Missouri Business Directory 2000-2001: The Ultimate Sales & Credit Tool (Missouri Business Directory)

Book Description

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.

Customer Reviews:

Anecdotal Book on How To Compromise to Avoid the "Hairball"..........2007-10-06

Unfortunately for me, I have bad habits- like eating good food and sleeping in the climate controlled indoors. That means getting paid, and in corporate America you don't get paid orbiting the hairball. You get paid only if you're in the thick of it. This book is essentially a book on compromising to avoid, rather than confronting the obvious problems of working in the typical corporate environment.

I rated it three stars because some of the information is actually useful, it's well written (though the artwork and type are annoying) for the fence-sitters it's aimed at.

I enjoyed reading it in the context of vague memories of corporate life I have dating back to 2002 and prior. When I finally lost my last job-- well, I didn't actually lose it, I know where it is (Bhopal I think)-- I decided I'd stay way far away from the hairball. Orbit is too close.

Read it for what it's worth- but if you're reading it because you're really discouraged with life in the cubicle, and being on the electronic leash with your laptop and crackberry wherever you go-- I suggest OUT, not up.

Inspiring, creative, and a thought-provoker. Not to miss........2007-09-22

"Orbiting the Giant Hairball" by Gordon MacKenzie is a not-to-miss book for anyone who is looking to tap into their creative mind.

The book is not for the dull-minded, however. MacKenzie recalls several situations in his career at Hallmark cards, and offers advice in the form of examples.

The last chapter of the book was what made this book completely worth while. I highly recommend this book to everyone. I guarantee you will not regret it.

A Guide to Chaos, Confinement, and Creativity.......2007-08-21

What Orbiting the Giant Hairball (OTGH) is not is another book on corporate management, although heads of creative departments would do well to understand the principles Gordon MacKenzie suggests. OTGH is a guide to chaos, confinement, and creativity. As an artist, I've worked most of my career in the corporate world (the Hairball). The paradox is that creation takes an entirely different set of rules (mainly the defiance of them), which puts creativity at odds with the organizational compulsion of the Hairball. On the one hand, a company can't exist without structure; on the other, artistic expression is antithetical to defined limits. How do you find congruence as a Creative hemmed in a left-brained organization? MacKenzie suggests the middle ground is an orbital path that is free to explore the infinite, but not independent of the organization.

MacKenzie's book is an effortless read, laid out to take advantage of white space. Doodles mark the margins and gaps, with chapter heads and illustrations taking up 4-page spreads. Some chapters break out in freeform cartoons on lined notepaper, with Chapter 19 devoted to the statement, "Orville Wright did not have a pilot's license." Often digressing, you feel there's always a point to the random character of the work. The book presents itself as an artistic exploration, even if the drawings are primitive in the style of a child's hand. What MacKenzie has to say is thought-provoking. Don't get tangled in the hairball, becoming another crony of the institution. Mentoring is not the same as managing. Dynamic forces exist in the chaos of uncertainty. Orbit provides a place for creative expression that isn't stifling. Find your unique voice and express your one-of-a-kind masterpiece.

How to become a Corporate Fool !.......2007-05-26

What a delightful book! You have to read this - if you interested in fostering creativity within a corporation.

The author is Gordon McKenzie, who worked for Hallmark Cards (the main greeting card company here in the US) for 30 years. His last title at the company was ¡¥Creative Paradox¡¦.

The main point in his book is that corporations come into existence through the creativity of their founders, but subsequently start to become stratified and ossified because of the need to do things ¡¥that we know work¡¦, thereby discouraging creativity.

The bias against creativity does not just exist in large corporations. I particularly liked his story about asking school children in different grades how many thought they were artists. Invariably, the older the kids, they less hands would go up. They have been taught that they were not creative, or that being creative is not ¡¥normal¡¦.

The giant hairball is his analogy for the corporate body with all the rules and regulations, and his prescription is to know how to keep within the orbit of the corporation without being absorbed and suffocated into the main mass. Another useful analogy is how when water-skiing, you do not need to follow directly in the wake of the boat, but can at times move in an arc around the back of the boat, or even sometimes get ahead of the boat.

This is a small book full of gems! I highly recommend it.

