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Gordon MacKenzie

Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace Hardcover – April 1, 1998

by Gordon MacKenzie (Author)

(4.5) 628 ratings

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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.

Print length

224 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Viking
Publication date

April 1, 1998
Dimensions

5.15 x 0.76 x 7.26 inches
ISBN-10

0670879835
ISBN-13

978-0670879830
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Editorial Reviews

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

From the Back Cover

Gordon MacKenzie worked at Hallmark Cards for thirty years, where he inspired 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 lessons on awakening and fostering creative genius. He teaches how to emerge from the "giant hairball" - that tangled, impenetrable mass of rules, and systems, based on what worked in the past and which can lead to mediocrity in the present.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Viking; First Edition (April 1, 1998)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0670879835
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0670879830
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.15 x 0.76 x 7.26 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #21,104 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #183 in Business Motivation & Self-Improvement (Books)
- #229 in Motivational Management & Leadership
- #325 in Business Management (Books)

Customer Reviews:
(4.5) 628 ratings

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Gordon MacKenzie

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Gordon MacKenzie is the author of North Light's bestselling watercolour book, The Watercolorist's Essential Notebook. He has been a popular artist and teacher for more than 30 years and has mounted more than 25 solo exhibitions. His work hangs in many private and corporate collections and has been featured in magazines.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

628 global ratings

5 star		78%
4 star		9%
3 star		6%
2 star		2%
1 star		5%

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Top reviews from the United States

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fields

Quirky and inspiring book about surviving in bureaucracy

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 5, 2023

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The book is quirky, and a good reflection of the author's experience about navigating the complexities of large organizations and bureaucracies (whether private or public). He was successful in carving out his own niche and supporting his own transformation through that. It's a small-format book (almost hip-pocket sized) and a short but entertaining read, and includes a bunch of illustrations throughout, in the margins and in the text (the guy was a creative who worked for Hallmark). Typesetting is kinda small and tight, so it might be difficult for some to read. But the stories are generally engaging. One chapter is just one sentence, which I found quite profound, and I won't give it away. Mackenzie sounds like an interesting guy, would've been interesting to meet him.

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Plant Ladee

Great seller experience!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 27, 2023

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Book arrived sooner than expected, in better condition then expected. Half price books, you did great! Thank you!!!

I have had this book before and loved it. I could not find my copy and I am so excited to have it again.

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Dick K

Still a great read, becoming a 'hidden' gem

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 2, 2010

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Here's a little gem of a book that I missed and maybe you did, too. It's an unlikely book for me because it's not a topic I go looking for and the somewhat cutesy format would probably have put me off. But it came highly recommended and I loved it.

To understand the book you have to know that the author worked for the Hallmark greeting card company for over 30 years, first as a sketch artist and eventually as an upper-level manager. Then, as he puts it, he escaped the "hairball" by creating his own job with the title, Creative Paradox. Here's a quote from the book that in really summarizes the whole thing:

"...I contrived a private agenda to subvert the stupefying power of the corporate culture and provoke the emancipation of creative genius... in myself and others..."

Now the corporate hairball he speaks of is the tangled mess of bureaucratic procedure and thinking that kills originality, stifles imagination and becomes so massive as to suck everyone into itself via it's gravity. Escape is futile if you work there--but, MacKenzie writes, it is just possible to launch yourself away from it, keep a bit of distance and keep the creativity. In other words to be in orbit!

The book is full of `creative' typography, odd bits of art, and doodles. That's why I probably would have passed it by--too weird. But do NOT let that put you off. This is a wonderful book with powerful ideas that will stimulate your creativity and get you to thinking about things in whole new ways.

The first story he tells is poignant and strongly echoes Sir Ken Robinson's [...] talk. Gordon writes how he was invited to visit grade school classes to show the kids his welded-steel art of fanciful animals and such (a hobby). The kids loved it and he got to be a popular guest. He opened each visit by praising the kids' artwork in the classroom and halls and asking them who among them liked being an artist. Universally, the K-1st grade groups would jump up and talk excitedly. They all loved doing the artwork and claimed the title of artist with enthusiasm. By 6th grade none of the kids reacted that way--they no longer thought of themselves as creative or artists. The question of why and how we do that to our kids echoes Robinson and is a theme that traces it's way through the book: what it means to be creative and how that energy can be recaptured and put to work in a corporate environment. He writes about it's importance and its rarity--even at Hallmark.

