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Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Gracex$11.00
  (105 reviews)
Best Price: $22.00 $11.00
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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Customer Reviews
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Over the Top on Cute, Profound Insights, No Solutions
By A1S8AJIUIO6M9K on 2001-09-04
I would never have bought this book off the shelf, because it is way over the top with cutesy child-like drawings, hard to read type, and other affectations--it goes beyond charming toward excessive cosmetics. It was, however, recommended by someone I trust, and I am glad I read it.
The two most profound insights, insights every teacher and CEO should be required to repeat every day, are that our schools beat creativity out of our children, and our corporations suppress individual ideas and any attempts at diversity.
I read this book twice. The first time, like a cat circling a mouse, I would pick it up and read just one of the stories, expecting to collect enough evidence to discard it completely, and instead being drawn back for another story at random. The second time, more sequentially, looking for the meat to review.
Unfortunately, absent a major revolution in how we manage our organizations, this book does not suggest solutions. Very few can survive on their own unless they are willing to drop down to subsistence living. The sad fact is we have a school system designed over 100 years to deskill people to the point they could work in assembly line jobs (including white collar "company man go along" jobs), and in the same 100 years have focused on building companies in which everyone is replaceable, and no one person can hope to do the business development, product development, service, and billing for any given offering.
Certainly the Internet offers some prospects--say 20 years down the road--for networks of "virtual corporations" to take effect, but in the meantime, I have to judge this book as a really excellent pate de foie gras, just the thing with which to torment the corporate slaves who want to dream of freedom.
Great book, something we can use in another 40 years or so, if we have managed to get a grip on campaign finance reform, neighborhood cottage and networked industries, and radically restructured schools that get away from rote and celebrate the process of learning. Until then, most people are going to have to focus on keeping the job they have, however distasteful it may be, because the harsh reality is that in this day and age, it is the large inefficient organization that provides gainful employment for the majority of us that have not been schooled to be anything other than drones.
I'll end on a positive note: there is something called the Davies J-Curve, a political science finding that suggests that people do not revolt to acquire greater freedom or anything else, but rather when they have experienced all that they wish, and then it is taken away from them. If we have a major recession that decapitates government and cleans out a good third of the small businesses and corporations that are hanging on by a string now, it may just inspire groups of people to revisit how they relate to one another.
One more positive note: if you are a realist, and you know that you have to accept drone status, but want to be cheered up and contemplate little ways around the margins where you can exercise some freedom muscles, this is the book for you. I enjoyed reading this book, and it may be unfair to evaluate it at the strategic level-there is no question that the author is an inspired original thinker, and I hope the day comes when he is the norm, rather than the exception.
I LOVE this book!
By A16S0CNPC88RXH on 2000-02-25
This is far and away THE most delightful book I've bought in a long time. It's stimulating visually as well as intellectually, fun to read, and the chapters are short enough to be assimilated by even the most harried business person. But it's not fluff: the points he makes about education, the way businesses are run, and the continual tension between creativity and corporate inertia, are crucial ones (every manager in every large firm should read Chapter 18, "The Pyramid and the Plum Tree"!). And MacKenzie's recommendations are not, as some critics have argued, applicable only in an "entertainment" industry like greeting cards: in today's fast-paced business world, a company's most important asset is its ability to be flexible and continually come up with new ideas; the "giant hairball" of entrenched structures and organizational habits won't cut it any longer. While I agree that the people who most need to hearken to this book's message are educators, I think it's equally important for business people: even if you've been trained (first by your schools and then by your employers) to stifle your natural creativity and become a good little corporate clone, it's not too late for you to recapture what you started out with. I wish I could rate this 10 stars!
