Modern day fable on decision making

“Who moved my Cheese”
Spencer Johnson, M.D.,
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, 1998


It is somehow disconcerting – and unflattering – to read a book where two little mice are smarter that two little people (the book has to use “little people” in an attempt to cut them to the size of rodents).

In this slim book, the truth unsettles. Mice, by simply trusting instincts, find and get what they want (a big piece of cheese!) faster than humans. We, people, are slowed down by such needless baggage as anxiety, a “settler” mentality, and preoccupation with social standing. Of course, one can quickly add that cheese is the territory of mice, not people. But, by saying that, we are already conceding that we cannot even beat rats in their own game of chasing cheese! Which worsens out case.

And yet this book, “Who moved my Cheese?” is a charming modern day fable that portrays the foibles of little men – apply called “Hem” and “Haw” – and shows us how we can learn a lesson or two from a tandem of mice named “Sniff” and “Scurry.”

The two rodents in this book are better decision makers due to their simplistic thinking process, as contrasted to the two rat-sized men who are caught in a complex web of issues and concerns.

The author, Spencer Johnson – co-author of Kenneth Blanchard in the highly popular “The One Minute Manager” – has made sure he gives us hints on the character of the four creatures. Sniff and Scurry are in the never-ending activity of noting scents of cheese and of constantly running around. Hem and Haw, in contrast, are in the blissful state of believing that their “cheese” will be there forever, and are thus completely unprepared for a situation when the cheese disappears.

The 94-page book has four main parts: (1) a seven-page Foreword titled “The Story Behind the Story,” (2) “A Gathering: Chicago,” that reads like a Prologue (when former high school classmates gather for lunch, one of whom tells the Story); (3) the Story itself; and (4) “A Discussion,” that reads like an Epilogue, when the classmates interpret and apply the story to their lives.

The charming story is only 51 pages long, right in the middle of the book – which is only 54 percent of the entire opus. When I first got the book, I decided to skip the preliminaries, refusing to be influenced by so much commentary and annotation – and went direct to the story on Page 25 and never put it down until the end of the tale on Page 76. I never regretted going to the “cheese,” If you will, and this enjoyed its charm, richness and layers and layers of meanings.

The turning point of the story is when the Cheese at Station C disappeared.

The two mice responded one way. Narrates the author: They weren’t surprised. Since Sniff and Scurry had noticed the supply of cheese had been getting smaller every day, they were prepared for the inevitable and knew instinctively what to do.

As for the two little people, the author narrates: They were unprepared for what they found. “What! No Cheese?” Hem yelled. He continued yelling, “No Cheese? No Cheese?” as though if he shouted loud enough someone would put it back. “Who moved my Cheese?” he hollered. Finally, he put his hands on his hips, his face turned red, and he screamed at the top of his voice, “It’s not fair!”

Sounds familiar? The author, a medical doctor, knows us fellow humans only too well. No wonder, the mice are destined to get another Cheese Station first. The rodents declared, “It’s Maze time!” meaning, off they go through the Maze (translated: Life). But that is getting ahead of the story.

The story is an inexhaustible wellspring of simple truths and insights about life – not only about preparing fro change as the annotations have so belabored the point. I suggest that you read that story first. The fable reads like poetry, astonishing us with glimpses of truth with such simplicity. That reminds me of the dysfunctional role of paraphrase (the commentary covers almost half of this book) for a piece of work. A work of art, said one poet,

“…can not be repeated in paraphrase,

It is not a thought, but a grace.”

Human creations – paintings, poems and fables – possess a grace anad a life all their own. Viewers and readers can get from these works much more that even the creator intended. “Who Moved My Cheese?” – in the tradition of “The Little Prince” – is a book that executives, managers and all others can read once, twice and many more times – and still discover more gems of truth and grace about ourselves each time.

As for Cheese, like the proverbial cake, you cannot have your cheese and eat it too. If this very simple truism still escapes you – whether you are at the executive suite, the work place or at home – you need a turning point and say, “It’s Maze time!”