This is a book that should be on the shelf of everyone. Get it, read it and enjoy.

9 people found this helpful

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William A. Reed

Excellent and fun at the same time!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 9, 2013

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"Orbiting" is one of my all-time favorite books for its important message hidden within a fun and interesting narrative. It is an autobiography of Gorden MacKenzie's organizational life as a creative force at Hallmark Cards.

The Hairball is "policy, procedure, conformity, compliance, rigidity, and submission to the status quo, while Orbiting is originality, rule-breaking, non-conformity, experimentation, and innovation" (p. 39).

It is difficult to write much about this book without spoiling the fun and discovery of reading it. Therefore, this review will be purposely brief and simply hint at some of the reasons I highly recommend this book:

Favorite quote 1: "Companies we work for... have their perceptions of reality and they impose them on us. As a result, we are wrapped in a cocoon of realities perceived by others who came before us. It is a cocoon that gives us a sense of emotional security through connection to a shared belief. But it is also a shroud that binds and cripples us..." (p. 45).

Many will recognize the forced team-building exercises that MacKenzie describes in this next quote.

Favorite quote 2: "Mandatory fun is the force-feeding of some cockeyed activity to a captive audience with intent to generate joviality. Almost without exception, these ill-advised intrusions fail to create the mirth they are intended to. The result is a discomfort that everyone feels, but no one acknowledges (p. 118).

Clearly the best part of the book are the stories that mark the author's journey through the company and speak clearly about how the exercise of power impacts the lives of individuals and the success of organizations. I especially enjoyed the power struggles over insignificant policies such as office trash bins.

Overall, I can't really say what this book is about. Some will see it as a book on innovation, some will see it as surviving as an individual deep inside a corporate bureaucracy, and some will see it as a triumph of the creativity of the human spirit. For me, it's a wonderful example of the complexity of organizational life and evidence that emergent outcomes are more than "the sum of the parts". From a complexity management perspective, these narratives bring richness and reality to how real organizations actually function and evolve (or stagnate).

[...]

28 people found this helpful

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Me

The new format does not work at all

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 22, 2023

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One thing that was dynamic and effective about this book was the paper, page size, illustrations that replicated a sketch book etc. This new edition is generally no fun to read in its teeny print and odd shape. However, that could be overlooked if the essential message and character of the book were not conveyed 75% through the original format and presentation. So wish I had not loaned mine to a forgotten someone.

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CJ

Clever book worth a read!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 14, 2022

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Offbeat and interesting! Speaks to the creative genius in us all and how the world is set on stifling that.
In the middle of the book is "your brain" just too funny to describe!

Helpful

Print too small

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 27, 2022

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For a hardback book, it was hard to read, print too small. And honestly I just couldn't follow it long enought to finish it. Karen Briscoe, author and podcast host 5 Minute Success

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

MarkL

Brilliantly insightful (and funny) book I come back to again and again

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 20, 2019

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The title and illustrations may give the impression to some the book is flippant but the ideas in it show a very intelligent man who has refined his ideas and how to communicate them over a long period. Everything in this book has been carefully considered and it puts the one-idea rambling business-y books to shame. Legitimately laugh out loud funny in places both in whit and the very bold moves by the author in his career in such a conservative organisation. Very engaging read.

Who is it for? Well anyone who questions the madness they sometimes see around them and particularly those with a creative streak for which is certainly will do as the title suggests and help them survive with grace. Anyone with a high degree of openness will do well with it. Though centred on the author's experiences at Hallmark there are some very philosophical lessons for the wider sphere of life. The story he writes to close the book about God and the blank canvas we all have is particularly poignant and stays with me.

2 people found this helpful

Doug Shaw

A thing of beauty

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 4, 2018

Verified Purchase

Such a delightful, beautifully crafted book. Essential reading for people trying to improve and develop in an organisational environment.

2 people found this helpful

Jim J

Three Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 2, 2016

Verified Purchase

Some good tips in here but at times it is monumnettally patronising

JoeKBaker

Laugh out loud material

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 5, 2017

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This book is priceless. The copy was a bit frayed around the edges but apart from that in reasonable condition. The read is exceptional I laughed out loud in places

One person found this helpful

yaa-aldo

Creative, quirky

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 7, 2014

Verified Purchase

Thought provoking, interesting, fun. This is a completely unexpected style of book. More like a personal doodle in some ways but a doodle in words and pictures.

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