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Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life

Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life

List Price: $19.95
Your Price: $13.57
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Lemmings, hurtling over the cliff's edge
Review: This is the WORST business book I have ever read. The intent behind it is valid, but the content can be summed up in a few statements:

Change will happen

If you don't change, you will die (figuratively or literally)

Watch for signs of change, so you can be prepared to change, too

Change is good, and can lead to something better

There. Do you feel like paying me [good money] for that priceless knowledge?

This is a parable, which means they dressed up the real content by writing a goofy story about mice and little people, taking up more pages so they could justify the cost. Unfortunately, they could only drag the story out so far (how many times can you read, "and he kept walking and looking for more cheese"). The book was still only about 20 pages long, too short for a hardcover, so they added a second story to frame the parable itself. The second story is about a group at a reunion that talks about the book. Even THAT doesn't add enough pages to justify printing it in hardcover, so they increased the print size to roughly what you see in books for 3 year olds.

The author, publisher and whoever else was involved in this moneymaking scheme obviously recognized that many people would see through their efforts. Their solution? Put in a statement saying, in effect, "If you think this book isn't worthwhile, then you aren't a talented, cutting edge business person like all the other who read the book are."

Believe me, someone in your office (probably your boss) is waving this book around, exclaiming how wonderful it is and telling you to read it. ASK IF YOU CAN BORROW HIS COPY. Do not spend money on it yourself. You're going to have to read it, unfortunately, because the herd has spoken and you can't stray from the herd. I'll bet the person who started the rumor that this was a good book is getting royalties. It's the only explanation.

The one saving grace about this book is it's a quick read. I finished it in 23 minutes. At least you can soon move on to something more worthwhile.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Don't miss the point
Review: I noticed in previous reviews that, if I am understanding some of the reviewers correctly, they have missed the point of this book. The point is not that someone stole or moved the cheese. That was what Hem thought, but what really happened was that the cheese was gone because Sniff, Scurry, Hem and Haw ate it up. Sniff and Scurry kept track of how much cheese was left and thus were not suprised when it ran out. Hem and Haw only paid attention to how delicious the cheese was, and they didn't think to keep track; thus, they were shocked to see it gone. Haw learned from and was able to laugh at his mistakes; thus, he was able to move forward and stay alive, where Hem couldn't get past the idea that someone had moved "his" cheese.

Similarly, if, for example, you are working on a big project, it is good to keep track of how far you have gotten, and that way you are not surprised when it is finished. When it is finished, you need to move on to a new project, rather than wondering what happened to the old one and doing nothing. You could lose your job by doing nothing.

Anyway, that's what I got out of this book. If the cheese had been moved or stolen, that would be another matter, but it simply ran out because the four characters in the book ate it up.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Resumen teorico del libro en 3 paginas
Review: "El queso hace feliz, todos lo necesitamos para seguir en esta vida. En concreto el queso es algo muy personal y podemos aplicarlo a toda cosa o actividad que gire alrededor de nuestras vidas. Así nuestro queso puede ser alcanzar el éxito, ser felices, el trabajo, la familia, el dinero el amor."

¿Cuándo se da el cambio? En todo momento queramos o no, estemos listos o no, nos sentirnos felices o sentirnos frustrados. De cualquier forma, ¡aquí esta el cambio!

¿Cómo los seres humanos actuamos frente al cambio? Cerramos nuestros sentidos a la evidente realidad. Nos negamos a reconocer que las reservas de queso han disminuido poco a poco. Creemos que todo ha sucedido de repente. Mmm grave error!, pues comenzamos a cuestionar la casualidad.

En el proceso previo a la aceptación y mucho ante de tomar un nuevo curso de acción. El cambio nos hace sentir decepcionados porque no vemos el porqué. En un intento positivo pero erróneo de salir adelante seguimos trabajando con la misma dirección pero ahora mas duro, mas temprano, con mas ahínco sin darnos cuenta que eso no nos llevara al queso sino que trabajamos en un hueco sin fondo. Hacer lo mismo con mas ganas no es sinónimo de avance.

¿Y luego? Existen claro, diferentes personalidades de reacción. Sin embargo el ser humano tiende a analizar por DEMASIADO tiempo la situación, buscamos porqués, explicaciones, vivimos analizando un mundo de causalidad aunque pensemos que todo es casualidad. Lo que deberíamos es ponernos en MARCHA de INMEDIATO y buscar queso nuevo. Reaccionemos cuanto antes, ¡VÁMONOS!

