Who Moved My Cheese?

Who Moved my Cheese?

Business Policy and Strategic Management: Book Review

“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” -Albert Einstein

“When you're finished changing, you're finished.” -Benjamin Franklin

“Change” is the word people often do not want to hear and experience. People tend to take change in a negative way, which in fact, it can be dealt with positively. Most people are afraid of change because of the uncertainty it brings to people in various situations. It makes people act and think that there are no other ways or possibilities for change since they think they are in a best state, especially when people tend to get too comfortable in a situation. As the book entitled, “Who Moved my Cheese?” – An amazing way to deal with change in your work and in your life, written by Dr. Spencer Johnson further elaborated two situations on how people tend to respond physically and mentally when confronted with change in certain situations mostly when getting too comfortable at something you think as the optimum option.

The story is mainly composed of four characters; two mice named Sniff and Scurry and two little people named Hem and Haw. The two little people, Hem and Haw, were described as the size of mice who look and act a lot like people. These four characters represent the endeavors in daily lives and how the two little people and two mice persevered in order to attain prosperity.

One of the mice named Sniff, has the ability to be aware or sense and react to changes occurring in the surroundings rapidly than the other approaches. As the name ‘Sniff’ according to Cambridge Dictionary, it is to smell something by taking in air through the nose and/or to quickly take in breath through the nose. Which suggests that Sniff is the one always aware of the environment in order for him to analyze and strategize any possible decisions to undertake if change occurs. The other mice named Scurry has the ability to run, run, run and do the work as much as he can; from morning to evening. Since according to Cambridge Dictionary that ‘Scurry’ means to move quickly, especially with small running steps. However, compared to Sniff, Scurry can be easily discouraged and frustrated mostly when there are obstacles or hindrances in his path and attempt to run around it or hit through it. On the other hand, one of the little people named Hem has the ability to make things organized and controllable which in the story, he was the one left behind since he preferred to stay with what he thought his comfortable zone and situation because he was afraid that change might result to unfavorable and uncertain outcome. While the other little people is Haw. Haw has the ability to understand and connect well with others which in the story, Haw was the one who followed Sniff and Scurry through the maze due to his realizations that change may be frightening and vague at first, but through change, he became more satisfied and free of what he thought of change before.

The ‘cheese’, as used in the story, metaphorically represents a person’s wants and what a person wants to accomplish or achieve in life. These achievements may be regarding one’s family, health, career, oneself, or even peace of mind. We all have our own ‘cheese’ we want to achieve in life depending on the person’s experiences and culture which greatly affects a person’s decisions as well. While on the other hand, the ‘maze’ is the main setting where the whole story revolved into. It is where the four characters explore in order to find their cheese. It also represents the setting where a person goes through to find what they want in life – the school you are enrolled to, the management you work with, the community you belong to, or even the administration you deal with. Inside the maze, it also represents different levels of difficulty that may occur while finding one’s cheese. These difficulties we experience in life may pertain to financial problem, people surrounding us, or even health issues. The maze used in the story was substantially significant since it conveys the idea that everything in life we want to achieve comes with great effort and perseverance. Life is complex which we can learn how to deal with and pass through it having our ‘cheese’ or our ‘goals’ in life which serves as the fire that drives and guides us in every step of the way.