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Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace [Hardcover]

Gordon MacKenzie
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 26.50
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Book Description

April 6 1998
Creativity is crucial to business success. But too often, even the most innovative organization quickly becomes a "giant hairball"--a tangled, impenetrable mass of rules, traditions, and systems, all based on what worked in the past--that exercises an inexorable pull into mediocrity. Gordon McKenzie worked at Hallmark Cards for thirty years, many of which he spent inspiring his colleagues to slip the bonds of Corporate Normalcy and rise to orbit--to a mode of dreaming, daring and doing above and beyond the rubber-stamp confines of the administrative mind-set. In his deeply funny book, exuberantly illustrated in full color, he shares the story of his own professional evolution, together with lessons on awakening and fostering creative genius.

Originally self-published and already a business "cult classic", this personally empowering and entertaining look at the intersection between human creativity and the bottom line is now widely available to bookstores. It will be a must-read for any manager looking for new ways to invigorate employees, and any professional who wants to achieve his or her best, most self-expressive, most creative and fulfilling work.


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From Booklist

There is no denying the creativity of someone who can persuade one of the 50 largest private companies in the U.S. to create a position for him called "creative paradox," or someone who can convince the accounting department of that same company to write off to the company art collection the purchase of more than a dozen roll-top desks to be used in his "creative lab," or someone who could come up with such a goofy title for a book. MacKenzie worked for the Hallmark greeting card company for 30 years, first as a sketch artist and eventually as an upper-level manager, until he escaped the "hairball" by creating his own niche. A corporate hairball is an entangled pattern of behavior or a mess of bureaucratic procedure that discourages originality and stifles imagination. A consultant for the last seven years, MacKenzie tells what he knows about creativity and what he learned about the creative process in a corporate setting. David Rouse

Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
Groaning under its overload of blacksmith equipment and steel passengers - a menagerie of elephants, crocodiles, Stegosauri, turtles and sundry fantasy creatures - my rusted-out pickup swayed ominously as I gentled it into the school parking lot to a safe stop. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Orbiting the Giant Hairball July 31 2006
Format:Hardcover
As the college I worked for reorganized, this book inspired me to look at the way we were doing things and to bring my full creativity into my administrative role. It helped me to be open to the changes and discover new ways to work. In the process, I recreated my position and felt the joy of the change as it reverberated through my staff (lowered the turnover and gave people a sense of joy in their work).

I think it gets bad reviews because it doesn't do the work for you. You have to ask yourself how am I like what he describes and how could I break from this routine? And isn't that his point? He is not about formula. Get out and just question one of the rote ways you proceed and the magic of change happens. If you feel uncomfortable about it, he has covered that, too. (and don't forget it is a process -- once you change that can become rote, too -- so keep dreaming up new things -- this work/fun pays off in the beauty of removing yourself from the same dried up place.)
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5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable, insightful, inspiring! Dec 24 2006
Format:Hardcover
This book is a must read for anyone trying to live creatively inside an environment that lends itself to repetitive, dry and dusty monothink. Presented in a dynamic visual style, this book will vault you out of the rut into fresh and expansive new terrain - don't miss it!
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5.0 out of 5 stars You Know You Got a Classic When Jun 21 2004
Format:Hardcover
You know you've got a classic when people either love it or hate it. My wife tries to get this idea across to students who either love E.A. Poe or hate him as being 'too creepy'. The point is that the work creates strong emotions. What, if anything, you do with your reaction is up to you. MacKenzie's 'hairball' is one of these. Me?, I love it.
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Most recent customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars Amusing, but not helpful
I was really disappointed after reading this book - I should have paid more attention to the negative comments. Read more
Published on May 25 2004
5.0 out of 5 stars A unique spirit
This week I was pulled back to Gordon's book and his message, seven years after first meeting him and reading his book. Read more
Published on May 9 2004 by Joyce Wycoff
1.0 out of 5 stars Not sure why people like it
I am a librarian. We have this book in our collection only because it was given to us for free. Its irreverant and non-standard style makes it nearly impossible to read. Read more
Published on Jan 12 2004
1.0 out of 5 stars A waste of time
This is my first time to write a review on Amazon, after buying books for years based on reader's reviews. Read more
Published on Oct 26 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars successful orbit
Gordon worked creatively at Hallmark for many years. He evolved within the corporate world into a position that held the title of "Creative Paradox". Read more
Published on Oct 12 2003 by Stephen Sherlock
5.0 out of 5 stars Mister Rogers for grown-ups (We should all be so lucky)
If you're lucky, you'll meet someone like Gordon Mackenzie about the time you turn 40 and wonder where life went and what the rest of it holds for you. Read more
Published on Aug 11 2003 by Chris
5.0 out of 5 stars Leadership 101
Thought-provoking, insightful, humorous, emotional, quirky, creative - I love this book and reread it regularly. Read more
Published on May 16 2003 by Steve Thornley
5.0 out of 5 stars Leadership 101
This book struck an emotional chord within me. Through his brief stories and anecdotes, Gordon paints an image of our struggle to exist in the corporate world. Read more
Published on May 15 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
This is an excellent book for those who want to learn how to get around all of the political nonsense that takes place in Corporate America. I highly recommend it!!
Published on April 4 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on the planet for right-brainers
I had the luck/privelege/honor to meet Gordon in 1994, and my life is the better for it. He gave the closing speech to the HOW Design Conference attendees, which was, in essence,... Read more
Published on April 2 2003 by "camikaze"
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