One wrong command wiped out 90% of Toy Story 2

A $100 million movie was sitting in the back seat of a Volvo, wrapped in blankets, crossing the Bay Bridge at 35 mph.

In ‘Creativity, Inc., ’ Ed Catmull, who co-founded and led Pixar to incredible results, recounts the story of a fateful day when one wrong command wiped out 90% of Toy Story 2.

To make matters worse, these important files had not been backed up for a long time because of a problem few were aware of, and no one had fixed.

In the end, the team had identified a few small problems that compounded and conspired to wipe out months of work.

During a meeting, Galyn Susman, a supervising technical director, mentioned that she had brought home a workstation loaded with the full project so she could work during her maternity leave.

So she and a colleague loaded the workstation into the back seat of her Volvo and drove it back to the office.

Galyn had simply solved a problem that affected her day-to-day work. In doing so, she saved the movie — and probably the studio.

This experience taught Catmull that it is impossible to identify the problems that may become existential, let alone guard against them.

His takeaway: the most effective safeguard against catastrophe is not a perfect plan or a priority list, but fostering a culture in which everyone feels empowered to address problems as they arise.