When I get the chance to play around in the blogosphere, I love to check out what’s on other people’s reading lists.
So I was somewhat surprised to find one on my all-time favorite books – Gordon McKenzie’s Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool’s Guide to Surviving with Grace – on several lists including From the Marketing Trenches and You Already Know This Stuff.
While it’s not unusual to see the same current popular business books on people’s reading lists, it’s interesting to find a book that was first published ten years ago. (Gordon self-published his book in 1996 before it was picked up by Viking Press two years later. I initially learned about the book from Gordon whom I had the privilege to meet when he spoke at several AMA conferences in the early-mid ’90s.)
Favorite Cult Classic
I’ve always thought of Gordon’s book as somewhat of a cult classic since not too many people have heard of it. But it’s one of the first I mention when people ask “what’s your favorite book?” or “If you were on a deserted island what book(s) would you want with you?”
Orbiting the Giant Hairball is not a book you read just once … it’s one to read & enjoy over and over and over again.
One reply on “Great Reading for Summer & Year Round”
Thanks for mentioning my blog in this post! I absolutely love this book! As you said, it’s one you can read over and over and the ideas never get stale. In fact, the ideas almost seem cutting edge, in some cases, as creativity seems to finally be making its way into our corporate culture.
Keep up the great work!