Orbiting The Giant Hairball is a book by Gordon MacKenzie, a former artist and creative director at Hallmark Cards, who shares his insights and experiences on how to unleash and nurture creativity in the corporate world. The book is full of anecdotes, illustrations, and metaphors that convey MacKenzie's unconventional and humorous wisdom.

The title of the book refers to MacKenzie's analogy of the corporate culture as a giant hairball: a tangled mass of rules, traditions, systems, policies, procedures, and precedents that stifle innovation and originality. The hairball grows bigger over time as more people follow what worked in the past instead of exploring new possibilities.

MacKenzie argues that to be creative and successful in such an environment, one must learn to orbit the hairball: to maintain a balance between gravity (the pull of the hairball) and centrifugal force (the push of one's own vision). Orbiting means finding one's own unique path around the hairball without getting sucked into it or flying away from it. It means being able to adapt to changing circumstances while staying true to one's core values and purpose.

MacKenzie offers several tips and techniques on how to orbit the hairball effectively:
- Be curious and ask questions. Don't accept things as they are; challenge assumptions and norms; seek new perspectives and information; experiment with different approaches.
- Be courageous and take risks. Don't be afraid of failure or rejection; learn from mistakes; embrace uncertainty and ambiguity; try new things even if they seem crazy or impossible.
- Be authentic and express yourself. Don't hide your personality or talents; show your passion and enthusiasm; share your ideas and opinions; create something that reflects who you are.
- Be generous and collaborate. Don't hoard your knowledge or resources; help others succeed; seek feedback and advice; listen to different viewpoints; build trust and rapport.
- Be playful and have fun. Don't take yourself too seriously; enjoy what you do; inject humor and joy into your work; celebrate achievements big or small.

Orbiting The Giant Hairball is a book that inspires readers to unleash their creative potential in any organization or situation. It shows how creativity can be cultivated, nurtured, rewarded, recognized, protected, supported, encouraged, celebrated - even within a giant hairball.

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Buy it here: Orbiting The Giant Hairball