Working Creatively and Effectively Inside the Corporation
By A1K1JW1C5CUSUZ on 2000-06-26
This book deserves more than five stars.Although I have read many excellent books about nurturing creativity and working creatively in companies, this is the first book I have read where the author has been someone who has done that repeatedly and in a variety of ways. That perspective is uniquely valuable both to those who want to have more creative jobs and those who would like to encourage creativity. Although the analogies seem far-fetched at first (orbiting the giant hairball means taking a creative tangent and refocusing it to have relevance for the company's purpose), they serve to open your mind to thinking differently about creativity and organizations. Although the author's key points are not summarized anywhere in the book, you will begin to get a sense of how the ideas connect together. That's useful, because otherwise why should he try to teach us so much? Except in the chapter that deals with them, any of the key observations would have been enough for a whole book on the subject. The overall theme is that our minds are subject to being too quickly anesthetized, rather than stimulated to ground-breaking insights. You'll love the story about hypnotizing hens where he introduces that concept. One of my favorite stories in the book described when the author was asked to create an introductory course on creativity. The first session was wildly successful. The author then analyzed why it worked and created a more organized version of this course (called Grope). That sesssion didn't work as well. Then he went back to being unstructured (operating at the edge of chaos), and the course worked again. He learned from this the delicate connection between groping and rote. You need more of the former and less of the latter. Another of my favorite stories related to the joy he experienced when he first started parachuting. But within six months, it was getting to be boring. He could only make it more exciting by taking the parachute off, but that would be suicide. On the other hand, if he never tried something new, he would be vegatating. So we want to stay somewhere between suicide and vegetation for the most effective results. You will enjoy reading this book because it presents a fresh perspective that will stay with you. The successful point of entry is a story about children. When the author shows children about making sculpture from sheets of steel, he asks them if they are creative. All first graders raise their hands. By sixth grade, no one will say that they are creative. The pressure to be like everyone else makes the creative people want to hide. It just gets worse from there. Everyone who reads that story will remember experiences from childhood where their creativity was actively discouraged by teachers, parents, neighbors and classmates. Such a pity! Each story is imaginatively illustrated to help you get a sense of a different reality. It also makes the material more accessible to people of all ages. In addition to reading and changing your own behavior, this book should be shared with young people to reinforce the idea that it is desirable to be creative. This would be a good book to discuss with your coworkers, as well.
Not for business
By A19342PV7C930Q on 1999-12-31
Gordon's book is listed as a rave for business anywhere. I would say, that it should be in the hip pocket of every teacher and educator in the world. If our education system would use this book as a guideline, we would not have to write this way for business. In our world we seem to always work at fixing things when they are broken and not working on the Source. To use this book in business is addressing a secondary manifestation. If we were to follow his book, chapter by chapter, the children would grow in their creative genius, and the business world would automatically be fixed. I loved the story of how the chickens were mesmerized and if ever we need to free our schools from keeping the children's beaks on a chalk line on the porch, it is now. I cannot say enough; from the question at the beginning about, how may of you are artists? to the end where we are given the challenge to paint our own masterpiece...each anecdote, speaks loudly, nay, shouts to every person in a classroom to open the containers and let the minds find their creative genius. If this book were on every teacher's desk, and more importantly in the cellular understanding of each educator, there would be no articles in any paper about how schools are failing. Gordon, if you are watching and listening....you created a legacy that will not be forgotten...Thank you.
One of the most unique management books I've read
By ATN1SSKTJD8Z8 on 2005-01-18
Given the title of the book, it may go without saying, but this is a very different approach to managing a business and creating a corporate culture.
Some people say the book is too "cute" and lacks solid ideas, but I used many of the concepts from this book in helping to turn around the culture of a business and it worked very well. This is certainly not a paint-by-numbers guide to business, but if you are striving to do something truly different and better with your business, "Orbiting the Giant Hairball" may provide an approach that can help you.
As an aside, the book itself is a piece of art - I've never seen another like it. The writing and the physical product clearly come from the mind of a creative individual.
- R.I.P. Mr. Paradox
By on 1999-08-28
Gordon MacKenzie changed my life. He truly lived by the principles in his book. He didn't just seek out the most visible idea people or those whose external appearances trumpeted that they were creative. His book is not just talk. I know because I was one of those shy little nobodies whom Gordon sought out and encouraged. I am sorry to say for those of you who don't know, that Gordon passed away on July 26, 1999. Here is the passage that was on his funeral leaflet: "You have a masterpiece inside you, too, you know. One unlike any that has ever been created, or ever will be. And remember: If you go to your grave without painting your masterpiece, it will not get painted. No one else can paint it. Only you."
