Search Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »
My library | Help | Advanced Book Search | Web History | Sign in

Books

Orbiting the Giant Hairball:

A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving With Grace
Front Cover
170 Reviews
Viking, 1996 - Business & Economics - 224 pages
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.

What people are saying - Write a review

User ratings

5 stars
81
4 stars
49
3 stars
32
2 stars
7
1 star
1

Humorous, unique writing style. - Goodreads
Great book, well writing and beautifully presented. - Goodreads
Lots of great insights. - Goodreads
Very good illustrations as well. - Goodreads
Greatest advice: paint *your* masterpiece. - Goodreads
And the illustrations are just darling. - Goodreads

Review: Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace

User Review  - Jim Dooley - Goodreads

This is an essential book for the creative soul functioning in the corporate world. It is quite literally a survival guide consisting of the most gentle, humorous and down-to-earth stories (almost ... Read full review

Review: Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace

User Review  - Theresa - Goodreads

This book is a useful wake-up call for inserting more creativity and irrationality into any rational, structured environment. It's definitely framed for corporate life, but I see its applicability ... Read full review

All 164 reviews »

Related books

Uncommon genius: how great ideas are born
Uncommon genius: how great ideas are born
Denise G. Shekerjian
Snippet view - 1990
Whack on the Side of the Head
Whack on the Side of the Head
Roger Von Oech
Snippet view - 2002
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future
Daniel H. Pink
No preview available - 2006
All related books »

References to this book

From other books

Human Resource Management in the Knowledge Economy: new chalenges, new roles ...
Human Resource Management in the Knowledge Economy: new chalenges, new roles ...
Mark L. Lengnick Hall
Limited preview - 2003
Individuals in Context: A Practical Guide to Client-Centered Practice
Individuals in Context: A Practical Guide to Client-Centered Practice
Virginia Griswold Fearing,Jo Clark
Limited preview - 2000
All Book Search results »

From Google Scholar

Who moved my Muggle? Harry Potter and the marketing imaginarium
Stephen Brown - Marketing Intelligence & Planning
I can read you like a book! Novel thoughts on consumer behaviour
Stephen Brown - Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal
Long-term goals for governments
David Rejeski, Carly Wobig - foresight
Donning the White Coat: The Narrative Threads of Professional ...
Pamela Schaff
All Scholar search results »

References from web pages

Functioning Form - Orbiting the Giant Hairball
Functioning Form: Merging medium and message in interface design, the user experience design process, Web applications, and more
www.lukew.com/ ff/ entry.asp?352

insidework » Gordon mackenzie: Orbiting the Giant Hairball
About Us. insidework® infuses business innovation with biblical insight to stimulate change in our work, organizations and marketplace. ...
insidework.net/ resources/ readinglist/ entry-0000017672

The End of the Long Tail » 20 Steps to Orbiting the Giant Hairball
Oh, I do know the giant hairball… I am all up inside the giant hairball at my job. I spend each day trying to break out of the atmosphere and maintain low ...
longtailend.com/ index.php/ 2007/ 04/ 21/ 20-steps-to-orbiting-the-giant-hairball/

freedomlab Future Studies » Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A ...
Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace by Gordon mackenzie 97 customers reviewed this article averaging 4.5 ...
www.freedomlab.org/ 2007/ 05/ 23/ orbiting-the-giant-hairball-a-corporate-fools-guide-to-surviving-with-grace/

theocentric: Creative Paradox
Creative Paradox. Orbiting the Giant Hairball. Somewhere between childhood and young adulthood we lose our creative edge. In our early years, we engage with ...
www.theocentric.com/ ecclesiology/ leadership/ creative_paradox.html

Orbiting the Giant Hairball
Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace inspires a lighter approach. From the title of the first chapter, ...
www.leaderstrength.com/ May03V5.htm

How Is Your Company Like a Giant Hairball? | Fast Company
... self-published his book, Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace, in 1996, and Viking will republish it in April. ...
www.fastcompany.com/ magazine/ 12/ hairball.html

Blogs Are Like A**holes: Orbiting The Giant Hairball...
I recently finished reading "Orbiting the Giant Hairball" for the second time in my life. It's written by the late Gordon Mackenzie and details the ...
blogsarelikeaholes.blogspot.com/ 2007/ 05/ orbiting-giant-hairball.html

Orbiting the giant hairball : a corporate fool's guide to ...
All about Orbiting the giant hairball : a corporate fool's guide to surviving with grace by Gordon mackenzie. librarything is a cataloging and social ...
www.librarything.com/ work/ 25772

“Orbiting the Giant Hairball” Sustaining Success in University ...
“Orbiting the Giant Hairball”. Sustaining Success in University-Community Partnerships. An interpretive, expressive, and interactive experience stimulated ...
www.wkkf.org/ DesktopModules/ WKF.00_DmaSupport/ ViewDoc.aspx?fld=PDFFile& CID=19& ListID=28& ItemID=190489& LanguageID=0

About the author (1996)

MacKenzie worked at Hallmark Cards for 30 years. He worked as a cartoonist and writer.

Bibliographic information

QR code for Orbiting the Giant Hairball
TitleOrbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving With Grace
AuthorGordon MacKenzie
Edition6, reprint, illustrated
PublisherViking, 1996
ISBN0670879835, 9780670879830
Length224 pages
Subjects › 

Business & Economics / General
Business & Economics / Management
Self-Help / Creativity
  
Export CitationBiBTeX EndNote RefMan