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

by Gordon MacKenzie (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 646 ratings
See all formats and editions
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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.

Previous page
  1. Print length
    224 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Viking
  4. Publication date
    April 1, 1998
  5. Dimensions
    5.19 x 0.82 x 7.29 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0670879835
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0670879830
  8. See all details
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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 ‏ : ‎ 12.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.19 x 0.82 x 7.29 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 646 ratings

About the author

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Gordon MacKenzie

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 stars
4.5 out of 5
646 global ratings
Amazing book for someone new into the corporative world
5 Stars
Amazing book for someone new into the corporative world
I bought this book after my boss mentioned it on a team meeting,while he was talking about the plum tree theory. I must say that when I first got I was suspicious of how good the book could be, for not having a "formal" look.Listen, if you are a person who used to work on small companies and now you started working on a "big" kind or corporation enterprise, this book will make you feel like they know your worries and will bring you good, nice, out of the box answers to typical corporate situations, but still respecting the "hairball", working as a win win for you and for the " established process". I really enjoyed it, I read it slowly and I found myself, the days I read it, thinking on what the book mentioned about an specific situation.In short words: Is a really good book.
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Top reviews from the United States

Dick K
5.0 out of 5 stars Still a great read, becoming a 'hidden' gem
Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2010
Verified Purchase
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.
10 people found this helpful
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William A. Reed
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and fun at the same time!
Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2013
Verified Purchase
"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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William Ender
5.0 out of 5 stars OUTSTANDING!! Gordon MacKenzie is my hero!
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2015
Verified Purchase
"Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace" is a must-read for anyone looking to navigate the often-crazy world of corporate life. The book is written by Gordon MacKenzie, an artist and former executive at Hallmark Cards, and it's full of wisdom, wit, and inspiration.

One of the key themes of the book is the importance of staying true to yourself and your values, even in a corporate environment. MacKenzie encourages readers to be creative and to embrace their individuality, and he provides practical tips for how to do so.

Another strength of the book is its humor and warmth. MacKenzie writes with a light touch, and his anecdotes and observations are often amusing and insightful. He has a talent for finding the absurdity and absurdity in corporate life, and his writing is full of wit and wisdom.

Overall, "Orbiting the Giant Hairball" is a delightful and inspiring book that is sure to be of interest to anyone looking to survive and thrive in the corporate world. It's a must-read for anyone looking to find joy and meaning in their work. I've gifted this book to dozens of friends and business colleagues over the years and reread it myself every few years just for the pure enjoyment of it.
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john casari
5.0 out of 5 stars Original look and feel
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2024
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Good value on classic book
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Jennie Yuhas
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, fun read with tangible advice
Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2016
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Enjoyable book, easy to read and fun to dive into or just pick up and peruse because of the fun images and sketches. The author does provide some tangible and useful pieces of advice on the approach young professionals (and ambitious middle-managers) should employ to maintain creativity and effectiveness in corporate settings with high degrees of bureaucracy and red tape. An enjoyable book.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Antonella
5.0 out of 5 stars magnifico
Reviewed in Italy on April 22, 2024
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da leggere
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MarkL
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly insightful (and funny) book I come back to again and again
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 20, 2019
Verified Purchase
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
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Preparing for Orbit
Reviewed in Canada on July 19, 2016
Verified Purchase
This book speaks my language!! Personal drawings, short chapters and very moving anecdotes. It's helped me realize there are more of my breed in creating and teaching me to Orbit :). If you have a short attention span, this book is for you, you won't want to put it down!
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JEL
5.0 out of 5 stars Un excellent livre à lire, comme le Petit Prince, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, etc.
Reviewed in France on February 7, 2016
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Un livre inspirant et de mon point de vue, qui donne une vision vraisemblable de comment la plupart des managers agissent dans une organisation.
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Cornelia Thurmann
5.0 out of 5 stars Tolles Buch / Great Book
Reviewed in Germany on December 18, 2015
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Ich habe mir das Buch gekauft weil ich von dem letzten Kapitel "Paint me a Masterpiece" gehört habe und absolut begeistert war! Ein sehr inspirierende Geschichte, die ich jetzt schon oft verwandt und sogar verschenkt habe.
Das Buch insgesamt ist gut geschrieben, die Illustrationen sind ausgefallen und gefallen mir sehr gut, als Angestellte in einem großen Konzern kann ich vieles (leider) sehr gut nachvollziehen was der Autor so schildert.
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I bought the book because I heard of the last chapter "Paint me a Masterpiece" - and that really inspired me! The book is well written, the somewhat fancy illustrations appeal to me, and working for a multinational company I (sadly) can relate to most of what the author writes about. Also a good present!
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