- Being Effectively Creative Inside the Company
By A1K1JW1C5CUSUZ on 2001-02-14
Orbiting the Giant Hairball deserves more than five stars for the potential benefits it brings to all who read and apply it.Although I have read many excellent books about nurturing creativity and working creatively in companies, this is the first book I have read where the author has been someone who has done that repeatedly and in a variety of ways. That perspective is uniquely valuable both to those who want to have more creative jobs and those who would like to encourage creativity. Although the analogies seem far-fetched at first (orbiting the giant hairball means taking a creative tangent and refocusing it to have relevance for the company's purpose), they serve to open your mind to thinking differently about creativity and organizations. Although the author's key points are not summarized anywhere in the book, you will begin to get a sense of how the ideas connect together. That's useful, because otherwise why should he try to teach us so much? Except in the chapter that deals with them, any of the key observations would have been enough for a whole book on the subject. The overall theme is that our minds are subject to being too quickly anesthetized, rather than stimulated to ground-breaking insights. You'll love the story about hypnotizing hens where he introduces that concept. One of my favorite stories in the book described when the author was asked to create an introductory course on creativity. The first session was wildly successful. The author then analyzed why it worked and created a more organized version of this course (called Grope). That sesssion didn't work as well. Then he went back to being unstructured (operating at the edge of chaos), and the course worked again. He learned from this the delicate connection between groping and rote. You need more of the former and less of the latter. Another of my favorite stories related to the joy he experienced when he first started parachuting. But within six months, it was getting to be boring. He could only make it more exciting by taking the parachute off, but that would be suicide. On the other hand, if he never tried something new, he would be vegatating. So we want to stay somewhere between suicide and vegetation for the most effective results. You will enjoy reading this book because it presents a fresh perspective that will stay with you. The successful point of entry is a story about children. When the author shows children about making sculpture from sheets of steel, he asks them if they are creative. All first graders raise their hands. By sixth grade, no one will say that they are creative. The pressure to be like everyone else makes the creative people want to hide. It just gets worse from there. Everyone who reads that story will remember experiences from childhood where their creativity was actively discouraged by teachers, parents, neighbors and classmates. Such a pity! Each story is imaginatively illustrated to help you get a sense of a different reality. It also makes the material more accessible to people of all ages. In addition to reading and changing your own behavior, this book should be shared with young people to reinforce the idea that it is desirable to be creative. This would be a good book to discuss with your coworkers, as well. May you always find the creative solutions!
- addicted to structure & conformity? think business/life should run by formula? meet your cure.
By A27QOWKF0BKD6P on 2006-04-12
OK, Here's the review:
Buy this book and take it's message to heart. I have purchased and given this book more times than I can count to people in all levels of business, and to friends who are at crossroads in their lives. I have seen some reviews here which take issue with the fact that the author's message is too far ahead of it's time, won't fly within the gridwork of a conformist corporate culture, or that the message is inaccessable due to the book's apparent lack of structure.
Well, the message and how it's presented are kind of the point, not the problem.
If the message won't fly in a particular company culture, the problem is within the culture. Those groups need to pay attention more than any other, because they stand to gain the most. The perspective offered here is unique and invaluable. It applies to more than the immediate situation, not just to surviving a job at Hallmark, or any job, for that matter, but can be applied to any aspect of life. If you are in business today, you can apply the lesson given here. If you are a CEO and think that workers are drones who need your company more than it needs them, accept the moral initiative given by this book and learn why change is good, both economically and sprititually. If you are a humble worker bee and are saddened by your present position, use this book as a springboard to give you the initiative you need to find a better place, one away from the CEOs who haven't read this book. That would probably make Gordon smile.
This book is all those things that have already been said about it: it's loopy, zany, wise, generous, playful, full of heart, loaded with quirky illustrations, and stuffed to the gills with genuine spirit. It's a non-traditional and revealing take on that most pathological of institutions, the American corporation. In this case, the corporation happens to be a seemingly warm and fuzzy greeting card company.
It's also a fun, quick read.
End of review.
I also want to offer a second book which Gordon personally recommended to me in 1990. Years before he wrote "Hairball", he told me to read "The Addictive Organization : Why We Overwork, Cover Up, Pick Up the Pieces, Please the Boss, and Perpetuate Sick Organizations" by Anne Wilson Schaef. It inspired him enough to tell others about it; in turn, it opened my eyes to the real reasons behind the deep-seated problems within organizations, and I want to pass it to others. If you've already taken inspiration from Gordon's own gentle, brilliant book, check this one out, too. If you haven't, then read both.
What follows is a brief personal account of my interaction with the author. Those looking for a traditionally structured review may wish to look elsewhere.
I was VERY lucky to meet Gordon MacKenzie when I was at a low point in my career, having just (naively) taken a job with a division of Hallmark that existed at the outermost edge of the Mothership, a division which I came to learn was known internally as a "red-headed step child", and worse. In the five weeks that I had been there, the facade of colorful spontaneity and effervescent creativity had quickly given way to reveal a dysfunctional regime - it was rigid, grey, and structured - clueless both in the ways of healthy human interaction AND in the manner of the creative process.
