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Book of the Month: February 2012

Who Moved My Cheese?

Author:  Spencer Johnson, MD

Book Recommendation:  Jorge Ribas,  MAHCC,  Washington, DC.

Book Review:  Sharon Ribas,  MBA,  MAHCC volunteer.

Written in 1998 by international author Spencer Johnson,  the book is a parable,  a simply told story about how to benefit when change comes into our lives.  It was on the bestseller list as was a previous book Johnson co-authored,  The One Minute Manager.

In brief,  the story is about four mice whose differing attributes correspond to aspects of ourselves:  Sniff, who detects impending change early;  Scurry,  who acts quickly;  and two mice-sized humans,  who are supposedly more intelligent,  but whose complex thinking and tendency to over analyze get in the way.  The complacent Hem denies and resists change,  while the adaptable Haw embraces unexpected happenings after he learns the value of doing so.

The maze is a metaphor for where we look for what is important to us—business,  community,  or family.  Cheese is a metaphor for the thing that is important to us.  Some of us take its presence in our lives as an entitlement while others understand that nothing is permanent,  nothing can be taken for granted.

The story begins with the four characters discovering that the cheese they knew,  loved,  and relied on could suddenly disappear,  never to return.  Each assessed the situation and reacted differently to their new realities.  Two mastered the crisis quickly:  the third found his way through the maze,  but only after some hard-learned lessons;  while the fourth languished in denial.

Reviews of the book have been mixed.  Some state the message is too passive and focuses on more how to react to change and less on how to be proactive.  Others believe that the types of changes addressed are simplistic and unrealistic.  Still others assert that profound truths lie within this simple parable.

Regardless of the many and varied opinions,  the message is that,  while change is inevitable,  we can anticipate and adapt to our advantage.  Some types of change are more complicated or beyond our scope of influence or control.  Yet,  we all have the power within us to adapt to some acceptable extent despite limitations and our quality of life will be enhanced in the end.

Through the use of metaphors,  the author describes an essential truth,  which is that change is part of our personal and business lives and that we deny this truth at our peril.  Acknowledging that it is human nature to fear the unknown to some degree is an important first step out of the maze.  In addition, anticipating and embracing change to whatever degree the realities and our attitudes permit are critical next steps if we are going to experience a better,  more productive and satisfying life at work or at home.

At the heart of the parable,  then,  the lesson to be learned is not so much that we need to accept change because change is evitable;  it is more our attitude toward change that is the critical factor. How we view and choose to act in the face of shifting circumstances will either help us or hinder us to successfully manage the change that will surely come our way.

Thus, the ability to "change" our minds—i.e., to be willing to adapt to the unexpected—can serve us well when we deal with that one constant in life: Change itself.

Book Details:

• Hardcover:  96 pages 
• Publisher:  Penguin Group (USA); First Edition (September 28, 1998)
• Language:  English
• ISNBN-13:  9780399144462 
• Source:  Amazon.com

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About the Author:

Spencer Johnson, M.D., is one of the world's most respected thinkers and beloved authors. Spencer Johnson was born in Mitchell, South Dakota, graduated from Notre Dame High School of Sherman Oaks, California, in 1957. He earned a B.A. degree in psychology from the University of Southern California in 1963, and his M.D. from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, which was followed by medical clerkships at The Mayo Clinic and Harvard Medical School. More than forty-six million copies of Spencer Johnson's books are in print worldwide in more than forty-seven languages.

Dr. Johnson became better known for fixing ailing corporations than healing the sick with his first 1982 business classic The One Minute Manager (coauthored with psychiatrist Kenneth Blanchard) and then, unforgettably, with Who Moved My Cheese?, a word-of-mouth sensation that eventually remained on the New York Times bestseller list for over two years and has been translated into 11 languages.

Word had slowly built up about Cheese, based on the strength of recommendations from heavy-hitter executives at Procter & Gamble, GE, Hewlett-Packard and others. Businesses, hit by the downshifting economy, began ordering copies by the thousands; by 2000, it was a national bestseller. The book sets up a story about four characters who live in a maze: Hem and Haw, who are little people; and Sniff and Scurry, who are mice.

Johnson, who based the story on the fact that mice rarely go back to the same place to look for cheese and felt that humans might benefit from the example, created the story for himself as a way of helping himself get through a divorce. Urged by former writing partner Blanchard to set the story down in book form, Johnson finally did – and nothing happened, at first. But over two years, the book picked up momentum, not only among companies who were trying to deal with everything from sales downturns to massive layoffs, but among individuals who found the book helped them gain a new perspective on personal situations as well.

Johnson's forte is to create allegorical stories, almost biblical in its construct,  that present simple,  digestible solutions (or paths to solutions) for seemingly huge challenges.  The approach is far from immune to criticism from those who complain that Who Moved My Cheese? is simplistic and silly;  Johnson doesn't argue with either barb (though he might prefer "simple" over "simplistic").  His message is that being simpler and sillier makes us better adapters and decision-makers,  and all of his books boil down to opening oneself to possibility and better communication.  The ideas aren't revolutionary:  As Johnson said in an ABC News chat,  "The challenge always for me and for others is to live the story and not just read about it."

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