“Who Moved My Cheese?” by Dr Spencer Johnson is a short hour long parable about responding to change, whether that be in your personal or work life.

The story features 4 characters, Sniff, Scurry, Hem & Haw, who all live in a maze and hunt for cheese to sustain themselves. When the cheese is unexpectedly moved, this forces each character to confront this change and make choices about how to respond. Each character reacts differently with, Sniff who identifies changes early, Scurry who jumps straight into action, Hem who is resistant to change with a fear of change leading to something worse and Haw who in time learns to adapt when he see’s changes leading to positive outcomes.

The differences in characters highlight the reservations we can experience when adopting change and highlight practical ways we can combat this. As we all experience changes in our work and personal lives, we may see ourselves as different characters when experiencing change and the book I feel provides some useful lessons and value for all readers.

Although the book was written 25 years ago, the lessons highlighted and the experiences of each of the characters are still relevant today.

The Lessons and Questions I’ve taken away from the book are:

-What would you do if you weren’t afraid?

-Don’t be afraid to fail

-“Smell the cheese often so you know when it’s getting old”

Who Moved My Cheese Is a short and easy to follow story & I feel re-reading the book at different stages in life would help navigate challenges present with adopting change. Whilst short and easy to follow, I did find it quite predictable and found myself drawing conclusions of the story & lessons early on which took away some of the enjoyment of continuing.

Overall with its universal message of change being inevitable and the importance on how we adapt being key to us ‘finding our cheese’, Who Moved My Cheese is a quick and useful read.

Publisher: Vermilion

Author: Dr Spencer Johnson

Publication Date: 1999

Length: 94 pages

The ABC Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️