Transcript Who Moved My Cheese

Who Moved My Cheese?
Spencer Johnson
...An Amazing Way to Deal With
Change in Your Work and In
Your Life
Characters
• Sniff, a mouse
• Scurry, a mouse
• Hem, a littleperson
• Haw, a littleperson
Location of Story…
a maze, with a labyrinth of
corridors and chambers in a land far
away.
“The best laid schemes o’ mice
and men often go astray.”
Robert Burns
1759-1796
Plot: CHANGE happens as 4
characters search for “cheese:”
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Job
Relationship
Money
Big House
Freedom
Health
Recognition
Spiritual Peace
Analysis of Characters
Sniff & Scurry-simple rodent brains, good
instincts, searched for hard nibbling cheese.
Hem & Haw-complex human brains, filled with
many beliefs, searching for Cheese (with capitol
C) to make them happy and successful.
Commonality-jogging suit & shoes, leave home
each day & race through maze in search of cheese.
The story unfolds...
Eventually, each discovers what
they are looking for-their own
kind of cheese-at the end of one
of the corridors in
Cheese Station C.
Afterwards, routines were established.
Sniff & Scurry continued to wake early
and race to the cheese, then enjoy.
Hem & Haw developed a slower routine,
assuming their cheese would always be
there.
Hem & Haw made themselves at home
and decorated their walls with sayings:
“Having Cheese
Makes You
Happy.”
One morning, Sniff & Scurry
discovered no cheese!
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Weren’t surprised.
Had noticed the pile getting smaller.
Prepared for the inevitable.
Knew instinctively what to do.
Didn’t overanalyze things.
Problem and answer were simple-CHANGE
Later the same day, Hem & Haw arrive...
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Not paying attention to small changes
Took for granted that cheese would be there
Hem-screamed and hollered
Haw-disbelief and shock-tuned out
Hem’s cheese- “in charge”
Haw’s cheese-safe, loving family & home
Haw wrote a message on the wall:
Where were Sniff & Scurry?
Cheese Station N: a great supply of
new cheese!!!
It took Haw a long time to realize
the difference between activity
and productivity...
In an attempt to cheer Hem up, Haw
wrote another “thought” on the wall:
Haw wrote yet another saying on
the wall ahead of him and stared
at it:
As Haw searched for new Cheese, he
began to realize some things:
• Things had changed since the last time he
was in the maze.
• Hunting for Cheese wasn’t as bad as he’d
feared.
• He was taking control rather than letting
things happen to him.
• The cheese hadn’t disappeared overnight.
• He should have been aware of changes.