Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life

Four little characters represent different people, or different responses from one person. Two of them are simple (Sniff is quick to sniff out new opportunities when things change; Scurry is quick to chase after them) and two of them overcomplicate and overanalyze everthing to the point where paralysis sets in (Hem gets hemmed in by the fear of change; and Haw resists change at first but becomes the main hero of the book when he overcomes his fears). No prizes for guessing which two characters represent negative attitudes to change, but plenty of prizes for working out which is closest to our own attitudes, and those of our colleagues, friends and family.

The book's in three parts. The first sets the scene for the story being told by one friend to his former classmates at a reunion; the second is the story of the four characters; the third returns to the friends as they give their responses to the story and reflect on change in their own lives. The whole book takes about an hour to read, which is a big virtue, as it'd be difficult to imagine these characters not grating after much longer. However its biggest virtue is its message (familiar to students of neuro-linguistic programming) that visualising a positive future - and doing it in great detail and very often - has a magical ability to overcome fear of an unknown future. And along the way you get to laugh at yourself and enjoy life instead of being afraid. Sounds too simple? You'll have to try it for yourself and see.


The one star is awarded because it's blessedly short.   September 9, 2005
 30 out of 41 found this review helpful

Throughout life everyone has to deal with change be it a family tragedy or an unexpected windfall. Most people deal with it at their own pace using common sense and intuition. So at the basic level a book about dealing with change looked a good idea.

The reality is a crass, appallingly written HR tool for softening up the workforce in the name of those great gods "Shareholder Value" and "The Market". The message of the book seems to be that anyone who genuinely questions a change in circumstance imposed from above is inflexible and unimaginative - a dinosaur who deserves to become extinct.

So here's some fresh thinking advice of my own to Hem and Haw (as well as Pixie and Dixie or whatever the mice are called):

Hem and Haw, stop looking for new cheese stations and listen up! Find out who's moving the cheese, string them up from the nearest lamppost and take control of the cheese. That way you can put an end to this silly rat race once and for all.

A moronic book written to underpin a moronic creed.


Anybody who's anybody would benefit from this book   July 12, 2005
 5 out of 8 found this review helpful

This book was recommended to me by my sister who had heard about it during a training course she had to attend. At first I was reluctant to read it..it just didn't sound like my cup of tea..but once I picked it up I couldn't put it down...it was interesting to put names of collegues with the characters...I've met them all in my work experience...so I started a game in my head whenever I got bored at work..labeling my boss and everyone else sure made work fun! I recommend it to anybody who needs to read some wisdom with a twist!


Facing a crisis? Don't read this KRUD!   June 24, 2005
 8 out of 17 found this review helpful

The Headline title says it all - Pure BS with more than dubious intentions...Avoid...avoid...avoid!


Uplifting and entertaining tale with dubious intentions   March 22, 2005
 16 out of 19 found this review helpful

For a book that is based on ethical principles there is something somewhat unethical about this book. The content is remarkably simple: a group of former classmates meet up at a reunion to discuss their lives. One tells the others of a short story that opens up the second part of the book about four characters (two mice, two mice-sized humans) that act in different ways when their 'cheese' (metaphor for what they want in life) is moved (i.e. when external circumstances don't work out in their favour) in a maze (their world). The third and final section finds the classmates discussing how this story reflects their own experiences and how they should take the lesson learnt on board.

Similar to a Paulo Coelho fable, the main story is littered with messages that seek to encourage individuals to adopt a belief system to make best use of the hand that they are dealt, and to emphasis the key point that it is ultimately your responsibility to how you act upon and feel about external pressures that are deemed unfair and unfortunate at the time. Though the story may seem childlike at times, it is still an enjoyable and uplifting hour-read.

Unlike Mr Coelho however this book appears to have a calculating intention, which becomes clear in the third part. Michael, the storyteller then talks about how he used the story to improve his business by educating its employees on the necessity of change in a commercial environment and how they should handle change, even if it may be perceived as bad at the time. It is this paragraph that concerns me the most. While it is indeed important to think positively and how to adapt to occupational instability, such a statement leaves itself open to be used by management to pass the blame for inappropriate or unpopular executive decisions on circumstance, and to justify cut-backs as a result to the workforce. Fate can be indeed cruel on commerce, but your average disgruntled ex-employee will tend to blame senior management. After all, those guys are paid a fortune to make the right business decisions; but who do you think pays for their mistakes?

Personally I have difficulty believing that someone would write a book just for the purpose of softening the blow of unpopular managerial decisions and bringing employees round to the executive way of thinking (that would be essentially propaganda): I prefer to believe that this book was genuinely written to inspire people to act prudently in a professional (and personal) capacity. It's just the wording in the final section that can allow the reader to assume that's what it can be used for; in that respect it is of little surprise that company executives have discovered it a useful tool for their means.

The trick here is to read this book completely without any prejudice and make your own mind up.