Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson (1998, Hardcover)

"Who Moved My Cheese" is the most excellent book that I have read so far about motivating people to change. I have read this book from a college course about the management in business, and I highly recommend you to read this book even if you do not agree to the most ideas depicted in the book.

The main emphasis in this 96 pages long paperback book is "importance in changing." The book is relatively short and easy to read. The story begins by introducing the two mices named "Sniff" and "Scurry" and two humans named "Hem" and "Haw" as they have one sole purpose in their lives -- to find the cheese. Sniff and Scurry have almost no difference in themselves, except that the names suggest that the author picked their names to be complimentary to navigate through maze to find the cheeses with their instincts alone. In other hand, as the book progresses toward the end, two humans begin to show their differences. While the mices quickly moved on to find the next cheese factory after they noticed that first cheese factory ran out of abundance in cheese, Hem and Haw initially denied that the cheese would be run out someday. They build their homes near the first found cheese factory and build entire lives around the place. However, Haw slowly began to accept that the cheese is not infinite in the supply; thus, Haw determined to explore the maze once again to find the new cheese factory while leaving the several messages for the stubborn Hem if he decides to follow his path later.

The readers of this book often question what exactly is the cheese that is both the main title and the primary element of discussion in this book. While no exact definition of cheese is stated in the book, one can easily deduce that the cheese can be anything that one wants to achieve or to obtain in life. The negative reviewers of this book are probably either too conservative or too reluctant to learn from like of Sniff and Scurry, two mices governing by the instincts alone. If one is too conservative, the person might fail to see the change going around the place, as the change is obviously the fact of life as the history has shown us. The rise and fall of rail road industry in 1800's, the shift from national oriented business to international oriented business, the dot com burst in 1990's, and the bankrupt of Enron corporation are just few real evidences to see how the reluctance to see the change can be a spell for the failure. If one is reluctant to learn from someone else because of the pride either as a human being or as one with status, this characteristic also prohibits one from changing himself or herself.

Just like any other book, one always has the choice to decide what arguments to accept from this book. Nevertheless, biased view coming from own personal jurisdiction or closed mind should not prevent others to evaluate the book without very rightful reasons. This book may not be the most pleasant book to read for most people because of its direct points about negative aspects of one fails to change, but this book certainly is one of most enlightening books about how to be successful in the dynamic world today.

This parable featuring two mice named Sniff and Scurry and two people named Hem and Haw attempts to address the subject of change and characterize the pros and cons of different approaches to change. Sound simple ? It is. This could be a kid’s book written in 15 point font and still not make 15 pages. How and why the author managed to generate enough verbiage to fill an entire book, let alone make a fortune as a bestseller, is beyond me. Seriously, this is kindergarten 101 stuff. Things change. You can react or not react. You can react slowly or quickly. You can be flexible or inflexible. You can embrace change or fear and avoid change. Are you bored reading this review ? Think how bored you will be reading the book.

Why would you ever buy this book ? There are plane rides that are too short to get really drunk on. There are conversations with your mother-in-law that could potentially be avoided. Maybe youre actually dealing with a major change in your life, aren’t sure how to deal with it, and need a framework to think about your options. These are all good reasons to buy the book and given the money ($5) and time (1h 25m) you’ll need to invest to read the book, it seems like a small price to pay. My big take away from this book is that I need to change professions and become a self-help writer recycling childhood life lessons in the form of parables that sit in the business section of the bookstore.

The books start with a group of friend meeting up after their high school reunion, and on of the friends start telling a story, Who moved my cheese??? It is a story about two little mise and two little man looking for a cheese in a maze .The cheese in the story is a symbol for everything we treasure in life ... The cheese can be our job,our relationship,or everything else thats important to us ,When the cheese in the book runs out each and every character deals differently with the situation ,
As you continue reading the book you will find yourself relating to the character and notice the way you react to the changes that occurs in your life The fear of unknown, the fear of failed and how we let fear control our life, and that sometime we rather stay in our comfort zone instead of dealing with the changes.

This book is about how we adapt the changes in our life.
and how we can create new possibilities when the change accurs.
Who moved my cheese??is a great book for dealing with everyday changes.
The story teach us how to imburse the change ,and it how to let go of old ideas and habits and embracing new ones.

This book is a quick read with a great story line. I found that I was intrigued and fascinated by the lives of the individual characters and found myself comparing them to people I know and attitudes that I have. Though the story could come off as a "and the moral to the story is" kind of a book, I found that everything that was done and said by the characters was pertinent to the storyline and made the book applicable to my life.
Each character portrays a different aspect of personality - from the Type A go-getter to the obstinent & unchangeable. Each character; Sniff and Scurry the mice and Hem and Haw the little people, has a distinct thought process and as they address the tragedy of the cheese being gone, they show their own flaws and strengths.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is going through changes in their life. As you read it, you'll find that each character's perspective and be seen in each of us at some time or other. If you're just looking for a good story and not particularly interested in soul searching, this book has that ability also.

One of my friends had mentioned the book, "Who Moved My Cheese". I was in the library and decided to check and see if they had the book, they did. The book is less than 100 pages, it was a quick read. The author used a story about mice to depict how we react to change in our life. It was refreshing to read a self help book written in a story format. The book was eye opening. Everyone can see themselves in one of the mice. I was so taken with the book, I decided to purchase one for my personal library and a copy for those in my life who are struggling with change.