Finalmente nos damos cuenta que debemos movernos, de lugar, de actitud, de relaciones, de objetivos en fin de lo que nuestro queso represente. Pero no es fácil, el ser humano arrastra MIEDO. Así que como no tenemos ninguna certeza de que el cambio nos asegure un estadio mejor en nuestras vidas tememos al cambio. Cuando estamos en una cómoda situación (laboral, emocional o económica) no PREVEMOS creemos una vez habiendo encontrado el camino que conlleva a la comodidad esa es la fórmula para alcanzarla siempre. Oh, oh, me temo que no.

Después de aceptarlo y al estar en camino al cambio nos preguntamos ¿Porqué no me puse en marcha cuando vi que mi queso lo hacia? (Y es que no vigilamos el queso). Tomemos las riendas de los acontecimientos en vez de dejar simplemente que las cosas ocurran.

Puede parecer redundante pero el miedo es el factor clave es algo que tenemos arraigados. Salir a toparnos con encrucijados caminos, laberintos de errores y aciertos, ¡este laberinto es la VIDA! Tenemos que salir a enfrentar este laberinto y estar de acuerdo que para alcanzar lo que queremos, hay mucho camino por recorrer y que este trayecto, esta espera no es tiempo perdido es una GESTACIÓN una madurez que alcanzamos para que el queso llegue.

Muchas veces creeremos que hemos encontrado el camino correcto y en realidad estamos perdidos en los laberintos y pasillos. Cuando esta gestación se alarga mas de lo previsto (que no quiere decir mas de lo necesario) desvariamos y pensamos si nuestras esperanzas son realistas a veces encontramos un poco de queso pero este se acaba pronto, fue solo un descanso ese no era EL QUESO, prosigamos.

"Si hubiera querido me hubiera percatado de lo que estaba pasando". Moraleja: Huele el queso a menudo para saber cuándo empieza a enmohecerse.

Se dice que antes de que cualquier cosa ocurra en la vida propia nuestra mente la ha programado. El imaginarnos disfrutando el nuevo queso conduce hacia él. Así también cuanto antes olvidamos el queso viejo, antes se encuentra el nuevo.

Adicionemos a este cambio su dosis de optimismo, los cambios son naturales tanto si los esperamos como si no. Y sea como sea siempre nos dejaran algo positivo, una lección un nuevo sentimiento o finalmente el gran queso. Lo que nos da miendo no es tan malo como imaginamos.

Si nosotros hemos logrado vencer el miedo y ponernos en camino podemos ayudar a los demás hagámoslo. Después de todo "¿de qué sirve brillar si no podemos iluminar el camino de los demás?"

Tarde que temprano encontraremos el QUESO. Pero ahora si, estemos listos, dejemos cerca nuestras armas para que si es necesario salgamos de inmediato al laberinto a buscar nuevo queso ante un nuevo cambio..

Cuando tenemos tiempo para hablar con nosotros mismos nos podemos responder algunas cuestiones y darnos cuenta que cuando tuvimos miedo realmente estuvimos aferrados al viejo queso que ya no existía, eran puras ilusiones. Cuando reímos de nosotros mismos de nuestras arcaicas actitudes ante el cambio dejamos atrás gran parte del miedo y se devela una cortina ante nuestros ojos, percibimos diferente la realidad, al menos...más clara. No analicemos en exceso pues nos complicamos las cosas.

La frase "El enemigo esta en nosotros mismos" es claro anuncio que el inhibidor más grande somos nosotros, el miedo que engendramos y dejamos crecer. Debemos confiar, tener fe pues es evidente (aunque no lo veamos) que en otro lugar SIEMPRE habrá un nuevo queso. El camino recorrido os hizo encontrar una parte mejor de nosotros mismos.

Lo IDEAL sería que cada uno moviera su propio queso, adelantarnos, pensar innovadoramente y ser nosotros los que creemos el cambio alrededor. Así la aventura es 100% disfrutable. Dibujar una imagen del nuevo queso nos acerca como ya dijimos a la realidad, (existen mecanismos geniales para esquematizar este nuevo queso ver: Mind Mapping, trucos de la mente creativa de Joyce Wycoff).

Al aplicar este tópico a relaciones personales no quiere decir que cuando nuestra pareja nos parece cambiada, debamos buscar otra nueva. Un nuevo queso es una relación nueva con actitudes diferentes, con la misma persona.

