1. Name and describe the four main characters in the book.
The main characters are two mice, “Sniff” and “Scurry” and two little people, miniature humans named “Hem” and “Haw”.
2. The cheese is a metaphor for what? Provide some examples.
Cheese is a metaphor for what you want in life albeit a job, money, a loving relationship, etc. For example, Cheese represents the changes in life and in the end Haw finds the largest cheese wall left by his friend Hem. The foursome is lucky in the beginning to find the cheese wall in Cheese Station C. Day after day all four return to eat the cheese. The mice go looking for change because they knew that one day the Cheese would run out. The little people do not. The mice were not surprised to find that the cheese did run out as the supply had been running low..
3. The maze is an overall metaphor for what?
The maze is the organization that you are in. It is where you look for what you want. The maze represents the family who you live with, the community and city in your area or your work.
4. How does each of the characters react to the cheese (which they have come to rely on each day) disappearing?
Hem and Haw begin to blame each other for their lack of cheese. They were angry and said, “Who moved my cheese?” The little humans thought that the cheese supply would always be the same. It was unfair that that the cheese was gone. Angry and bitter they separated and Hem found his way to more cheese leaving sayings for Haw who eventually finds his way to more cheese.
Sniff and Scurry, the mice, however, had been preparing for the eventual changes in their cheese supply. Together they looked for another source. And found one in the hunt. Satisfied they ate together as they knew this source would run out eventually.
5. Which one of the characters do you personally identify with?
My goals in life are changing and so I personally look for new opportunities so I am more like the mice. I do not get too settled in one spot for too long as I know there is something else that I would like to do. An example is when I was in high school, many of the kids were just enjoying high school while I was spending my weekends working and putting away money for college. On vacations my family and I would visit colleges and I would plan out where my next cheese would be.
Change came when my father passed away suddenly. I realized that going away to college was not possible so I enrolled in the local community college and from there got a job that I was happy with for a while.
6. Choose one of the handwritings on the wall and explain what it means.
My personal preference is the Adapt to change quickly phrase.
Adapt To Change Quickly
The Quicker You Let Go Of Old Cheese, The Sooner You Can Enjoy New Cheese
This is my favorite because I do enjoy change and am always looking for a way to do something differently or a new experience.
7. Consider a baby boomer or a millennial age 30 . Do you think that they adapt and or accept change in the same ways.
Baby boomers have gone through a period of technological change that has been faster and required more adaptation than any other era. I think that they are used to change and are ok with the prospect that things are not always right or the way they used to be. Take for example when the baby boomer was a teen black and white television had been replaced by color and that was a change. Then the getting up to change channels was changed to a remote. The remote hastened cable; cable is replaced by the Internet.Televisions are now replaced by computers. So this generation has gone through change quite significantly. I do believe that their concept of ethics and morality are constant and in place the same way as when they were children.
The millennial is expecting advancements in technology and they embrace it as a matter of fact. Because of the constant stimuli of different images that they are growing with some of the ethics and moral judgment that they have seems to be a bit futuristic and they tend to think of themselves in a vacuum. Because the constant online presence lends to anonymity the millennial often does not feel the need to be charitable or caring of others. They do not feel a sense of obligation to make everything ok for others. Like Ham they feel like they need to look out for themselves.
8. How can this book be helpful to current or future managers both personally and as they manage or supervise employees
A manager has to think like the mouse and not the little people. No one controls the elements of change and change does always happen. No one is entitled to things remaining the same. In a job situation if an employers had to fire some one this book might be a good parting gift because it helps the reader to realize that change may propel you forward to bigger and better things.
Book Review
Who Moved My Cheese? By Spencer Johnson is one of those little books that leave you with a great deal of information to think about. In spite of the fact that you can finish reading the book in one sitting, you will find a good read on how to anticipate change and how to adapt to change quickly. Also the four characters of the story teach you how to enjoy change and be ready at any moment for change.
There are just four characters in the book and they are all small, two mice and two little people. Sniff and Scurry are the mice and Hem and Haw are the little people. The mice are representative of the little people in all of us and act simply and responsibly. Hem and Haw use higher level reasoning and try to make a rationale statement for a complex answer to even the simplest dealings in life. And so the morale of the story is how we react to change when the Cheese supply is beginning to run out.
Facing a problem Sniff and Scurry anticipate the problem and prepare solutions. They enjoy the change because they are prepared and do not miss out on Cheese at all. Hem and Haw use a different approach and try several types of complex clues to solve the problem as to what they are going to eat when the Cheese runs out.
The conclusion of the story leaves the reader recognizing that not everyone will accept change and go through the process successfully. Like Hem, people may over think and not progress through a solution at all. People of this belief never seem to grow past the emotional stage and think way too much. All four individuals process change differently and the lessons are there to be followed in the work world.
Since this little book contains a process to accept change in one’s own life it can be useful in a work conference. When a manager is going to impose a change on a team or a group, the reading of this book prior or even after the change may help some people deal with the management changes.
