Who Moved My Cheese - Spencer Johnson

"Who Moved My Cheese" is a book written by Spencer Johnson. He is a writer, management consultant and the owner of Spencer Johnson Partners. He received his BA degree in Psychology in 1963 from the University of Southern California and his M.D. from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Johnson is also the author of several New York Times bestseller business books like "The One-Minute Manager" and "Peaks and Valleys: Making Good and Bad Times Work for You-At Work and in Life."

"Who Moved My Cheese" was written in an entertaining style that conveys important lessons people could use in dealing with changes in their life. It became the New York Times business bestseller book for almost five years since it was released, selling over 20 million copies worldwide. It also remained on Publishers Weekly's hardcover non-fiction list for over two hundred weeks.

I came across this book when I was looking for e-books related to management. The e-book copy that I have is of good quality. The cover page was designed in a way that would give readers a glimpse of the message the book wants to convey. Also, a piece of cheese could be seen in the cover page which makes it more attractive. Unlike other business books, this book has no sections and is only composed of thirty-nine (39) pages, which would only take you less than an hour to finish reading it. Also, this book has used simple words that even elementary students could understand it.

This book has received numerous reviews from different individuals and organizations. According to Ardin Davidson (2009), "Who Moved My Cheese is a charming, allegorical tale of two mice and two tiny humans which conveys some of the most important lessons people need to learn regarding preparing for change, fear for change and embracing change". Another review by Fred Nickols (2012) said that the book is another series of books in the genre of "let's make life simpler than it really is". He also added that the book was mistitled, for it should be titled "Who Moved Their Cheese" because the characters in the story were looking for cheese that someone else controls. Extensor Limited, a UK based training and knowledge networking company, gave "Who Moved My Cheese" a maximum of five (5) stars rating for it conveys a simple yet profound message and was written in a clear and concise manner.

This book begins with a conversation of a group of old high school friends about changes that have happened in their career, relationship and family life. Everyone shared their stories and how they cope with the unexpected changes that were happening to them in the recent years. Most of them admitted that they do not know how to handle change, except Michael who said that even though he has also undergone many changes in his life, he could now easily adapt with it after hearing the story of "Who Moved My Cheese". He then offered to share the story to his friends. After the story, the group decided to discuss it and try to identify who they are in the story when change happen-Sniff, Scurry, Hem and Haw. The group was able to get a good deal with the book, for they have able to learn how to cope positively with change.

"Who Moved My Cheese" is a story about two mice (Sniff and Scurry) and two people (Hem and Haw) who live in a maze and look for cheese to nourish and make them happy. The mice possessed simple brains and good instincts which they used to searched for hard nibbling cheese they like. While the two little people used their complex brains with many emotions and beliefs to look for cheese with capital C which they think would make them happy. Although these four characters were different, they still shared something in common which was spending their time running through the maze to look for cheese. The mice used trial-and-error method of finding cheese, going through each area and when there's no cheese would quickly got to another area. On the other hand, the two people have used more sophisticated methods of finding cheese. They relied mostly to their ability to think and learn from past experiences. Sometimes they were successful, but often they were clouded by their belief and emotions which made their life in maze challenging. One day, these four characters found their way to Station C, where there is a huge supply of their favourite cheese. All is going well in the maze. Every day, these four characters would just return to the station and nibble the cheese. The two people even moved their house near the station to have easy access to it. They have become comfortable with the cheese station that they never realized that the cheese was decreasing in number. On the other hand, the two mice have observed that the cheese was reducing in number and have prepared for the inevitable and knew what to do, look for another station. For the mice, Station C has changed so they must also change to adapt with it. They quickly accepted the reducing number of the cheese and look for other sources. On the contrary, the two little people just sit around and complained about the disappearance of the cheese which they felt entitled and that they have already built their lives around the cheese station. They are afraid of change and hope that the cheese would return without doing anything. They returned to the cheese station every day and nothing has changed, the cheese was still missing. While Hem and Haw were still figuring out what to do, the mice were already looking for new cheese. And luckily after several try, they have found a new cheese station with great supply of cheese. On the contrary, the two people still return to the cheese station C and went into hunger for they have nothing to eat. Then one day, Haw realized that they need to change, stop analyzing the situation and go find some new cheese. He decided to look for cheese while Hem stayed and just waited for the cheese to appear again. Haw looked for cheese in every station and along the way, he wrote on the wall to serve as trail for his friend to follow. He only found small piece of cheese at each station he went to fill in his hunger, until he reached Station N where there's an endless supply of cheese and where he saw the two mice. He then wrote a summary of the things he learned on the largest wall in Station N. He wished that his friend Hem would also change and look for new cheese. Haw was able to learn what the two mice did from the start, be observant for unexpected changes and learn how to deal with it.

In this book, the author used materials and characters that have metaphorical representation. First, the cheese was used to refer to what people want in their life want such as good life, good paying job, loving relationship, wealth and power. It represents the actual goal that an individual wants to achieve in their