In April, several readers wrote to tell us books that have helped them as leaders or business people. One reader, Theresa Hummel-Krallinger, from High Five Performance, Inc. in North Wales, PA recommends a book with an intriguing title; Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving With Grace, by Gordon MacKenzie. 

If you are a person working in an organization who feels the pressure to take yourself a little too seriously this book is for you. Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace inspires a lighter approach. From the title of the first chapter, Where Have all the Geniuses Gone? to the last chapter, Paint Me a Masterpiece you will find sprinkled throughout the text a special kind of whimsical but practical wisdom. At first glance you might think Gordon MacKenzie wrote a book about creativity. He is the former self-titled, Creative Paradox at Hallmark Cards. Beyond just inspiring creativity, his book works well as a model for any middle manager who wants the best of both worlds, the stability and structure of a corporate life without the loss of freedom by being “sucked into the hairball.”

"This book helped me to keep perspective in a highly bureaucratic and political corporate environment. When you're deeply immersed in an organization, you may not even recognize that you've been sucked into the "hairball." What is the hairball? The hairball is the collection of bureaucracy, red tape, and corporate mores that cloud your vision and your ability to think for yourself. Once in the hairball, your focus becomes that of conformity and guarding your territory --- and not creativity and finding solutions that move the business forward.

• You worry that your peer's office/cubicle has more square feet of space than yours (or better artwork, a larger plant, more guest chairs, etc.)

• You actually feel that having that reserved parking space somehow makes you better than the other employees.

• You're concerned that your new office nameplate doesn't include your certification letters, titles, degrees, or designations.

• You find yourself nodding your head and saying "yes" a lot during group meetings.

• You spend an inordinate amount of time discussing performance "ratings" and proudly boast that your rating is a "4" or "5" -- as if that validates your corporate existence.

• You rarely share ideas with your team, and when you do, you have must receive "group consensus" before you're willing to move forward.

The book doesn't suggest that you become a rebel. On the contrary, it suggests that in order to succeed your thoughts and actions must be in line with organizational goals.  What the book suggests is that in order to move the business forward, you can not lose your sense of identity -- you must retain your own thinking and values in order to fully contribute to the organization. Being part of the hairball, you might find a feeling of "safety," but will have given up your ability to be a real leader and contributor. Finding balance, by orbiting the hairball, is recommended."

ReaderStrength recommends Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving With Grace as a personal leadership book that will urge you to find your own purpose and vision. We believe that any middle manager can decide to lead without waiting for management to sanction their ability to lead. MacKenzie reinforces our thoughts on that with this excerpt from the book:

Theresa Hummel-Krallinger, President of High Five Performance, is a well-respected corporate trainer and performance consultant, but it’s her work as a humorist and motivational speaker that sets her apart. Contact Theresa at Theresa@higfiveperformance.com or visit her website at http://www.highfiveperformance.com

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We humans have been writing about leadership for more than 2000 years.  Is there anything new and exciting to be said about the subject? Perhaps not, but still we hunger for information and inspiration. ReaderStrength is an e-publication that adds value to your busy life as a leader by pointing you toward books to fuel your inspiration as you lead yourself and others.  Send us your ideas and favorite leadership books so that we can share them with others.

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