Here is a quote I really like:

¡§If we do not let go, we make prisoners of ourselves¡¨

The book¡¦s subtitle is: ¡§A Corporate Fool¡¦s Guide to Surviving with Grace.¡¨ So, go ahead and read it. You too can become a Corporate Fool º.

Ignore How It Looks.......2007-03-15

This book sat on my shelf for five years before I ran out of things to read and picked it up. Had I know then what I know now, I would have dropped everything and read it then and there. Mr. Mackenzie encourages individual thinking and creative looks at how things can be in a corporate culture, where dollars and cents are more important than pressing forward and being truly innovative. There is not a business where this sort of creativity cannot be applied.

Average customer rating:

Good cookbook

Well done!

A taste of culture too!

A Taste of Russia: A Cookbook of Russian Hospitality
Darra Goldstein
Manufacturer: Russian Information Services
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Russian | European | Regional & International | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Please to the Table: The Russian Cookbook

The Best of Russian Cooking (Hippocrene International Cookbook Classics)

Classic Russian Cooking: Elena Molokhovets' "A Gift to Young Housewives"

A Year of Russian Feasts

Russian Cookbook

ASIN: 1880100428

Product Description

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine, layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes rich historical and cultural context. With over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-Honey Filled Pies, A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

Customer Reviews:

Good cookbook.......2002-04-26

This is a great cookbook. A lot of time & work was put into it. However, some of my favorite Russian recipies are missing from this book. I would recommend "The Art of Russian Cuisine" for those of you who are interested in food that Russians cook daily or for holidays.

Well done!.......2001-07-16

Having spent a lot of time working in the former Soviet Union, and trying to reconstruct many of the wonderful and interesting dishes from various republics, I was delighted to find a book that "translated", "a pinch of this and a gram of that" into something I could understand and make with products available to me here in the US. I recommend this cookbook to anyone who has tried food from Eastern Europe, enjoyed it and wants to bring it up to our standards. The book is so popular with my friends that I keep giving it as a gift. However, I do feel the title "A Taste of Russia" is not "politically correct", since the dishes are from many of the 17 former republics of the Soviet Union, Russia being only one of them.

A taste of culture too!.......2000-06-13

This is a great book on the food of Russia and the culture also. All to many times we seem to channel Russian cuisine into a few simple dishes. Granted the few simple dishes we view as "Russian" are grand and quite tasty, we tend to shove aside the rich culinary history this country has and the peoples grand capacity to share and truly enjoy food and life. Many times it has been written of the sharing and emphasis of food and being together to enjoy it in other european cuisines, however Russia tends to be overlooked in the cloud of past paranoia of the political state of the land. Ms. Goldstein gets beyond that and makes it clear that food is the binding stuff of a country and of people just as it is in this country and all around this globe.

Book Description

The 1990s have seen significant changes in the financing and organization of research in agriculture and natural resources. In response the World Bank, in collaboration with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, the UK Department for International Development, the International Food Policy Research Institute and Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit, initiated a series of regional and country case studies to examine the impact of the changes. This book collects their findings, covering both industrialized and developing countries. It includes the impact of biotechnology and intellectual property rights and emphasizes the lessons learned from each approach. The book includes a series of recommendations related to future food needs and sustainable development.

Book Description

This is not a get-rich-quick book, but one that examines the roadblocks to achieving financial success and how to overcome them. It explains that large sums of money aren't required to become financially independent--just discipline, time, and following a few simple rules.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic retirement investment book.......2001-07-23

This book is a must for people wanting to learn more about financial independence. It is written in a concise and clear manner to further understanding of concepts that will lead to financial security.

This books is awesome!.......2000-06-01

This book is a wealth of knowledge. With these sure fire strategies I plan on one day having all of the things I have always wanted. Thanks to mom for buying me this book!

How federal employees can get filthy rich slowly, but surely!

