Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool’s Guide to Surviving with Grace
Not just an enlightening book, but also beautifully designed, too. I read this when I was immersed in the corporate world and it helped greatly in weathering my days there.
From Amazon.com…
“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.”
More 2012 Gift Guide Items:
- Do the Work by Steven Pressfield
- Bulb Planting Tools
- Blue Snowball Microphone
- Seagate Backup Plus 500 GB USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive
- Logitech C920 HD Web Cam
- We Are All Weird by Seth Godin
- Sunset Western Garden Book – New Edition for 2012
- The Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings
- Garden Mysteries by Anthony Eglin
- The Creative Habit/The Collaborative Habit by Twyla Tharp
- Moleskeine Journals
- Pat Welsh’s Southern California Organic Gardening (3rd Edition): Month by Month
- Podcasting for Dummies/Expert Podcasting Practices for Dummies
- Wacom Bamboo Splash Pen Tablet
- Radical Careering by Sally Hogshead
- The $64 Tomato
- Blue Yeti Microphone
- BioLite CampStove/HomeStove
- Getting Things Done by David Allen
- The Curious Gardener
- Anything You Want by Derek Sivers
- GoPro HD HERO 3
- Flower Confidential by Amy Stewart
- The Starfish and the Spider by Orj Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom
- Microphone Boom Arms
- The Information by James Gleick
- Handy Farm Devices And How To Make Them (1909)
- Zarrella’s Hierarchy of Contagiousness: The Science, Design, and Engineering of Contagious Ideas
- Apple iPhone 5
- Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity by Hugh MacLeod
- Killer Ratings by Lisa Seidman
- Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It by Karen Solomon
- Zoom Portable Recorders (H1, H2, H2n, H4n)
- Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds
- My Teenager’s Favorite Games
- The Compassionate Instinct: The Science of Human Goodness
- In a Mexican Garden: courtyards, pools and open-air living rooms
- Fields of Plenty: A farmer’s journey in search of real food and the people who grow it
- Apple iPad/iPad Mini
- The Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam
- Cucina Rustica
- The Great Potato Book
- Rode Podcaster Microphone
- High-Tech Fitness Monitors
- Books by Douglas E. Welch
- Tribes by Seth Godin
- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
- The Italian Slow Cooker cookbook
- The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need
- Classes from The Institute of Domestic Technology
- Olympus PEN E-P1 12 MP Micro Four Thirds Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera
- Backyard Giants: The Passionate, Heartbreaking and Glorious Quest to Grow the Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Susan Warren
- Cocoon GRID-IT Organizer Packs
- Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking
- Podcast Solutions by Dan Klass and Michael Geoghegan
- The Craft and Business of Songwriting by John Braheny
- Dexim Visible Green Smart Charge & Sync Cable
- Wells Lamont Wet and Muddy Latex Coated Gardening Glove
- Rosanne’s Top 5 Books for Film Buffs
- Bon-Aire HN-10C Original Ultimate Hose Nozzle
- Microphones from Giant Squid Audio Labs
- Re-Imagine by Tom Peters
- Razer Gaming Mice
- Garden Hod harvest carrier
- Nest Learning Thermostat
- Aha! 10 Ways to Free Your Creative Spirit and Find Your Great Ideas
- Yes, You Can! And Freeze and Dry It, Too: The Modern Step-By-Step Guide to Preserving Food
- A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative
- Fiskars 7936 PowerGear Pruner
- Chi-qoo Solar Power Pack Kit from Bootstrap Solar
- Read This Before Our Next Meeting by Al Pittampalli
- Sterling Audio ST51 Large Diaphragm FET Condenser Microphone
- DollarSeed.com – One Stop Seed Shop
- 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive
- Desktop Microphone Stands
- Logitech Harmony 650 Remote Control
- Maple Sugaring Startup Kit from Tap My Trees
- Sennheiser HD-280 PRO Headphones