“Anticipate change”.
“Deal with the change”.
“Adapt and move on”.
After stating these, if somebody says that these are the secret ingredients to handle changes in life, then he would probably not be taken seriously. We as human beings dwell upon mediums like stories to learn things and incorporate them into our systems. (The importance of stories was discussed here earlier when Chimero’s Shape of Design was reviewed a few weeks back). They have been a part of the way we share our experiences and express ourselves since the times we inhabited the caves and hunted around in the wild.
After stating these, if somebody says that these are the secret ingredients to handle changes in life, then he would probably not be taken seriously. We as human beings dwell upon mediums like stories to learn things and incorporate them into our systems. (The importance of stories was discussed here earlier when Chimero’s Shape of Design was reviewed a few weeks back). They have been a part of the way we share our experiences and express ourselves since the times we inhabited the caves and hunted around in the wild.
Maybe that’s the reason why Dr
Spencer Johnson chose to spin a story behind these obvious yet enlightening secrets
to deal with change. To be specific, what this book contains is not any other story
but a parable that revolves around four imaginary characters. The characters
are “two mice“ Sniff and Scurry along
with “two little people as small as mice” named Hem and Hew. The entire book revolves
about how these characters go in search of their cheese in a maze and how they
react when somebody “moved” their cheese. The story line is set in such a way
that the readers could directly take the lessons as the characters experience it and write them
down on the walls of the maze then and there.
The pace of the book is well set right
from the very beginning with a promising foreword by Kenneth Blanchard, brimming
with confidence about the effectiveness of the story in transforming lives. The
author uses an occasion of a gathering of former classmates to set the context
and to get the ball rolling. The message that the book conveys to the readers
is universal in nature. One could relate
to this easily by simply replacing the word “cheese” with the area where
important life decisions are to be taken like “relationships”, “jobs” or “business
situations”. In the later part of the book, this is further explained with
ample examples embedded in the exchanges between the classmates over dinner.
The author carries forward the message about “changes” with utmost clarity
through an experience that could induce many epiphanies.
The overall flow of the book was
smooth and was engaging. Given the size of the book and the message it conveys,
there was nothing much to be viewed from a critical point of view. Looking at
the big picture, this book is really effective in helping the readers to guzzle
and assimilate lessons on “change” as it is.
As ever, here is a list of the
messages that the characters of the book shout out loud to the readers:
Change Happens
They Keep Moving The Cheese
Anticipate Change
Get Ready For The Cheese To Move
Monitor Change
Smell The Cheese Often So You Know When It Is
Getting Old
Adapt To Change Quickly
The Quicker You Let Go Of Old Cheese, The Sooner
You Can Enjoy New Cheese
Change
Move With The Cheese
Enjoy Change!
Savor The Adventure And Enjoy The Taste Of New
Cheese!
Be Ready To Change Quickly And Enjoy It Again
They Keep Moving The Cheese.
If you want to find your cheese
too, then click here before it gets moved!
