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Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life |  | Author: Spencer Johnson
Creator: Kenneth Blanchard
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons
Category: Book
New (680) Used (2621) Collectible (20) from $0.01
Rating:  1605 reviews
Sales Rank: 126
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 96
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7
ISBN: 0399144463
Dewey Decimal Number: 155.24
EAN: 9780399144462
ASIN: 0399144463
Publication Date: September 8, 1998
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| • | ISBN13: 9780399144462 | | • | Condition: New | | • | Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed |
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Product Description
Deal with change. #1 Bestseller book by Spencer Johnson, M.D. talks about how to deal with change in life and in the workplace.
Amazon.com Review
Change can be a blessing or a curse, depending on your perspective. The message of Who Moved My Cheese? is that all can come to see it as a blessing, if they understand the nature of cheese and the role it plays in their lives. Who Moved My Cheese? is a parable that takes place in a maze. Four beings live in that maze: Sniff and Scurry are mice--nonanalytical and nonjudgmental, they just want cheese and are willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Hem and Haw are "littlepeople," mouse-size humans who have an entirely different relationship with cheese. It's not just sustenance to them; it's their self-image. Their lives and belief systems are built around the cheese they've found. Most of us reading the story will see the cheese as something related to our livelihoods--our jobs, our career paths, the industries we work in--although it can stand for anything, from health to relationships. The point of the story is that we have to be alert to changes in the cheese, and be prepared to go running off in search of new sources of cheese when the cheese we have runs out. Dr. Johnson, coauthor of The One Minute Manager and many other books, presents this parable to business, church groups, schools, military organizations--anyplace where you find people who may fear or resist change. And although more analytical and skeptical readers may find the tale a little too simplistic, its beauty is that it sums up all natural history in just 94 pages: Things change. They always have changed and always will change. And while there's no single way to deal with change, the consequence of pretending change won't happen is always the same: The cheese runs out. --Lou Schuler
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 1605
 Dick and Jane's Cheese Gets Moved July 17, 2010
Newinocean (USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I read this book on my lunch break because our boss has been raving to us about how great it is for over a year now, and came across a copy for us to take turns reading. I also was interested in it several years ago because my mother-in-law had to read it for work and she also was raving about it.
So I was the first to volunteer to read it. And my journey back to First Grade began. I literally felt as if I had gone back in time and was once again reading those old Dick and Jane books. This was both because of the HUGE type -- very obviously done because otherwise it wouldn't be long enough for a book -- and because of the ridiculously peurile writing and literally VERY cheesy allegory.
The book is a story within a story, and both stories are very badly done. A group of acquaintances get together after a high school reunion, and one of them tells the others the story of The Cheese. Then they all have a deep discussion about it and how it can apply to each of their lives. They even schedule another get-together specifically to discuss the cheese story! These reunion cheese meetings and the conversations therein would NEVER EVER happen in real life. Ever. That whole scenario was beyond cheesy. It was like a play written by a 5th grader, or maybe worse than that depending on the 5th grader's IQ.
The 'cheese' allegory itself is also trite, silly and insultingly juvenile. It's about 2 mice named Sniff and Scurry and 2 'littlepeople' called Hem and Haw (yes I am inwardly cringing and rolling my eyes just writing this description) whose lives consist of looking for cheese in a maze every day. The Cheese gets moved and the reader is expected to garner deep and life-changing lessons from each of their varying reactions to this change.
The book has been both praised and criticized for being 'simple.' Yes, the underlying message of the book, "change happens," is a very simple one, and that's fine; I like simplicity when it's appropriate. What bothers me is that the authors ignored the deeper issues surrounding this truth of life, and instead chose to decorate it with shallow fluff. True, elegant, simplicity would have been to publish a one page flier listing the main points of the book in clear, straightforward language, and suggestions for how to apply them to life situations. But they wouldn't have made as much money that way. So instead, they puffed it up by turning it into two nested stories. But it was still very short, so they had to print it in a huge 15 pt font, use 2-inch margins on the top and bottom of each page, and fill up more space with huge illustrations and glowing reviews, just to make it 'look' like a normal sized book so they could sell it at a normal book price. Otherwise even with all the filler it would have only been a pamphlet, or one of those little 'gift books' you see at Barnes and Noble, which wouldn't have been very sellable as a business tool. Their efforts paid off, and hordes of employees (usually soon-to-be former employees) have been relentlessly bombarded with it for a decade.
To truly be a valuable book, instead of all the fluff and design tricks, the authors should have filled up those pages by tackling the deeper issues regarding change. It misrepresents or doesn't adequately address them. It gives us a glib, snappy message to 'quickly move on,' and that change is always good and that resisting it is always useless. But the truth is that it's okay and appropriate to grieve over things we've lost. And sometimes change DOESN'T lead to better things. And sometimes resisting change can be very productive, and in some cases is ethically correct. If they had made the book longer by addressing and fleshing out these and other issues, it would have been much more valuable, and also less likely to be used by employers as a way to tell their employees to "just suck it up and adapt" when companies change.