Average customer rating:

How federal employees can get filthy rich slowly, but surely!
Carl F Frandsen
Manufacturer: Wealth Builders
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Labor & Industrial Relations | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

State & Local Government | Government | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006F270U

How to get rich slowly,: But almost surely; adventures in applying the decision sciences

Average customer rating:

How to get rich slowly,: But almost surely; adventures in applying the decision sciences
William Thomas Morris
Manufacturer: Reston Pub. Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Public Finance | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0879093439

Average customer rating:

A Look at First Families

First Families: An Intimate Portrait from the Kennedys to the Clintons
Harry Benson
Manufacturer: Diane Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0788194003

Product Description

For more than 30 years photographer Harry Benson has been going to the White House -- & returning with indelible images of our presidents & their families. Now, for the first time, Benson has collected the best of these photos in a book. Accompanied throughout by Benson's lively anecdotes, & by commentaries on living in the White House by three former first ladies -- Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, & Barbara Bush -- these intimate photos offer a unique glimpse inside the White House & at the private lives of our most public figures. "Harry Benson -- a master of his art." "He has created more eloquent portraits of personalities than imaginable."

Customer Reviews:

A Look at First Families.......2007-05-30

When this book was published in 1997 Harry Benson had photographed every first family from the Kennedys to the Clintons. Here in this beautifull collection published by Bulfinch are some of his photographs from that time. He divides the book into Introduction with forewords by Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan and Barbara Bush; Presidents; First Ladies; First Families; Politics; The White House; and Private Lives. While many of the shots are formal portraits (for example, the series of portraits of first ladies, pp. 88-93 where Nancy Reagan in her [borrowed?] Galanos dress looks every inch an elegant queen) often shot for magazines, Benson managed to photograph many members of these families in informal settings. This is what endears the book to me and I suspect to other viewers as well. Jack and Susan Ford (p. 49) show off their youthful attractive bodies in bathing suits. President Reagan clad only in shorts, shoes and socks was caught hammering in a fence post (p.52). In the only shot of Lillian Carter in the book (p.61), she is wearing a headdress to prove that she was "chief" of the family. The first President Bush plays in a swimming pool with his cocker spaniel (p.63) in a shot that shows that he was far more handsome than any of his sons.) The photo of Virginia Kelly (p. 73) clutching a portrait of her baby son Bill Clinton reminded me that you have to love a woman who at her age wore those outrageous false eyelashes, probably the only thing unnatural about this outspoken mother. Benson caught Nancy Reagan (p. 76) on a moving bus during the presidential campaign in New Hampshire eating a sandwich. (Some of us thought she never ate since she remained so thin.) He also photographed Nixon in 1978 (p. 120) in San Clemente wearing the plaid blazer from hell. Surely Pat had nothing to do with purchasing that article of clothing. Benson also includes a closeup of the Reagans kissing, along with a shot of their impromptu dance (a photo we all saw in "Vanity Fair" in 1985.) Whatever your politics are or how you feel about the Reagans, you would be hard pressed to argue that they did not have a deep and abiding love that shines through in every photograph of them.

Mr. Benson provides commentary for each photograph, giving the date and occasion for taking the shot. He also includes a thoughtful introduction. Some of his conclusions: White house staff-members remember Mrs. Nixon as their favorite first lady. Benson found George Bush to be the nicest and that the Carters put on no airs. Why does this not surprise anyone? The fact that the photographer often had only ten minutes to work his magic with these first families and came away with these photographs bears witness to his genius.

Amazon.com

Imagining Robert is an account of Robert Neugeboren's 30-year history of mental illness. In this moving memoir, his brother Jay describes the tragedy of psychosis and illustrates the redemptive power of writing. The author imagines his brother as two people--one hospitalized, the other communicative and lucid--and crafts a story of his brother's thoughts by weaving together Robert's exquisitely written letters about this unfolding family tragedy. The instability of the author's own children and his manipulative mother's affliction with Alzheimer's disease multiply the pressure he feels, threatening his own mental health. His careful words seem an attempt to organize the confusion around him. The imagined friendship with the brother he lovingly cares for serves as an important source of self-examination. Neugeboren's prose restores his brother's dignity by refusing to let the details of how Robert has suffered in psychiatric institutions go unrecorded.

