The Importance of Strong Opinions

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Steve Jobs believed in fully committing to his beliefs and ideas, but also being willing to discard them if proven wrong. He had a strong bond with Pixar directors and admired their ability to wholeheartedly commit to their projects. Jobs' forceful personality made people see his commitments as genuine and powerful. However, this notion of holding strong opinions weakly bothered him, as expressing opinions strongly can lead others to think they are deeply held convictions. They may mistake these opinions for gospel truth.

As they dreamed up iconic characters like Buzz and Woody, Pixar reinvented how animated movies are made. But first, they had to build a culture to make this magic possible. Pixar's co-founder and longtime president Ed Catmull and Oscar-winning Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter talk with Adam about how to spark and sustain creative collaboration. They also reveal the secret to great storytelling, discuss how to maintain and evolve a vision, and reflect on the lessons learned from working closely with the ever-enigmatic Steve Jobs. Transcripts for ReThinking are available at go.ted.com/RWAGscripts