Amid this depressing environment, Gordon noticed my work and was kind enough to introduce himself by presenting me with some photos of it, which he had taken himself. He was enthusiastic - the only senior Hallmarker I ever met who was - and bursting with ideas. Gordon exercised no direct authority over any part of our department, but no one in a position of management dared to turn him away when he would frequently drop by unannounced. To the consternation of that same management, and to my great delight, he came and went as often as he pleased, brightening the bleak outlooks in our department and spiriting individuals away to better jobs whenever he could. He was, as he describes in his book, "The Diversion. The Disruption. The Hope for Escape". He knew no creative boundaries, and, most telling of all, was one of the few encouraging voices I encountered while I was there.
Sure, it was part of his job to be encouraging, and it seems likely now that neither I nor my situation were more than a blip on the periphery of his Big Picture, but, just the same, he always had time to really listen, to coach, and to offer genuine guidance; in other words, to be a mentor.
I moved on after four years; I believe that without Gordon's support I would not have made it even six months. Less than a year after I left, he left the company for good, and made it known in many circles that he couldn't wait to get out. The guard had been changed. The same messages he had been hired decades ago to deliver were still relevant, but were no longer welcome. The company today reflects that mindset.
Like so many others, I was saddened to hear of his untimely passing.
As he states in this book, he would often be tapped for live speaking engagements, both in and outside the company. Individuals lucky enough to have been there for at least one of them will happily recognize some of that material distilled into his book. To witness his presentation and the challenges it posed to a gathering of suits was to take a breath of fresh air in a very stale room. It was easy to discern, by reading the faces in the room, just who was absorbing it, really getting it.
It was just as easy, and disconcerting, to look around a room full of Hallmark execs and see just how many closed minds weren't interested in absorbing a thing. Imagine watching the most brilliantly colored paints as they slide off a myriad of bullet-proof, teflon-coated surfaces, leaving no impact or hint of their existence, and you get the idea.
That scenario opened my eyes to the reality of the situation, and the reality of this book: THE MESSAGE IS LEGIT; IF ONE DOESN'T/WON'T/CAN'T ACCEPT IT, IF THE MESSAGE ISN'T STRUCTURED IN A MANNER DEEMED ACCEPTABLE, OR FLIES IN THE FACE OF THE ESTABLISHED PARADIGM OR THREATENS THE GROUPTHINK, THE MESSAGE IS NOT DIMINISHED. THE ONUS IS ON THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE CORPORATE ENTITY (COMPRISED OF INDIVIDUALS) TO OPEN HIS MIND, TO MAKE CHANGE HAPPEN FROM WITHIN, NOT JUST PERSONALLY, BUT COLLECTIVELY, AND CORPORATELY.
This is not a book about finding a solution by the numbers. This is not a book about how to make it big by shoring up the status quo, or by rewarding the establishment for bad behavior. This is a book meant to inspire you to find your own path, to spark your own creativity, to find your own ways to incorporate those things into your business environment and your life. Grab it. Absorb it. Change your head. Acheive your own unique orbit. You'll be glad you did.
- Earned a place of honor on my desk at the office
By A3K14TIAWFAEYJ on 2000-03-23
No one intentionally sets out to become a cog in the corporate machinery, but many of us eventually come to realize that what we're doing for a living isn't doing much for our lives.Gordon MacKenzie is a welcome tonic to the toxicity that inevitably comes with being a slave to The Man. Many of us (yours truly included) dream of winning the lottery or finding out that Aunt Louise was worth $20 million and she left it all to us when she died. The truth is, however, that the overwhelming majority of us aren't going to hit that lucky Lotto number and Aunt Louise is more likely to leave her fortune to her cats. Instead, we gotta punch a clock day-in, day-out for decades. What MacKenzie offers is a way to exist in the corporate jungle without having to sacrifice your soul. He challenges conventional thinking -- even though he knows that his challenge will probably die aborning in a workplace where uniformity of thought and behavior is far more prized than individuality and ingenuity. Still, you get the sense that this fool on a fool's errand is having a hell of a good time bouncing off the walls of authority. MacKenzie isn't going to teach you how to be the top sales performer. He doesn't have seven habits that will make you wealthy and wise if you follow them. Gordon's gift is far simpler and far more valuable than all that -- you need never fear the office again. You can bring creativity and joy to your work. You can strike a harmonious balance in your work life. And at the end of it all, you'll have no problem looking at yourself in the mirror each morning. Thanks, Gordon, for this wonderful book. I know you're orbiting a giant hairball far, far away now. But I'm also certain you're doing it with grace and humanity.
