Lisa's review
recommended for:
brown nosers
status:
Read in November, 2007
I came into work and there was a book on my desk from someone who shall remain anonymous.
I read the book in about an hour. It is a simple parable meant to help people.
The basic premise of the book is that change happens and you just have to deal with it. If you don't deal with it, you are going to be unhappy, unproductive and you are going to get cut from your job.
There are four characters. The characters are stuck in a maze. There is cheese in various parts of the maze. Two of the characters wake up early every morning and race to find cheese. All four characters come across a stockpile of cheese. The first two characters I mentioned just continue to wake up every morning and search out the cheese. The other two get lazy and move their homes close to the stockpile, expecting that it is going to be there every day.
One day the cheese is gone. The first two characters just continue on their way searching out new cheese. The other two characters get all emotional and star...more
I came into work and there was a book on my desk from someone who shall remain anonymous.
I read the book in about an hour. It is a simple parable meant to help people.
The basic premise of the book is that change happens and you just have to deal with it. If you don't deal with it, you are going to be unhappy, unproductive and you are going to get cut from your job.
There are four characters. The characters are stuck in a maze. There is cheese in various parts of the maze. Two of the characters wake up early every morning and race to find cheese. All four characters come across a stockpile of cheese. The first two characters I mentioned just continue to wake up every morning and search out the cheese. The other two get lazy and move their homes close to the stockpile, expecting that it is going to be there every day.
One day the cheese is gone. The first two characters just continue on their way searching out new cheese. The other two characters get all emotional and start analyzing the situation. One of these characters eventually decides that the cheese isn't going to come back and that he needs to face his fears of the maze and search out new cheese. In his search, he grows as a person and becomes happier. Then he finds another huge stockpile of cheese.
The last character stays back, angry that someone moved his cheese. He feels he is entitled to the cheese and expects that it will return if he just stays there even after his friend tries to get him to move on.
While the book has a point, I do not think that all people can so easily be broken down into these four categories. I also do not think we should all just go blindly along with change. There needs to be a voice of reason in every situation.
I think that the book oversimplifies life's problems and challenges. While that is sometimes necessary with people who tend to overcomplicate things, I do not think the book has all the answers.
I also think that people's personalities are far more diverse than this book suggests.
I recently took my Myers-Briggs/Jung personality test along with several other people that I know. The results are really dead on. When I read the description for my personality, I felt like someone was finally inside my head and knew exactly how I felt and thought about the world. Further reading on that page helped me recognize my strengths and weaknesses. It also helped me to really think about what I am passionate about and what things I really enjoy doing. As other people I knew took the test, I started to see how we all fit into the world around us like a puzzle.
Certain personalities are needed for different jobs. It isn't a bad thing that I am an introvert and enjoy reading, researching and writing. Those skills are needed for certain jobs. Given the right working environment, my personality will help me to thrive and be happy.
Basically, I don't think it is just up to the person on the receiving end of the "moved cheese" to just "deal with it". I think it is also up to the people around you to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of your personality and help you to grow and, if in management, place you in a position where your personality will fit best in the corporate puzzle.
Also, based on the book I think Spencer Johnson is an ENTJ ("They live in a world of possibilities where they see all sorts challenges to be surmounted, and they want to be the ones responsible for surmounting them"), ENFJ ("They understand and care about people, and have a special talent for bringing out the best in others.") or ESTJ ("They live in the present, with their eye constantly scanning their personal environment to make sure that everything is running smoothly and systematically. They honor traditions and laws, and have a clear set of standards and beliefs. They expect the same of others, and have no patience or understanding of individuals who do not value these systems. They value competence and efficiency, and like to see quick results for their efforts.")....less
Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life 