Since I will have to share in a group discussion what I got from the book, I did manage to pull out a few nuggets of wisdom for myself that have nothing to do with my job but are good reminders for me about life overall since I tend to be pessimistic and expect the worst. This is what I got out of it: Life is an adventure, not a destination. Even the difficult parts are part of the adventure. Savor the adventure. Look for the advantages of change. Change can lead to a better life than before. Don't get stuck holding onto just one idea of what a `good life' is.
These concepts are not at all new to me or probably most people on the planet. These same basic lessons are available from much more interesting and fun sources. Take fairy tales, for example: Something really bad or tragic happens to the protagonists, but they find a way to overcome it, and are able to go on and live fulfilling lives despite the bad things that have happened to them in the past. Or how about those snappy showtunes, like "Tomorrow" and "I Have Confidence?" Or read "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" which is the same basic story couched in one of the funniest books ever written. And of course, most people learn these lessons simply by living life on this planet.
But, since I struggle with anxiety and depression, it never hurts to be reminded that `it's probably not as bad as you think' and `when God closes a door, somewhere he opens a window,' from as many different sources as possible, even from a cheesy little formulaic self-help book.
There are two other, more valuable, things I got out of reading this book: 1) I learned a lot more about how my boss' mind works, and 2) I had some really good laughs while reading many of the other excellent reviews. And there was one review which caused me to evaluate the book on some even deeper levels, which I recommend: http://www.amazon.com/review/RD0SODH7TLL2G/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
I'm really looking forward to reading the antidote to this book: Nobody Moved Your Cheese!
Change vs Change July 11, 2010
magicvoid
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is about little people, who just shall do what they get told.
So they get told that change is always good, they shall not resist but accepting and adopting it.
Sound like the soft version of "resistance is futile..." (BORG, Star Trek) and as every trekkie
knows that following this quote somebody experience a change.
Dealing with Change is one thing, getting manipulated the other and in between, there should be a judgment and decision.
This aspect is completely skipped by the author. So instead of exploring the maze as described in the book, the real change would be to leave somebody else maze and start to live your own life.
 Good book, good service. July 7, 2010
Petra S Hammer (Anchorage, AK, US)
The purchase was exactly as expected . The book was in good condition and it arrived within the time promised.
Just awful July 4, 2010
A. Nolan
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I borrowed this book from the library and spent less than a half hour reading it, but even so I feel I'm on short end of the deal for having spent time on Spencer Johnson's book.
The parable at the heart of the book is nonsensical and inconsistent. The characters don't actually portray the qualities ascribed to them, and the conclusions they drawn are both forced and of questionable validity whether applied to a broad or narrow context. Unfortunately the "discussion" that precedes and follows the parable, which attempts to help link the message to the reader's life, is even worse. The collective result is a painful read that ultimately insults the reader's intelligence. Do not waste your time or money on this book.
 Mighty good marketing! July 2, 2010
Jennifer (Jamaica Plain, MA United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Recently, all the managers at my non-profit were required to read this book. We then used it as a framework for discussing various aspects of the organization, including an open discussion of our own personal and managerial styles.
As a framework for discussion and planning, it was OK. The reason it worked, is that we are an organization with a solid history, many long time and loyal staff, and good leadership. It was a safe way for people who have clung to "how we have always done things" to be able to discuss it openly, and to talk about where changes are necessary (funding!) and how to approach planning in a way that was accessible to most. We talked about who "scurried" and also which areas of the organization need to embrace changes to remain viable. We were also able to laugh while we had our discussions, and using the book's framework allowed people to feel less judged or personally attacked. So, those are the positives.
But, WOW, the most impressive thing about this slender tome with very large font and lots of white space on the page, is that they were able to include enough repetition of the few ideas to turn it into what could be marketed as a "book". I read it out loud to my first grader (who was very interested in what would happen to the characters, which helped me stay engaged) in about an hour. And I even had to skip/skim some parts because it was too repetitious for him. Had I not made it more engaging by sharing it with my child, I would have found it impossibly boring and insulting to my intelligence. It has more pictures, and fewer words on the page, than most of the chapter books my child reads to himself. (Magic Tree House, anyone?)
So, unfortunately, my main take away from this "book" was that the marketing machine has a lot of power. The basic ideas, and even the main "story" could have fit into a pamphlet. But some bright editor saw a great money making opportunity. That, frankly, was the most insulting part to me. Here is all the book actually says:
- Don't think just because you are being paid well/have your needs met/don't have to work hard it will always be that way.
- Always be prepared for change, it's inevitable
- Keep your eyes open, and look around for signs of change
- If you aren't willing to change with your workplace, you will be left behind (or fired)
And some overly cutesy stuff about cheese, running shoes, and mazes.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 1605
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