Here's hoping everyone that sees the title of this thread is as INTRIGUED as I was!!


Fact: Mrs Biz left for a full week of training this Monday...

In her travles she had brought hme a VERY SMALL book that I found when I was doing my Home-body "Honey-Do's"


The title caught My eye - simply it said
"WHO MOVED MY CHEESE?"

What I found in a very quick read through - is information that can be applied to many threads in the COVE.

--- Changing cultures- civility - humor - Top level Mangement commitment et.all. >> The book is written by the same folks that produced "One Miniute Manager" (Spencer Johnson, MD is the main author - Kenneth Blanchard Ph.D has provided the foreward.

"CHEESE" as it turns out is a metaphore for all the Good things we individually expect to find in our workplaces & in our personal life as well...

The Cover insert reads.. like this:

WHO MOVED MY CHEESE?
An A-Mazing way to Deal with Change

A simple parable revealing profond truths about change and how we deal with it. Amusing/ enlightning of 4 "characters" - live in a MAZE looking for Cheese to nourish them and make them happy

Sniff & Scurry are lowerlevel mice and HEM & HAW are little people the size of mice that are all looking for the Cheese in their lives.

Cheese as it turns out is a symbol of everything/anything that each of them feels is good... A job, A relationship, money, a possession, health, or peace of mind.

THE MAZE is where they look for what they want (could be where we work, were we live, or our families, or community)

The characters are facedwith "UNEXPECTED CHANGE" and the 94 page book (in large bold type) leads the reader through how each character reacts to change - when their personal Cheese is moved without their prior knowledge or without any control at all.


ISBN number 0-399-14446-3
US$19.95 per copy

Website www.whomovedmycheese.com

This takes about 1 hour to read start to finish (the use/understanding an application of what it contains is well worth anyones time).

Jim,

I've read the book and since bought the audio version. I have also recommended it to friends, especially those who find themselves changing jobs or needing to.

Hank Fowler

Hank - Did you find it to be as "down to earth & interesting as I did"?

And just from a curious viewpoint - which character are you "most of the time"?? ;) I found myself to be a cross between Haw & Scurry :bigwave:

A good book. Made an absorbing reading the first time I read it a few months back. On second reading after a while, however, I thought it had a rather over-simplified, naive representation of characters.
Just my personal opinion.

Atul: Guess I figured the obvious over-smplification was one of the best parts of it from a K.I.S.S. outlook.

Doubt that anyone reading it could not > on any given day < figure out which character his co-worker was playing :rolleyes:

Jim, I thought the book was a great read. It may be oversimplified but it helped me see how some of my co-workers are. You just have to laugh when you see how some are protecting their cheese. Great book!

Jim,

I too seem to be a cross between "Haw and Scurry". Like staying too long in a situation that I know is headed nowhere and finally deciding to make a change for the better. I wonder if anyone has seen the movie?

Hank

Good book, gave it to my 6th grader to read, she took it to school, the teacher asked to read it and then read it to the entire class. Another one with this same type of format but not as good is WI$DOM ON THE GREEN isbn 0-9713222-0-1 which is centered around golf and six sigma. One of the authors is involved in a seminar at Indianapolis In. You can check the seminar out at www.reciprocalonline.com. I would liked to have went buuuut THE AUDITORS ARE COMING.

I read the book once again. Parables will almost always be simplistic, I agree, because that's the way they are supposed to be. You may be tempted to put yourself and those around you into one of those slots. But real life situations can be a bit more complex (like a cross between one and the other). I have had my cheese moved at least once in my life (unfortunately it was much before this book was published :)) There has also been an occasion when I have got fed up of the cheese I was having and willfully went in search of another!

Anyway, Here's a question:
If you were asked to summarize the message or the moral of the story in one sentence, how would you put it?

And here's my take: Never be complacent in any situation.
-Atul

My take:

For the person being exposed for the first time to a Change Model, I think most will find the parable easy to understand and entertaining.

For the person aware of a change model, it will reaffirm ones understanding. I think that they will still find the parable entertaining and a decent reference.

From my perspective, Johnson and Blanchard overlook one very important distinction: Cyclical change and Structural change. This oversight for me makes the story incomplete. But then again, I may be too fussy!!!

Kevin

:bigwave:

The books presents an excellent reading for absolute imbeciles or people high on drugs. From the book we basically learn that mice like cheese, and that there is an exceptional amount of morons in corporate America.

The book is typeset with extraordinary large fonts with the solemn purpose to waste more paper and make the reading easier for morons and drug abusers.
The whole book could easily fit into one paragraph,
and presents a very simple message: unless you break out
of the maze, you are no better than mice.

I totally agree with mboteo. I felt like I was in 3rd grade reading again. What a rip off and total waste of time. The president of our company made his entire staff read it. The entire message should have been printed on the book's back cover and left the inside blank. At least then you would have some scratch paper to write on.

No Doubt. Were all entitled to our own personal opinions.

And you both have raised valid points in certain corporate environments.

Simplistic.. yes 3rd grade reading .. probably...

In some cases and for some folks however.. IE the owner of a facility employing 300+ people that boasts about functioning quite well with a 4th grade reading level.. (The same person that thinks Equis has something to do with being equal)

It does present an opportunity to explain change to the exceptional amount of morons in corporate America.

Strangely I have not been able to identify myself with Hem Haw Sniff or Scurry.

Like Atul has put in this thread, my cheese too has been moved more than once... ( Atul and I are close friends and business partners for the last 20 years, so it is more often than not that our cheese gets moved together). But cheese getting moved is not such a rare occassion that is made out to be. In fact it happens all the time, so there is no shock associated with it.

A person with a sufficiently adventurous inclination of mind would get a sore backside sitting in one place if the cheese stopped moving.

-Ravi

THE SECOND BEST BOOK I EVER READ. COUPLE THE CHEESE WITH "WHALE DONE& "THE FOUR AGREEMENTS", PRACTICE IN AND OUT OF THE WORKPLACE AND THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT IS A BETTER PLACE.

HOWEVER, SADLY, IT WILL NEVER WORK. IT'S TOO EASY AND LADEN WITH COMMON SENSE, OUR MOST FLATTENING COMMODITY.

GLAD ALL YOU FOLKS ENJOYED IT AS WELL AND HAVE A GREAT DAY

:thedeal:

on a lighter side...

I was going through some threads, and the site is still alive! Some good insights! Change is interesting to observe. Not to mention to plan for.

Well - fast foward several years - and I read this book this past summer for the first time. Saw this thread and created a blog about the book. Thought I would renew this thread and see what people think now. I would like to think this book would have a greater impact on many in today's economy and job market.

Those of you who responded years ago - has your character changed? Do you see yourself differently? Do others see you differently?

They are all situational but I see myself mainly as Haw with a little sniffy thrown in...

We had a meeting where we talked about this and then listed what we felt others were in the room; I came out where I had anticipated - Haw and Sniffy were even with 4 votes each, with one Hem and one Scurry...

Again I think its preception, who you are interacting with the most and about what.

So, what do you all think about it now...?