Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life

But the book -- which pitches itself as something companies should have their employees read -- goes the extra mile in case you miss their real point: when you're treated unfairly, especially at work, don't complain, just move on without raising a ruckus. In the book's "discussions" section -- suposedly discussions among readers applying the book's life lessons -- they explicitly drive this point home with this and other dialogue: "I had a rough encounter with change.... The truth is, I didn't want to deal with ... [a]n unexpected change of jobs...." "You were fired?" "Well, let's just say I didn't want to go out looking for New Cheese. I thought I had a pretty good reason why change shouldn't happen to me. So I was pretty upset at the time." The book's target consumer isn't the individual reader, but the large company that wants to teach its employees to deal with workplace problems like the character who scurried away in search of new "opportunities" (the character was named "scurry" -- subtle they ain't), not like the character who "put his hands on his hips, his face turned red, and he screamed at the top of his voice, "It's not fair!'"

I highly recommend this book to corporate HR officials who want to send the message that they disdain complainers, so employees with workplace problems had better deal with it or scurry on to a new job. For everyone else, go buy "Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" if you're looking for a fun, useful book with clever life lessons.


Worse Than Bad, It's Evil   August 15, 2000
 67 out of 81 found this review helpful

Luckily enough, I didn't have to pay money for this book - I was forced to read it by my employer. The fact most people read this book after their co-workers are handed pink slips as part of a kinder, gentler corporate reduction in force should be indicative enough of the intent of this book. Don't be fooled by the wanna-be New Age slant - the majority of examples in this book are work-related. The "& in Your Life" in the title is there to attempt to hide the ridiculously pro-upper management viewpoint of the book.

Even if you can get over the 2nd grade reading level writing style, there's still the truly bad content to contend with. The author categorizes us all as either mice or "little people" in a maze who get bent out of shape if our "cheese" is moved. The moral of the story is that we should not get angry when our life bread is constantly moved and hidden from us by some invisible higher power (hmm, equating a higher power to large companies isn't too disconcerting now, is it?). Instead, we should not only embrace the fact we are being messed with, but also have FUN with it.

I am a reader of self-help books. Additionally, I deal with change for a living (it's in my title and everything). I can, without a doubt, tell you that the goal of this book is not to teach the reader change management techniques for work or personal life, but rather it teaches that we should all be good little soldiers. It is antithetical to what most self-help books and books that address coping with change try to teach their readers. If you are looking for one of those types of books, save your $10-20 and look elsewhere. However, if you are looking for a way to control your large, disgruntled workforce, then by all means purchase 100 copies and distribute immediately as required reading to your employees. Those who read between the extra-large lines will most likely begin to seek employment elsewhere (who needs such rabble-rousers, anyway) and the rest will be pressured into submission (you hope).


Pablum for the masses -- avoid   December 15, 2000
 66 out of 78 found this review helpful

My firm recently distributed this book before revealing our new health plan that cut most of our benefits. The premise of the book is to convince you that things change, and it says that in about 15 different ways, and then tells you to accept change. Hardly an original thought between the two covers which are pretty close together. It's more like a pamphlet than a book. But it is being used as a tool by management to cow their herds into submission. I believe HR managers who use this sad excuse for presenting change should be ashamed of themselves (they should read "empowering HR in the M&A process"); management that endorses it is lacking in communication skills (they should read Jack Welch's Battle Plan for Corporate Revolution) ; and intelligent readers who buy it will be embarassed that they succumbed to the hype (they should read anything else). "The glass is half full" -- I just saved you [money].


Simple story reminds us what's important   August 16, 2000
 65 out of 78 found this review helpful

Although the format of this book is simple and the story is a very short one (about a one-hour read), there are some profound messages in this book. It would be easy to dismiss this book because it's too short or by saying "I already know that", but that would be losing the essence of the author's message. Some of the main points in this book remind me a lot of my favorite book: "Working on Yourself Doesn't Work" by Ariel and Shya Kane. The key for me was to use the major points as reminders in my daily life because they are ideas we easily forget, but make life so much more enjoyable when applied. The main points I took from "Who moved my Cheese":

- Have a sense of humor, don't take it all too seriously

- Don't be complacent, but be willing to adapt to change. This doesn't mean lay down and die, just don't be so rigid you can't change perspectives.

- Recognize that sometimes you are afraid, then act anyway.

- Change is what makes us feel alive and keeps life exciting.

I highly recommend "Working On Yourself Doesn't Work" in addition to this book. Some ideas are similar, but there is also a great deal of additional insight to gain from Ariel and Shya Kane's book about living in the moment and how awareness can transform your life (and helps you to get excited about New Cheese!).