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


From Library Journal
This is a brief tale of two mice and two humans who live in a maze and one day are faced with change: someone moves their cheese. Reactions vary from quick adjustment to waiting for the situation to change by itself to suit their needs. This story is about adjusting attitudes toward change in life, especially at work. Change occurs whether a person is ready or not, but the author affirms that it can be positive. His principles are to anticipate change, let go of the old, and do what you would do if you were not afraid. Listeners are still left with questions about making his or her own specific personal changes. Capably narrated by Tony Roberts, this audiotape is recommended for larger public library collections.AMark Guyer, Stark Cty. Dist. Lib., Canton, OH Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Over and over listeners are subjected to one self-help lecture after another. WHO MOVED MY CHEESE? is different! Listeners learn invaluable life lessons about "change" by way of a humorous parable narrated by Tony Roberts. His memorable interpretation of two mice and two tiny people caught in a maze (life's many paths) searching for cheese (a metaphor for your heart's desire) is gratifying and good fun. Hem and Haw, the tiny people, emulate us humans with all our faults, fears and frustrations. Roberts provides them with distinct personalities that mimic many stressed-out individuals we have grown to know. Overcoming stress and discovering successful living is the goal, and Roberts takes the listener on a curious and offbeat journey to discover the path. B.J.P. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
If you're struggling to adjust to changes and transitions at work, then you'll definitely want to keep a copy of Spencer Johnson's short but effective parable somewhere nearby. Johnson's gift for taking complicated, sometimes overwhelming feelings and making them manageable as well as open to change is the key to this book's amazing success. The "Cheese" (with a capital "C") referred to in the title is simply a metaphor for whatever it is that we desire most in life -- recognition, acceptance, money, relationships, possessions, freedom, or anything, tangible or intangible, that becomes invested with desire. The problem with the world, of course, is that the Cheese is portable, leaving Johnson's characters -- two mice (Sniff and Scurry) and two "littlepeople" (Hem and Haw) -- to navigate a mazelike world in a somewhat desperate search for fulfillment and satisfaction.

In today's volatile work environment, the pithy points that Johnson makes as his characters struggle to find a kind of self-empowerment are worth bearing in mind. At the heart of the book is the assertion that "Old beliefs do not lead you to new Cheese." As Haw, the individual who is most open to the possibilities of change, discovers, "You can believe that a change will harm you and resist it. Or you can believe that finding New Cheese will help you, and embrace the change. It all depends on what you choose to believe." Perhaps this is the ultimate and quite hopeful message is the true heart of Johnson's story: Choosing to adapt will enrich your life, leading you onward to the new possibilities created in the ever-changing world of today's workplace. (Sunil Sharma)

ANNOTATION

Sometimes simple problems require simple answers. In just 96 pages, this humorous story uses simple metaphors and characters to encourage readers to embrace change and to adapt to new situations with an open mind and a motivated spirit. It follows four fictional characters, Sniff, Scurry, Hem and Haw, as they search for fulfillment in the maze of life.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

With over a million copies in print, the #1 New York Times bestseller Who Moved My Cheese? An A-Mazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life (G.P. Putnam's Sons) has grown from a guide and training tool for America's top corporations and organizations to a cultural phenomenon that is changing people's lives. While a few analytical or skeptical people find the story too simple on the surface, the vast majority of readers' responses reveal it is the clear simplicity that makes it so easy to understand and apply to changing situations at work or in life.

This amazing bestseller, written by Spencer Johnson, M.D., the co-author of The One Minute Manager®, the world's most popular management method, is reaching beyond the business community, where it has been the #1 Wall Street Journal Business Bestseller for more than 30 consecutive weeks. It is now being embraced by hundreds of thousands of readers-from community leaders and college coaches to parents and children-helping them to adapt to change. Whether it's the challenge of a changing relationship, or moving to a new neighborhood, or the downsizing and merging of corporations, people are finding that the simple story of Who Moved My Cheese? is an unthreatening and invaluable source of comfort and advice. It is no wonder that this diminutive tome has become a runaway bestseller!

SYNOPSIS

From one of the world's acknowledged experts on management comes a charming parable filled with insights designed to help readers manage change quickly and prevail in changing times.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

This is a brief tale of two mice and two humans who live in a maze and one day are faced with change: someone moves their cheese. Reactions vary from quick adjustment to waiting for the situation to change by itself to suit their needs. This story is about adjusting attitudes toward change in life, especially at work. Change occurs whether a person is ready or not, but the author affirms that it can be positive. His principles are to anticipate change, let go of the old, and do what you would do if you were not afraid. Listeners are still left with questions about making his or her own specific personal changes. Capably narrated by Tony Roberts, this audiotape is recommended for larger public library collections.--Mark Guyer, Stark Cty. Dist. Lib., Canton, OH Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Christy Ellington - (The Christian Science Monitor)

This quick read of simple ideas will provide at least one character to relate to and some advice to hold on to during a busy day.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING