Orbiting the giant hairball by gordon mackenzie essay. In his deeply funny book, exuberantly illustrated in full color, he shares lessons on awakening and fostering creative genius. And with a haughty selfassurance, it imposes that perception on us until we think it is our own. Originally selfpublished the book became a business cult classic. Orbiting the giant hairball quotes by gordon mackenzie. Orbiting the giant hairball a corporate fools guide to surviving with grace july 21, 2009 2. As the title indicates this is a book about the importance of maintaining our creative. Orbiting the giant hairball a corporate fools guide to. A corporate fools guide to surviving with grace mackenzie, gordon on.
Visualize yourself detaching from your hairball and feel the lightness that comes from the perspective of orbiting above your problems. Gordon mackenzie quotes author of orbiting the giant. Ever wonder how you survive to innovate in a larger company. A corporate fools guide to surviving with grace hardcover apr 1 1998. After his tenure at the greeting card company he collected his thoughts on keeping creative and nourishing ideas into the book orbiting the giant hairball. The current document download page has been viewed 9100 times. Gordon was an employee of hallmark cards for 30 years, where he inspired his colleagues to slip the bonds of. The story was about how as the individual orbited around the corporation, the.
Orbiting the giant hairball download ebook pdf, epub. To be fully free to create, we must first find the courage and willingness to let go. Hospital visit from the carol burnett show full sketch duration. In orbiting the giant hairball, gordon mackenzie writes about his experiences working for hallmark in the land of oz.
Its the corporate tendency to relyon past policies, decisions, and processes asa formula for future success. It is difficult to write much about this book without spoiling the fun and discovery of reading it. 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. Book overview the book orbiting the giant hairball was written by gordon mackenzie in 1996. In his book, orbiting the giant hairball, mackenzie asks school children from kindergarten through sixth grade if they consider themselves to be artists.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. A corporate fools guide to surviving with grace chinese edition. Orbiting the giant hairball 1998 edition open library. He was a metal sculptor, management consultant, keynote speaker, author, artist and poet. While the enthusiasm for creative free expression seems to run freely for the youngest children, the author notes. See all 6 formats and editions hide other formats and editions.
A corporate fools guide to surviving with grace pdf. The atom represented the individual, the squiggle the corporation. He jumped on a train headed to kansas city and built the largest social expression company in the world. This is a wonderful book, inspirational on many levels.
Mackenzies book orbiting the giant hairball, 1 i found myself chuckling at the following story. These blinks explain how to evade the dark, creativitystifling vortex of corporate bureaucracy by balancing corporate restraints with personal creativity. But too often, even the most innovative organization quickly becomes a giant hairball a tangled, impenetrable mass of rules, traditions, and. Orbiting the giant hairball is a great resource for navigating the corporate world without sacrificing your creativity. Orbiting the giant hairball tom kelley, ideo november 12, 2008 ideos general manager tom kelley relays a tale about artist and author gordon mackenzie. 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.
Gordon mackenzie, author of orbiting the giant hairball, worked in the creative department of hallmark cards for 30 years. Its bureaucracy, which doesntallow much space for original thinking andcreativity. Recent travels have taken me through gordon mackenzies orbiting the giant hairball, a tale of retaining creativity within the confines of corporate bureaucracy mackenzie charts his thirty years at hallmark cards with landmarks that helped him navigate a corporate structure ill suited for members of the. A corporate fools guide to surviving with grace unknown march 30, 2015 at 2. A corporate fools guide to surviving with grace chinese edition mai ken qi on. Mackenzie worked for hallmark for 30 years and has compiled a sometimes whimsical, sometimes profound summary of his experience a learnings. Today, feels like the wonderful image from a book by gordon mackenzie called orbiting the giant hairball. Mackenzies guide is, in fact, 224 pages of wisdom and artistry that speaks to rankandfile workers about creativity, and to corporate leaders about the structure and goals of their. For more information about orbiting the giant hairball, contact gordon mackenzie at opuspocus 94922256.
These citations may not conform precisely to your selected citation style. After working for hallmark cards, he started to give workshops and tutorials centered on maintaining creativity in the corporate world. People who leave behind the absolute truths, the essential necessaries, always fai. And so true if you every feel like you are caught up in someone elses agenda, yet you want to stay true to yourself. But too often, even the most innovative organization quickly becomes a giant hairballa tangled, impenetrable mass of rules, traditions, and systems, all based on what worked in the pastthat exercises an. He compares the organization and processes at hallmark cards to a giant hairball. This this should be required reading for all college students before they graduate. A corporate fools guide to surviving with grace by gordon mackenziemy rating. But anyhow, gordon mackenzie, great guy, he was an artist. A corporate fools guide to surviving with grace read full ebook. Orbiting the giant hairball 1996 is a guide to surviving at a corporation while holding onto your creativity. Let go of the strategies that have worked for us in the past. Gordon mackenzie successfully tells us how to survive the natural gravity of the giant hairball that sucks the life out of creativity, innovation, and the very people that corporate entities require to stay vital and in demand.
About gordon mackenzie many people might have considered the late gordon mackenzie a renaissance man. Gordon was an employee of hallmark cards for 30 years, where he inspired his colleagues to slip the bonds. Orbiting the giant hairball the timesheet chronicles. Learning to orbit the giant hairball creativitycrisis. The theme revolves around how the systems of business and education often proclaim an affinity towards creativity of and by supervisors, employees, and stakeholders but in practice, actually stifle any actions that threaten the status quo. But too often, even the most innovative organization quickly becomes a giant hairballa tangled. Mackenzie was hired on as a creator for the company, and during a staff meeting. Like our creative genius is the fountainhead of originality. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. His workshops were further developed into his book orbiting the giant hairball. Business book club handouts for orbiting the giant hairball by gordon mackenzie. Mackenzie uses a painting as the metaphor of a life of personal contribution.
Too many projects and too many new and wonderful people have showed up in my life. After my recent coaching session with sue, i remembered how much i love the book, orbiting the giant hairball, and how i could really stand to reread it again. Currently out of stock at the stanford bookstore, in case anybody is interested in dashing over there to get it. I didnt really know what to expect from the book, but i loved it. National geographic kids, book activities, nonfiction books. One of my favorite books on creativity and innovation is by a guy named gordon mackenzie, its called orbiting the giant hairball. Orbiting the giant hairball on the way to somewhere else. Gordon mackenzie has a peculiar prescription for succeeding in the corporate world. Open library is an initiative of the internet archive, a 501c3 nonprofit, building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Hallmark artist gordon mackenzies orbiting the giant hairball.
Creativity and orbiting the giant hairball of school. A corporate fools guide to surviving with grace by gordon mackenzie. Orbiting the giant hairball i recently finished reading orbiting the giant hairball a corporate fools guide to surviving with grace by gordon mackenzie. Orbiting the giant hairball by gordon mackenzie artists, creative people, entrepreneurs, ceos. Gordon called this unintentional mess the giant hairball and it was in short, an entangled pattern of behavior. Click download or read online button to get orbiting the giant hairball book now. Ideos general manager tom kelley relays a tale about artist and author gordon mackenzie. Designer fund design leadership library epub orbiting the giant hairball. Orbiting the giant hairball october 16, 2002 alexander 2 comments gordon mackenzie spent 20 years working for hallmark, and his experiences there have enabled him to write what he calls a corporate fools guide to surviving with grace. It is the criticism of mistakes and lack of perfection that leads to feelings of inadequacy and embarrassment and make the stunning masterpiece look like a hideous paint by numbers.
Orbiting the giant hairball by gordon mackenzie the book orbiting the giant hairball was written by gordon mackenzie in 1996. A corporate fools guide to surviving with grace is a fun and useful read. But too often, even the most innovative organization quickly becomes a giant hairballa tangled, impenetrable mass of rules, traditions, and systems, all based on what worked in the pastthat exercises an inexorable pull into mediocrity. Its only available in hardcopy and there is a good reason, its filled with little doodles and art from the author, gordon mackenzie. The hairball is policy, procedure, conformity, compliance, rigidity, and submission to the status quo, while orbiting is originality, rulebreaking, nonconformity, experimentation, and innovation p. S everal years ago i was introduced to a little book titled orbiting the giant hairball. A corporate fools guide to surviving with grace by gordon mackenzie isbn. It is this resulting mass of hair this hairball that drives mackenzie to write. In the 224 pages, gordon describes his journey as a creative in a corporate environment.
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