If you're interested in the process of creation or are interested in the dynamics of creative companies, I'd recommend reading Neal Gabler's excellent biography Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination.
This book is a biography in all its glory (nearly 900 pages one third of which are end notes, now in softcover). I'm late to the party, but it blew me away. That's where I pulled the William Blake quote from above. So I decided to write a back-to-school inspired book report on it...
Gabler chronicles Walt Disney's life and efforts through early childhood through the conception of Walt Disney Studios/Enterprises on to the birth and early evolution of Disneyland. I was amazed by the influence of Disney animation and animators from that time period, as well as the process innovation and tool creation required to constantly push the state of the art (e.g., the invention of the concept/role of a dedicated sketch artist, product placement on TV, etc.).
Disney didn't really do it alone. He attracted his early acolytes by doing the coolest stuff. His mission was to make the highest quality and most inspiring animation possible. Camaraderie developed as young people pursued these goals and made it up as they went along. Even as the definition of quality and inspiration shifted, people knew Disney Studios was the place to be.
For the formative part of his career, nothing would stand in the way of Walt Disney's vision and personal pursuit of quality. Not people, not money and sometimes not even the tastes of the American public. His comrades became first his hands then merely objects to pursue his goals - often easily disposed of and abused. It seems working at the studio downright sucked at times. Gabler's Disney is moody, singularly-focused, ruthless and a tyrant. If something couldn't be made the right way, his way, Walt Disney would berate or delay or disengage completely. Despite all of this, the productively being on the edge somehow worked.
Over time, Disney's approach to the organization changed as did his role in it. Check out Disney's begrudgingly conceived, process-based organizational chart from 1943 (discussed in the book and sent to me by Colin and discussed in atissue):
First, Disney was everywhere and in everything. Then, he was in the middle. Once this chart was drawn, he found himself at the start with the story. Then, once he was disillusioned with the animation and enthralled with Disneyland, he was nowhere.
There were all kinds of great connections for me in this book, but what really resonated for me is this:
Not only did the development of Walt Disney Studios and Enterprises provide a blueprint, Walt Disney himself was the prototype of creative leadership in all of its gritty, flawed and wonderful glory. We can all be Walt Disney every once in a while.
If you're interested in such things and stuck with me to this point (and want a shorter starting point), I'd also recommend reading the Ed Catmull Pixar piece in HBR and Hugh MacLeod's Ignore Everybody.
