There are countless books on management and leadership, however it is difficult to find ones that apply to creative projects or engineering. I have not encountered any that incorporate both in a way that resonates with my experience in product development engineering. Writing on the topic of engineering projects often glosses over creativity with a wave of the hand to concept generation, innovation, or problem solving. Ed Catmull’s “Creativity, Inc.” has provided the best insight into how creatives work and more importantly how you can learn to a structure organizations to foster consistent creative output based on what he did at Pixar did.

The key takeaways for me were about people, process, and environment. You can promote creativity in any one or any group but it far more effective to identify creative talents and provide them with the tools and structure to maximize their gifts. There are many creatives who are capable of mastery on their own. Not all of them have the skills and make up to work creatively in a collaborative environment. This is necessary in a business setting where there are cross functional stakeholders and end users. It is important for leaders to know the difference and select for those characteristics. You also need to consistently promote the values of teamwork and transparency to fight against draw of human nature to control work and keep it secret until someone feels it is ready.

Creativity thrives in environments where there is safety, understanding, and a process that stimulates innovation. Creative output is non-linear so it is difficult to predict a project timeline. You can’t forecast how much time is needed to create something new and innovate. However, there are many mechanisms you can build into your process that stimulates output and propels teams forward without stifling creativity. Sharing work openly and often creates opportunities for inspiration and feedback that is essential to generate leaps forward. If you surround creatives with teammates who understand the creative process, teammates that can contribute value to their creation, and teammates who can articulate in respectful ways then all involved will come to look forward to sharing. They will know that their work will be elevated together and will move forward faster.

https://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Inc-Overcoming-Unseen-Inspiration