Who Moved My Cheese?

Who Moved My Cheese?

By Spencer Johnson, M.D.

(Putnam, New York, 1998) 94 pages, hardbound $19.95

Foreword by Kenneth Blanchard, Ph.D.

Reviewed by LTC John Lesko, U.S. Army Reserve, a Decision Coach and Group Facilitator with Anteon Corp. He provides collaborative decision-support services to the U.S. Air Force acquisition community. Lesko is also a member of the Army Acquisition Corps and a frequent contributor to Army AL&T. Contact him at John.Lesko@saftas.com.

The national business bestseller Who Moved My Cheese? is a simple parable that reveals profound truths about change. This amusing and enlightening story concerns four characters living in a maze and looking for cheese to nourish and make themselves happy.

Two of the characters are mice named Sniff and Scurry. The others are "little people" the size of mice who look and act a lot like people. Their names are Hem and Haw. "Cheese" is a metaphor for what you want to have in life, whether it is a good job, a loving relationship, money, a possession, health, or spiritual peace of mind. The maze is where you look for what you want: the organization you work for, the family you live with, or the community you live in. In the story, the characters face unexpected change. Eventually, one of them deals with it successfully and writes what he has learned from his experience on the maze walls.

In the foreword, Kenneth Blanchard reveals the entire plot and describes "the story behind the story" well before the author tells the tale. It is unusual for those who write a foreword to steal such content from the principal author. However, it is Blanchard who first explains how some people act like Sniff-sniffing out change early and following their nose. Others react like Scurry, who scurries quickly into action trying new paths to find new cheese. Others may deny the situation and resist change like Hem, who fears that change will lead to worse things. Finally, the story's hero, Haw, offers comic relief and serves as the narrator of this tale. He learns to adapt, overcome his fears, and act to find new cheese.

Johnson, however, tells the story like no other storyteller. He fully develops each pint-sized character. Readers learn about emotions, habits, and fears, then discover the "handwriting on the wall" as Haw scratches out guidance for his friends in the form of business axioms, observations, or guideposts to steer Hem (and the reader) to a better future. Johnson's storytelling technique is masterful, leading readers to examine their motives, strengths, and weaknesses along the way. Dr. Johnson prescribes a remedy that also helps Haw, the story's least proactive character.

So why should a member of the acquisition community purchase or borrow this very short book written about two rodents and two cartoon-like characters? Philosophically speaking, one can call on the poet Robert Burns who said, "The best laid schemes o'mice and men/Gang aft a-gley." Such sage advice has universal appeal and application. But more substantive reasons come from the significance of this story to any company's business situation in today's stress-filled environment.

Clients within the acquisition community include all stakeholders who might affect a program's outcome. Warfighters, maintainers, suppliers, commercial partners, Congress, Defense executives, etc.; any may decide to move your cheese. Those in a program office must be ready to adapt to new challenges and opportunities. As technology advances, acquisition professionals must keep their skills current. They must be willing to insert new technology into existing systems. They must remain mentally sharp and maintain positive attitudes toward accepting and dealing with inevitable change.

Successful programs bring new capabilities and will transform the Army. Therefore, today's acquisition professional should think of the skills needed both in adapting to change and in serving as a change agent.

Some say that Who Moved My Cheese? is Johnson's best work to date. This is high praise, given that Johnson and Blanchard are coauthors of The One Minute Manager, the book that gave American business "management by walking around" and related techniques for building high-performance teams. This book is a practical guide for just about anyone who wants to succeed in a changing world.