- Finding your creative spirit in the corporate environment!
By A1CE2N0OO2XWAJ on 1998-12-26
Gordon MacKenzie takes on the institutional hairball and the hairball we all wear between our ears. Both are the enemies of our uniquely human creative spirit. I was given this book by a friend who, like me, teaches creativity in the corporate environment. There is a great need to rescue the lost souls in our corporate confines and aiding in the much-needed healing of these spirits.It is our Creator-ness, our giftedness, that will bring life to our individual lives and then to our working relationships. Gordon's book takes this on with wit, candor, practical advice and real stories from his years of incarceration in the trenches at Hallmark. It is also a delightful visual feast--though I was disappointed that so little of Mr. MacKenzie's own artwork was not used in his book--especially since he refurs to it so often. "Hairball" is a grand companion to the books of SARK and Barbara Sher.
- For anyone in corporate life
By on 1999-11-30
This book is a must read for anyone in corporate life who is trying to think "outside the box"! It is inspiring, interesting, and a damn good story. The book was given to our entire group (50 people in an information technology research department) and it has changed the way we think. You don't have to be an artist to appreciate the value of being creative and expanding horizons...I loved this book! It's fun. My condolences to Gordon's family - he will be missed.
- Genius Coupled with Reality!
By on 1999-08-26
I'm sick and tired of books selling a 'dream' or 'quick fix' of how YOU can change an organization. Let's face it...organizational change is painfully slow and success is rare. The reality is that organizations rarely adapt to people...people adapt to organizations. In acknowledging this simple fact, this book is genius.In his defining of the organization, or 'hairball', MacKenzie recognizes both its strengths and weaknesses, its positives and negatives. He then gets beyond unachievable BS (business school) theories of change and provides powerful insight on how each of us, individually or as a group, can leverage the realities of 'hairball' to achieve an 'orbit' around it. Bless you, Gordon MacKenzie!
- Is every business like this??
By on 2000-08-04
I was very impressed by the artistic hand in writing this book. I enjoyed the fact that he did not let those in the corporation mold him into something that he wasn't. I was surprised at the similarities of the business that I work for and that business politics generally rate the same across the board. It is very encouraging for me to know that it is okay to be one of the ones outside the corporate box but still attached to it. There are a few of us at my office that on occasion lets their hair down and it is very refreshing and brings life to a lifeless place. Maybe someday some of the rest of us will have the chance to create their own workspace as now I work in a 5 x 5 cubicle. I think that Gordon gave us all something to work towards besides the corporate office. If I could just get our department to start calling itself the International Force I think that it would really generate energy throughout the entire company.
- Great encouragement, brilliant drawings
By A1W5Z2YKVHRZ6O on 2001-06-30
This book is my will o' the wisp. I'll notice it at the side of my desk just when I need to be reminded that one can be off-beat and yet live a productive corporate life.Gordon MacKenzie worked at Hallmark Cards for thirty years in roles that seem to have been increasingly incomprehensible to his mainstream colleagues. He found a way to contribute to the company's success while still being a little "weird". He recounts his experiences in neatly turned inspirational anecdotes. However, the charm of the book lies in its illustrations. The book - itself artfully designed to evoke a sketchbook - is filled with MacKenzie's energetic and seemingly childlike drawings. The illustrations make even just flipping through the book a pleasure, and draw you in to read his advice. "Orbiting the Giant Hairball" was given to me by a group of colleagues. I'm still touched at their confidence that I might be able to orbit the hairball of corporate conformity rather than being sucked down its gravity well. If you, too, dream about being creative in your day job, you will enjoy this book. If you are a verbal rather than a visual dreamer, you may prefer David Whyte's "The Heart Aroused: Poetry & the Preservation of the Soul." Whyte speaks to our need to be creative in our daily work, but he illustrates his insights with poetry rather than drawings. He also takes a somewhat darker view of creativity, recognizing that unruly and dangerous impulses are a necessary part of the joyfully creative soul that Gordon MacKenzie so vividly evokes. 6/01
- Reclaim your creativity and your right to be happy
By AQCQO4HEN648P on 2002-06-28