En el ámbito empresarial seamos cuidadosos al comunicar cambios en la organización, recordemos que "cuando el cambio se impone, la gente se opone" Infiltremos el cambio a todos los niveles del organigrama.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A good start for those who think change is not necessary
Review: This book is a light short book giving a flavor about the importance of change. It is probably an over simplified book of the "maze" in the real world, because it was meant to be like that.

For someone who has an open mind to changes, constantly looking up fresh ways to do things better, faster, you may easily have more to share than this book. But for someone who thinks change is not necessary, things are fine as they are, this book is well worth the 1 hour's read.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: This book deserves a second look.
Review: A very simplistic parable yet with underlying, deeper meaning. My book club assumed we would have a very short meeting on this very short book. However, we uncovered many points of discussion. How do you handle a co-worker who refuses to accept change? How do you handle employees who refuse to accept change? What would you do if you weren't afraid?

For all of you nay-sayers out there, take another look at this book. Forget about being victimized and see this book for what it really means. Change is inevitable; deal with it!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Who Moved My...
Review: Simple thought that could be better gotten out of classic sources, such as the Art of Worldly Wisdom by Gracian or How to Win Friends and ... , along with many better thought-out and much better articulated ideas. Read the giants.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Silly
Review: There are two mice and two littlepeople living in a maze. Theyfind a big supply of cheese and start eating it. When the cheese runs out, the two mice go and find more cheese while the two littlepeople whine about the lack of cheese. Finally one of the littlepeople (GOOD littleperson) leaves to find more cheese and the other (BAD littleperson) stays and feels sorry for itself. That's the story in a nutshell, and this paragraph is almost as long as the book is. You can ponder this paragraph rather than buying the book and save yourself some money.

This was a Dr. Seuss book without all the rhymes. It was a social commentary in parable form, just like Dr. Seuss. There are multiple levels of understanding, just like Dr. Seuss. But it's missing the well-written rhymes and the neat pictures (all we get is a picture of a cheese on every other page with the point of the page summarized in the picture so just in case we can't handle reading the story we can still understand the concept). You couldn't even enjoy it by reading it to your kids, like you would with Dr. Seuss, because your kids would be bored by the third page.

This was an adorable oversimplification of the need for change in the corporate world. It's selling well because it's a quick read and it's just so cute (I need to be saying that in a high-pitched squeaky voice to get the point across). It's something that lower-level managers and bottom-level employees are reading to make themselves feel better, while mid- to upper-level managers are reading real business books without pictures of cheese.

I can't recommend this book to anyone without laughing. If you must read it, get it from a library but be sure you don't let anyone else see you reading it. You'll be labeled as one of those "cheese heads" (that's what we call them in my office) and will have a hard time being taken seriously after that.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: ACCEPT IT
Review: ACCEPTANCE is actually a good lesson to learn. It allows for patience, and how many of us have tried to rush something to find themselves back to where they started. Sure its great to fight for something you believe in but how much power do we have to really change the things we can't. We need serenity to have acceptance. And for those that "believe"...how often have we been taught to step aside and put our lives in His hands. We cannot be the master and the servant at the same time. Just be aware of whom you are serving? Who's the big cheese? Damn, I need to read this book! (it sounds exciting)

In all, we should not look to literature as a basis of our lives. Those of you that don't want to feel offended or cheated by a book, should stick to stuff thats a bit more lively-read Harry Potter!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: See the handwriting on the wall!
Review: Don't hold on too tight because change is always on it's way. Whether we like it or not life is always in process and we have to move with it or die.

How easy it is to be complacent about our life and not realize that yes, we can move on from our stage in life. We can be at a point in our life where things are going "fantastic" or "lousy" but one thing is for sure "this too shall pass".

We can become responsible for bringing about the change or we can wait to just let things happen. I certainly don't want to let someone else move my cheese, I'm too much of a control type to have someone decide my fate.

Spencer Johnson in his audio Who Moved My Cheese, tells the parable of 4 characters who are caught in unexpected change, this experience forces them to deal with their outlook on themselves and on life.

No one can make us change. How we would love to change others instead of looking within. This would be the easy way out. "To thy own self be true".

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Change will come
Review: I enjoyed Mr. Spencer's book because it simplifies and distills many of the change issues we face in our personal and professional lives. Sure, some may find the format a little cheesy, but it serves its purpose because the book delivers messages that are easy to understand and true.

Also recommended: "The Leader's Guide: 15 Essential Skills," a book that also addresses change-related issues.


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