Rating: 
Summary: Amusing, but not helpful
Review: I was really disappointed after reading this book - I should have paid more attention to the negative comments. Any book that bills itself as a "guide to surviving with grace" should have actual advice for how to do it. "Hairball" adoringly recaps the author's career path with little practical advice on how to replicate any of his success. (Unless I want to work in dim lighting and pretend to be a mysterious.) Like "Who Moved My Cheese?" this book dumbs down any good lessons it could make. And like WMMC, it had my teeth on edge by the end. The illustrated stories started out as whimsical and amusing, but became irritating after the 50th messy, run-on sentence-filled, stream-of-consciousness page. If you want to learn why Gordon was the man at Hallmark, this is the book for you. If you want to learn how to survive with grace in your own corporate hairball, sorry - you're out of luck.
Rating: 
Summary: You Know You Got a Classic When
Review: You know you've got a classic when people either love it or hate it. My wife tries to get this idea across to students who either love E.A. Poe or hate him as being 'too creepy'. The point is that the work creates strong emotions. What, if anything, you do with your reaction is up to you. MacKenzie's 'hairball' is one of these. Me?, I love it.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most unique management books I've read
Review: Given the title of the book, it may go without saying, but this is a very different approach to managing a business and creating a corporate culture.
Some people say the book is too "cute" and lacks solid ideas, but I used many of the concepts from this book in helping to turn around the culture of a business and it worked very well. This is certainly not a paint-by-numbers guide to business, but if you are striving to do something truly different and better with your business, "Orbiting the Giant Hairball" may provide an approach that can help you.
As an aside, the book itself is a piece of art - I've never seen another like it. The writing and the physical product clearly come from the mind of a creative individual.
Rating: 
Summary: A nice break from the corporate grind
Review: There was much to glean from this book that Mr. MacKenzie did not say. It was whimsical, silly, fun, and sometimes odd, but it <u>kept my attention</u>. I wanted to know what else he was going to say in his anecdotes; how far the story would go. He tells his story much like Robert Fulghum does in his novel, "All I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten."
What I most appreciated about this book is that Mr. MacKenzie let me tap into how a hard-core creative type thinks, operates and functions. Since I work with creative types on a professional basis, it broadened my perspective a bit and has actually helped me relate to these interesting creatures a bit more. It also helped unleash my own creative spark. I find myself being the "Donna" (from Milk Cans are Not Allowed section)--able to relate to the bureaucratic but also intune with my inner creativity.
Although the book does have some liberating and invigorating qualities, I would hardly suggest this as anything absolute. Mr MacKenzie provides a framework and sparks our imagination; what we do from there with his wisdom and anecdotes are up to us. For those that need ideals more concrete and defined, this may not be the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: Therapeutic and inspiring
Review: As someone who has always considered himself an artist but has been trying to survive in corporate America, this book was an extremely affordable therapy session. At the risk of ridicule I will admit this is the first "business" book to make me cry. As I read the book I felt as if the author had read my mail. He was basically describing my life. For those who are willing to entertain a non-traditional view of corporate culture, I highly recommend this book.
Even though McKenzie doesn't give practical application for his observations, I still find that there is ample information to construct your own application. If you want to walk away with 5 steps to success, you'll be sorely disappointed. The author gives a very general yet accurate analysis of how corporations can, and often do, suck the life and inspiration out of their employees. He goes on to detail how he overcame this issue in his years at Hallmark Cards. It is up to the reader to identify how to apply McKenzie's lessons at that point.
Rating:
Summary: You Know You Got a Classic When
Review: You know you've got a classic when people either love it or hate it. My wife tries to get this idea across to students who either love E.A. Poe or hate him as being 'too creepy'. The point is that the work creates strong emotions. What, if anything, you do with your reaction is up to you. MacKenzie's 'hairball' is one of these. Me?, I love it.
Rating:
Summary: Amusing, but not helpful
Review: This week I was pulled back to Gordon's book and his message, seven years after first meeting him and reading his book. Gordon spoke at our annual conference in 1997 and I can only say that we all fell in love with him. If you're looking for a 10-steps to a better whatever, this is probably not a book you'll like. If you want to slow down a bit and get a glimpse into someone else's soul in a way that touches your own, this book is cool water on a warm day. Gordon approaches creativity as a way of being not a roadmap. His gentle stories illustrate his own lessons in a way we can all relate to and connect to our own lives. Occasionally when I get too caught up in models and formulas and processes, I pull Gordon's book out and re-connect with the deeper flow of what this work of creativity is all about. Gordon left us too soon but I am deeply grateful that he left this piece of himself with us.
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