I heartily disagree with Robert D. Steele's review, which says that this book presents insights but suggests no solutions. I also disagree that the book's "...two most profound insights...are that our schools beat creativity out of our children, and our corporations suppress individual ideas.." These are indeed two of the key ideas, but I think that the most profound insight of the book is that THERE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!Most of us are not going to take radical action the way that MacKenzie has (and most of us do not have the luxury of working in a big, rich company that has the wherewithal to tolerate such antics). But the concepts still apply. For example, take the concept of "dynamic following." MacKenzie spent a lot of time listening to his colleagues complain about their jobs. He learned that the most helpful thing to do is merely to listen, but he says that one thing he always replied to was the commonly cited gripe "I wish there were some more dynamic leadership around here." He reportedly would reply, "I wish there were some more dynamic following." This is a new and very helpful way to look at the situation. This is the essence of what I consider the major insight: each of us can make it a personal goal to bring to the table what we think is missing. Instead of blaming management, blaming the corporate culture, blaming the school system, etc., we each have within us the power to speak up, think creatively, communicate more effectively, and use these radical skills to make the world a better place. (If more of us would do this, and keep it up, maybe these things will eventually not seem so radical!) It is not exactly news that schools beat the creativity out of children. It is sobering to be reminded of this by a master storyteller such as MacKenzie, and it is a good thing to be so reminded. It will be an extremely good thing for our society if we can solve that problem, but it will definitely take decades if not centuries. The lesson of this book is that, nevertheless, IT IS NOT TOO LATE! We can reclaim our creativity, and we can use it at work in ways that are effective and mutually beneficial. This book isn't a step-by-step how-to guide, by any means, but it does contain quite a few examples of creative problem-solving at work. It also contains the best example I have ever seen of "out-of-the-box" thinking, a set of hand-written notes that presents a framework for re-thinking organizational structure. There will never be a "solution" to the existence of the "giant hairball," but there is an alternative to being caught up in the hairball and becoming part of the problem. The alternative is to take responsibility for one's own happiness. I think this book makes a substantial contribution to our knowledge about how to do so.
- Therapeutic and inspiring
By A1VHCMZF7AINY4 on 2004-12-01
As someone who has always considered himself an artist but has been trying to survive in corporate America, this book was an extremely affordable therapy session. At the risk of ridicule I will admit this is the first "business" book to make me cry. As I read the book I felt as if the author had read my mail. He was basically describing my life. For those who are willing to entertain a non-traditional view of corporate culture, I highly recommend this book.
Even though McKenzie doesn't give practical application for his observations, I still find that there is ample information to construct your own application. If you want to walk away with 5 steps to success, you'll be sorely disappointed. The author gives a very general yet accurate analysis of how corporations can, and often do, suck the life and inspiration out of their employees. He goes on to detail how he overcame this issue in his years at Hallmark Cards. It is up to the reader to identify how to apply McKenzie's lessons at that point.
- Read this book
By A29D6TF2KUEXQR on 1999-10-14
I just heard MacKenzie died. Very sad-- the book is a special glimpse of the creative mind. If you are an artist, want to be one or a creative type working with non-creatives, you'll love this book.
- Profundity and Humor from a Creative Paradox.
By A1748GPDHZYWJY on 1998-06-07
Not only have I read Gordon MacKenzie's "Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace", but I have also had the pleasure of interviewing the author for a newsletter piece and attending one of his workshops (better described as "performances").The book is generally seen as "humor", even though book stores may display it in their business section. It could just as well be classified under "philosophy", however. Its message is a mix of the funny and the profound, examplified by the last chapter: "Paint Me A Masterpiece", which starts with God dispensing you at birth with a canvas rolled under your arm and the request to "paint a masterpiece for me", and ends with the writer's reflections on his now-abandoned doubts about his own talent, his current use of the wider brush, the Cadmium Yellow, Alizarin Crimson and Ultramarine Blue, and this reminder to you: "If you go to your grave without painting your masterpiece, it will not get painted. No one else can paint it. Only you." The book is a written form of the workshops Gordon MacKenzie has been teaching since 1991. Workshops on maintaining creativity within bureaucratic environments. If Corporate America is to be the place that beckons us each day, that we long to go to every morning and leave fulfilled every afternoon, it had better get a grip on its hairballs, discard them and let its work places be filled with the creativity Gordon MacKenzie encourages us to reclaim.
- Definitely Refreshing & Stimulating!
