Creativity, Inc.

02How Do You Protect the Ugly Babies?

Originality is incredibly fragile, and when a new idea is first born, it rarely looks like a masterpiece. In fact, it usually looks like a mess. One of the most vivid and memorable concepts Ed Catmull introduces is the idea of the "Ugly Baby." When we watch a finished Pixar movie, we see a polished, beautifully rendered, emotionally resonant work of art. Because the final product is so perfect, we suffer from the illusion that it started out that way. We assume that the directors pitched a flawless storyline, the animators drew perfect sketches, and the whole thing was simply a matter of execution. The reality is shockingly different. According to Catmull, every single Pixar movie starts out terrible. These early iterations are the ugly babies—awkward, unformed, vulnerable, and completely lacking the charm they will eventually possess. The most crucial job of a leader, a manager, or a creative individual is to protect these ugly babies from the people who want them to be perfect right out of the gate. In any organization, there is a natural, institutional gravity that pulls toward the safe, the proven, and the predictable. When an early, messy idea is presented, the immediate reaction from the business side is often to judge it harshly, compare it to past successes, or demand that it make logical sense immediately. If an ugly baby is exposed to this kind of harsh, judgmental environment too early, it will be killed before it ever has a chance to grow. Let us look at the evolution of the beloved movie Up. Today, we know it as the deeply moving story of a grieving widower who ties thousands of balloons to his house to fulfill a lifelong dream, accompanied by an overly enthusiastic boy scout. But the ugly baby version of Up was entirely different. The initial pitch was about a floating city in the sky inhabited by two brothers who were fighting over the kingdom. The only element that survived from that original pitch to the final film was the concept of a bird, which eventually became the character Kevin. If the executives at Pixar had demanded that the floating city idea be fantastic and profitable within the first few months, the director, Pete Docter, would have likely abandoned it. Instead, the studio provided a protective greenhouse for the idea. They gave the team time to explore, to hit dead ends, to realize the brother storyline was not working, and to slowly pivot toward the story of an old man and a flying house. They protected the ugly baby until it grew into something beautiful. This concept brings us to a profound realization about how we treat our own early ideas, and how we treat the ideas of those around us. How often do we immediately shut down a colleague's suggestion in a meeting because it doesn't sound completely polished? How many times have you started a personal project—perhaps writing a book, starting a business, or learning a new skill—only to abandon it a week later because your early efforts felt awkward and clumsy? We live in a culture that worships the finished product and hides the messy process. As a result, we develop a deep intolerance for the awkward phases of creation. To counteract this, we must consciously build protective boundaries around new initiatives. Here are a few ways you can start protecting the ugly babies in your own life and work: Suspend early judgment: When brainstorming, explicitly state that all ideas will be rough and that perfection is not the goal. Create a temporary amnesty from criticism. Focus on the potential, not the current state: Instead of pointing out why a new idea will fail, ask questions like, "What is the most interesting part of this concept?" or "How could we make this work?" Give things time to breathe: Do not demand immediate results from a brand-new initiative. Understand that iteration takes time, and the first draft is simply a mechanism for discovering what the second draft should be. Protecting the new also means recognizing the tension between originality and efficiency. Efficiency is the enemy of the ugly baby. The business side of any operation wants things done quickly, predictably, and under budget. But true innovation is inherently inefficient. It requires wandering, making mistakes, and exploring tangents that might not pan out. Catmull warns that if you prioritize efficiency above all else, you will only ever produce derivatives of things that have already been done, because true originality cannot be scheduled. Think about a time when you were trying to learn something entirely new, like playing an instrument or speaking a new language. Your first attempts were undoubtedly painful to listen to. If someone had harshly critiqued your first piano recital, comparing it to Mozart, you would have quit. You needed a safe space to play the wrong notes. The same applies to professional projects and corporate strategies. By embracing the awkwardness of the ugly baby phase, you relieve yourself and your team of the paralyzing pressure to be perfect on the first try. You create an environment where people are willing to take bold risks, knowing that their fragile, half-baked concepts will be met with curiosity and support rather than immediate execution. This protective patience is the fertile soil from which all enduring brilliance grows.

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