Book Description

"[Neugeboren] is the first writer to capture what it's like for the millions of families who must cope with a problem for which, most of the time, there is no solution. It's that portrait of a loving relationship that gives Imagining Robert its great power."--Book of the Month Club News "Novelist Neugeboren has written a detailed, exquisitely painful, and always thoughtful account of his younger brother's long struggle with mental illness. [It] may bring understanding to those who can barely imagine such horrors and comfort to those who have and felt it alone."--Publishers Weekly "An uncommon tale of brotherly love, and a passionate defense of the notion that dignity belongs as much to the mad as the rest of us."--Kirkus Reviews Jay Neugeboren and his brother, Robert, grew up in Brooklyn in the years following World War II. Both brothers--smart, talented, and popular--seemed well on the way to successful lives when, for reasons that remain ultimately mysterious, Robert had a mental breakdown at age nineteen. For the past forty years Jay has been not only his brother's friend and confidant, but his advocate, as Robert continues to suffer from the ravages of the illness that has kept him institutionalized for most of his adult life. Imagining Robert tells the story of these two brothers and how their love for one another has enabled both to survive and to thrive in miraculous, surprising ways. It reveals how even the grimmest of lives can be sustained by the power of love. Jay Neugeboren is the author of thirteen books, including two collections of award-winning stories, two prize-winning novels, and two nonfiction titles. His most recent book is Transforming Madness: New Lives for People Living with Mental Illness, winner of a "Ken" 2000 Book Award from the New York City/Metro Chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent! Sucks you in, well written, educational,..........2006-09-07

I learned alot about the life of someone with a non-trivial emothional problem(s) and how society (and families) treats them. I also experienced an absorbing personal story that made it hard for me to put the book down. Well written, highly absorbing, educational, and highly recommeneded.

A Moving Memoir.......2006-08-04

I absolutely loved this book. Reviewers here have complained that it's not just about Robert, but about the author and his life. I loved that fact. I too have a brother w/ a mental illness, and I too am a teacher and I like to write. I found all of these stories -- the story of Robert, Jay's connection to him, Jay's struggle to tell Robert's story, and Jay's life as a father -- all equally compelling. I finished the book in 2 days and sent an effusive email to the author, who sent me a kind email back that very same day. This book moved me deeply, made me think and want to write.

Exploitation of sibling..........2006-08-04

This book was terrible, it was an expolitation of his brother, and a shameless way to promote his other books. No matter the situation, the author found a way to make a reference to another book he had wrote. It was poorly written, and jumps around quite a bit. Don't waste your time or money on this book, or any book of this author's.

Well worth reading........2000-01-06

As someone who has made a career of helping the mentally ill, This book broke my heart. Yet I believed the problems existed as stated.

As the parent of a child who, as a teen, developed the need for the safety of psychiatric hospitals, I cried for Jay and his family.

As someone who became clinically depressed after my child's serious suicide attempt, I easily understood the need for what sometimes seemed like unrealistic optimism.

This book offers something for anyone involved with people who are mentally ill. Read it. Keep it. Learn from it.

Let us all kneel before the Great Jay.......1999-11-01

First, the good things: it must have taken courage to write the book, because of the possibility of betraying the privacy of the family. At the same time, the writing process must have been immensely satisfying. I imagine Jay finishing it, sitting back, smiling, and saying "If God takes me tomorrow, that's ok; the story has been told." In fact, Jay came to visit my college English class, and he told us that's exactly what he was thinking. I know how difficult it is to tell a true story about oneself in such remarkable detail, which is why the book earns three stars. But based on its execution, I'd rather only give it two. Here's why...

Is this book really about Robert? How many times does Jay congratulate himself on rising above a background that was out to get him? He went to Columbia, you know. And did he mention he's a writer? He throws that in so many times, you just KNOW he views being a writer as the noblest and most enviable profession in the world. The phrase "my accomplishments" crops up an awful lot, especially in a book supposedly dedicated to a mentally ill brother. Also, did Jay mention he's a writer?

And yes, the sentence structure was maddening (pun intended). A sentence can go on for an entire page, sometimes to such ridiculous lengths that I'd walk down the hall and read it aloud to my friends, just to show them with what I was dealing. I understand this problem a bit, though. I imagine Jay sitting at his desk with so much to say, afraid that if he doesn't put as much down as possible, as soon as it comes into his head, he'll lose it. So he erects a quick parenthetical fence and sends it down.

Basically, when I'd finished reading the book for my English class, I wished that Robert could come to visit instead of Jay. Much as Jay tries to overshadow him, Robert is the star of this book and a truly fascinating character. I realize that I only know about Robert through Jay's writing, so I respect Jay for that. But the book irritated me to no end. I guess I'm just not sensitive enough.

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