By on 2001-04-22
Orbiting the Giant Hairball provides many stimulating approaches to creativity, especially in the often stiffling environment of the corporate world. From personal experience, I know that creativity, hence innovation, is also unfortunately under-appreciated and under-compensated by the short-sighted individuals (aka. managers) in most corporations. On the same subject, if you enjoyed Orbiting this Giant Hairball and its creativity lessons, I would like to recommend the true-to-life episodes in the book, MANAGEMENT BY VICE. Written by a scientist (C.B. Don) with years of experience, this book shows the struggles of innovators in high-tech R&D industry fending off counterproductive management, with much wit, lots of hilarious humor (prose, verse and illustration) and the kind of candor rarely encountered beyond the "Giant Hairball". I greatly enjoyed both these books and feel that everyone should have them at hand when dealing with corporate fools and battling to salvage the innovative spirit!
- Outside the Box
By AHQYCRL2FMG3D on 2002-07-15
I picked up this book on the recommedation of a leadership professional who thought I would enjoy an outside-the-box look at management, and leadership. MacKenzie strives to show how he made it in a large company that was weighed down by rules and procedures, "The Giant Hairball." This was very interesting because anyone who has worked in a big institution, whether corporate or educational, knows full well how it is easy to become weighed down trying to figure out how to do something by following insitutional policies, than actually completing the task you are setting out to do. Mackenzie offers a comical, yet insightful view of how to make it in a big corporation or any large organization. I would say those who see the world as black and white might want to pass this book by, but those who are willing to take a chance to make a difference, and realize the procedures to send out a fax are not what makes or break an organization. This book is the anti-office space theory of corporations. All in all, an excellent and light view of how to live and thrive in a big place you might call your job!
- Mister Rogers for grown-ups (We should all be so lucky)
By A204J8NJLDCTFR on 2003-08-11
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. Gordon was nothing short of a Mister Rogers for grown-ups. This book, which contains much of the material from Gorden's presentations--he used the same material, but no two presentations were ever the same--reminds us that each of us has gifts and creativity, some of which we've overlooked, some we've purposely hidden and others we've let the conventions of society suppress. Gordon's concepts are at once extremely simple and extremely deep. They are also transforming. This is not a simple how-to book for people who want to "be creative." It's an engaging, entertaining and liberating touchstone for people who want to live more creatively empowered lives. Unless your mind is completely closed, you're going to feel a lot better after you spend time with "Orbiting the Giant Hairball."
- successful orbit
By A2T2GS1L2SH4VM on 2003-10-13
Gordon worked creatively at Hallmark for many years. He evolved within the corporate world into a position that held the title of "Creative Paradox". He opens his story with a poem by Rumi and then spreads his thoughts, experiences, doodles, etc. wonderfully across the pages that follow. Gordon was certainly creative. And life is a paradox. Put the two together and you get this delightful thought-provoking work of art. Read it and enjoy. You might wake up the urge to doodle outside the lines one day. It is your life. It is up to you what you do with it. Gordon may be just the person to help you.
- Not sure why people like it
By on 2004-01-12
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. I don't know how anyone could give it five stars.
- Entering Gordon's Orbit
By A2WVC4LLYVL9WP on 2007-02-27
While reading the reviews of this book, I felt a sense of fraternity. The vast majority of reviewers who could relate to and enjoy the book all said the things that I felt as I absorbed Gordon MacKenzie's thoughts.
These ideas were first presented to me during one of Gordon's workshops in the early '90s. Our local Advertising Club invited him to our city to inspire those of us working on the creative side of the broadcast & print media. I recall the workshop being very entertaining, but the highlight was during the 10 minute break. That's when I met Gordon... standing next to me at a urinal. I told I was enjoying his presentation. He laughed, hoping that I meant his presentation in the conference room rather than his presentation in the restroom. He even made light of it when the workshop resumed. The memory of that afternoon always puts a smile on my face.
My ultimate Hairball wouldn't present itself until nearly a decade later. By then I was a manager. One day a business associate referred to the project at hand as a Hairball... it caught my attention immediatly and I soon learned that my associate had been at the same workshop a decade before. That night I searched for Gordon MacKenzie on the Internet... I found his book... and I learned, sadly, of his death.
