Management’s job is not to prevent risk but to build the capability to recover when failures occur. It must be safe to tell the truth. We must constantly challenge all of our assumptions and search for the flaws that could destroy our culture.

[W]e as executives have to resist our natural tendency to avoid or minimize risks, which, of course, is much easier said than done.

In the movie business and plenty of others, this instinct leads executives to choose to copy successes rather than try to create something brand-new. That’s why you see so many movies that are so much alike. It also explains why a lot of films aren’t very good.

If you want to be original, you have to accept the uncertainty, even when it’s uncomfortable, and have the capability to recover when your organization takes a big risk and fails.”

Those quotes are from none other than the president of Pixar, Ed Catmull, in a 2008 article for the Harvard Business Review. (via @PotomacWill)