While on vacation last week I re-read a book on handling change, Who Moved My Cheese?, by Dr. Spencer Johnson. This little 94 page book is a great resource to facilitate discussion within your team during times of change.
This book could be used with your family, business, church or any organization that is facing change. It is a great resource to hand to that team member who is having difficulty handling change that has come their way recently. In today’s world change comes at us at a rapid pace and with rapid fire so we need to be prepared to handle it whether in our families, churches or business organizations.
Spencer Johnson provides an entertaining lesson on several aspects of facing change.
The book is a parable that is set in a maze with four characters. Two of the characters are mice-Sniff & Scurry, the other two characters are little people the size of mice-Hem and Haw. The mice approach the cheese in a nonjudgmental & non analytical manner while their human counter parts have a completely different approach. The humans have developed an identity that is tied to the cheese. The cheese represents whatever it is you are pursuing in life; career success, money, material possessions, family…. You fill in the blank with what your cheese is. What is it you are pursuing with your life? Then that is your cheese and it will be moved often over the course of your life.
As they learn lessons working through the maze they write them on the wall. The lessons take you through the three stages of change listed below.
3 Stages of Change
- Stage 1: Preparing for Change
- Stage 2: Gaining Change Skills
- Stage 3: Achieving A Change
Here are the lesson learned by the characters in the book that they wrote on the wall of the maze.
The Handwriting On The Wall
Change Happens
They Keep Moving the Cheese
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 Old Cheese, The Sooner You Can Enjoy New Cheese
Change
Move With The Cheese
Enjoy Change!
Savor The Adventure And Enjoy The Taste Of New Cheese!
Be Ready To Change Quickly And Enjoy It Again And Again
They Keep Moving The Cheese
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