Several more years have passed and the contents of this book now mean so much more to me than they did the first time I read it. Today I'm directing a rapidly expanding business within the confines of an old-school corporation. The orbit is far from stable, but my team of up-and-coming orbiters are doing their damnedest to keep us from getting sucked back into the Hairball. Thank you for the guide book, Gordon. Someday I hope to cross paths with you again.
- A Guide to Chaos, Confinement, and Creativity
By A9JLE9BISQFUB on 2007-08-21
What Orbiting the Giant Hairball (OTGH) is not is another book on corporate management, although heads of creative departments would do well to understand the principles Gordon MacKenzie suggests. OTGH is a guide to chaos, confinement, and creativity. As an artist, I've worked most of my career in the corporate world (the Hairball). The paradox is that creation takes an entirely different set of rules (mainly the defiance of them), which puts creativity at odds with the organizational compulsion of the Hairball. On the one hand, a company can't exist without structure; on the other, artistic expression is antithetical to defined limits. How do you find congruence as a Creative hemmed in a left-brained organization? MacKenzie suggests the middle ground is an orbital path that is free to explore the infinite, but not independent of the organization.
MacKenzie's book is an effortless read, laid out to take advantage of white space. Doodles mark the margins and gaps, with chapter heads and illustrations taking up 4-page spreads. Some chapters break out in freeform cartoons on lined notepaper, with Chapter 19 devoted to the statement, "Orville Wright did not have a pilot's license." Often digressing, you feel there's always a point to the random character of the work. The book presents itself as an artistic exploration, even if the drawings are primitive in the style of a child's hand. What MacKenzie has to say is thought-provoking. Don't get tangled in the hairball, becoming another crony of the institution. Mentoring is not the same as managing. Dynamic forces exist in the chaos of uncertainty. Orbit provides a place for creative expression that isn't stifling. Find your unique voice and express your one-of-a-kind masterpiece.
- Must read
By A28I1DDSNKOCR7 on 2000-01-26
This is an outstanding book! It is a must read for anyone in Corporate America! Even if you are not a part of corporate america you will enjoy this book. The Author drives home pricnciple after principle with great stories and antedotes, IT WILL AFFECT YOUR PERSPECTIVE on many things.
- An outstanding gem - for corporate fools (and everyone else)
By A23GE9SXEESW70 on 2001-02-11
Gordon MacKenzie's "Orbiting The Giant Hairball" is a wonderful book for anyone looking to bring more creativity into his or her life or job. First of all, aesthetically this is one of the most beautiful books I own. Gordon tapped his own creative genius and turned out something that in addition to being filled with quality content is a work of art. Secondly, Gordon lived the role of "corporate fool," at Hallmark where he was able to use his wonderful creative spirit to stimulate creativity. He walked the talk and in this book shares that experience.As someone who speaks extensively on creativity and is the author of "Aha!-10 Ways To Free Your Creative Spirit and Find Your Great Ideas," I have read many books on the subject of creativity. Gordon's is unique and special. It is a joy to read, and guaranteed to provide any reader with a fresh perspective on their creative challenges. It is sad that Gordon passed away not to long ago. He was a gift to everyone he crossed paths with, and we are fortunate that he left this legacy so that he will continue to cross paths with many more in the future. Click buy...you will not be disappointed.
- Amusing, but not helpful
By on 2004-05-25
I was really disappointed after reading this book - I should have paid more attention to the negative comments. Any book that bills itself as a "guide to surviving with grace" should have actual advice for how to do it. "Hairball" adoringly recaps the author's career path with little practical advice on how to replicate any of his success. (Unless I want to work in dim lighting and pretend to be a mysterious.) Like "Who Moved My Cheese?" this book dumbs down any good lessons it could make. And like WMMC, it had my teeth on edge by the end. The illustrated stories started out as whimsical and amusing, but became irritating after the 50th messy, run-on sentence-filled, stream-of-consciousness page. If you want to learn why Gordon was the man at Hallmark, this is the book for you. If you want to learn how to survive with grace in your own corporate hairball, sorry - you're out of luck.
- Ignore How It Looks
By A37JSR3J6DN2MO on 2007-03-15
This book sat on my shelf for five years before I ran out of things to read and picked it up. Had I know then what I know now, I would have dropped everything and read it then and there. Mr. Mackenzie encourages individual thinking and creative looks at how things can be in a corporate culture, where dollars and cents are more important than pressing forward and being truly innovative. There is not a business where this sort of creativity cannot be applied.
- made me smile
By on 2000-04-02
This book made me smile on a week when smiles did not come easily. Thank you Gordon.
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