Like a lot of people, I never finish most of the books that I start reading. For some reason though, I can plow through a book about Pixar in record time. Finishing To Pixar and Beyond, by former Pixar CFO Lawrence Levy, marks my 4th Pixar book I’ve read (6th if you count Steve Jobs biographies). I’ve enjoyed them all, and this one was no exception.
The book tells a story I am familiar with, the early history of Pixar, but from the financial and strategic perspective. Everyone knows the outcome of the story: Pixar is incredibly successful. But Lawrence Levy breaks down the tough choices that lead to that success: the decision to focus Pixar on full-length movies, the decision and quest to IPO, and negotiations with Disney.
In talking about these tough choices, the book does a great deal to put the creation myth of Pixar into perspective. It takes the inevitability out of the story. It is natural to come to regard Disney’s acquisition of Pixar as an obvious outcome, but the truth is that a limited set of people through study, careful collaboration, and negotiation, forged a path to success.
Pixar was made by people who were not always sure what to do. As a person who rarely knows what to do, this is something to keep in mind.
