Caesar Tin-U
UHD-START
17 June 2007
WTF!? My Cheese?
“Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson, is a revolutionary new way to spread propaganda and brainwash the mass public through a “deceptively simple story with a dramatically important message that can radically alter the way [people] cope with change.”1 Seemingly enough, many of the top leaders in industry, government, and even sports think that by giving this book to people who have direct contact with the peoples of their industry will take the fear and anxiety out of predicting the unpredictable the future and to show people a relatively simple way to successfully deal with the changing times, providing them with a method for moving ahead with their work and lives safely and effectively. “It is a huge hit among managers, and a huge pain for employees.”2
The book “Who Moved My Cheese?” revolves around the lives of four main characters, Sniff, Scurry, Hem, and Haw, all of whom are trapped within a maze searching for their ultimate goal in life – their “special” cheese. Sniff and Scurry are two mice who possess relatively simple brains and rely on pure instinct to get through life. Hem and Haw are two “Little people” who resemble more or less the human race. (I was surprised that Johnson did not directly include females within the story plot – only though the vague bypass representation of cheese.)
Sniff, one of the two mice, is a mouse that likes to use his super spidey-sensor nose to sniff out the faint smell of cheese that is hidden within their world of the maze. Sniff can be seen to represent the people of American college graduates– those who seek out the best employment possibility they can.
The other mouse Scurry is much like Sniff, but does not use his helpful nose to sniff out opportunity, but use his gift of running around to “shoot and hope it hits” method of finding cheese. Scurry represents those illegal immigrants that are eager for any kind of work they can get.
Hem and Haw are two little people who should represent the American majority – people who fear change, and are sometimes able to learn to change just in time. Hem is a person who denies and resists change as he fears it will lead to something worse. Ironically enough, he dies within the story due to starvation since he was not able to “go with the flow.” Hem represents the majority of obese blue-collar Americans who (frequently) work at fast-food restaurants and/or are unable to progress in their field of work.
Haw, the more intelligent of the two, is able to survive – just barely – within the maze due to his ability to learn to adapt in time when he sees changing can actually be more beneficial than his current state. Haw represents the better of the two American majorities, but still is not at successful as the two mice in finding cheese.
When the mice find out that the cheese was moved away, they do not whine and complain about it, unlike the little people who hem and haw, but instead run along and find new cheese. As it stands the two little people ask pointless questions and fail to seek the cheese aggressively – they are failures in life. Interestingly enough, in the business world, employees are encouraged to emulate the mice and/or learn from the woes of the little people. Throw in a bit of communism here and there, and you have your perfect role-model- small powerless things who indefinitely run the maze of a higher being.
Anticipate Change – Get ready for the cheese to move.
Monitor Change – Smell the cheese often so you know when it is getting old
Adapt To Change Quickly – The quicker you let go of the old cheese, the sooner you can enjoy new cheese.
Haw wrote these comments onto the wall of the maze as a helpful guide for that of Hem. The way how you must “Anticipate Change” most closely relates to me since my whole life revolves around it. From anticipating when lunch might be, to what the next answer on a test.
The second quote, to “Monitor Change” can also closely relate to my life in the way how everyday you view the world in comparison to the past. For example, when you are walking down the street one day and you see blood and bodies everywhere. First you would relate that present experience to a memory of the past. Because the two memories overlaid did not match up, you will freak out at the fact that blood and dead bodies are laying everywhere in the park.
To adapt to change quickly is the most vital quote that Hem could give to the readers. If one does not change, they die – the simple process of Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection. This relates to my life in the way of how I am still alive in the world, despite the fact that I have been attacked numerously (by invading pathogens) and survived many dare-devil stunts that have been executed with finesse.
If I was Haw in the maze, and I just suddenly came with the inspiration to write something, it would be: “Better late than never!” I would pick this quote because it would serve as a propagandic inspiration to those who have lacking moral.
At Cheese Station N, Haw was laughing at his stupidity for not willing to change earlier. Everybody does that sometimes, to look back and laugh at how foolish we have been in our past inexperienced lives.
“Haw said a little prayer and hoped – as he had many times before – that maybe, at least, his friend was finally able to…” realize his stupidity and become motivated in a life or death situation to look for food – or die.
Sniff and Scurry were able to find the Cheese so quickly mainly due to the fact that they did not ask foolish questions about where the cheese went, and moved along to find the cheese. This is how real life works, especially in the business world. With the mice as our role models, they show how it’s only necessary to ask only small questions, accept whatever you are told by superiors at face value... if you want to keep your job.
1 800ceoread.com
2 San Francisco Chronicle – Jon Carroll
posted by Xin at 10:09 AM
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