ProdPod: Episode 17 -- Two-Minute Book Summary: Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson

Two-Minute Book Summary: Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal With Change in Your Work and in Your Life Dr. Spencer Johnson

Dr. Spencer Johnson wrote and published his NY-Times-5-years-running bestselling book, Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal With Change in Your Work and in Your Life, in 1998. I read this oft-cited business fable back in 1999 or 2000 for the first time, and it represented a major change in my thinking about my life, and specifically my productivity. Dr. Johnson uses "cheese" to represent happiness and success, whereas I substituted his definition for my highly productive state called sometimes "flow."

The gem of the book arrives near the end of the book when one of the four characters, after facing the root of change avoidance: fear. He writes on a wall these words of wisdom...

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

They Keep Moving The Cheese.

Final thoughts: Who Moved My Cheese is a great book and worth the read.