Once, long ago in a land far away, there lived four little characters who ran through a maze looking for cheese to nourish them and make them happy.

We all know people who are more intelligent than mice.Īs you watch what the four characters do, and realize both the mice and the littlepeople represent parts of ourselves - the simple and the complex - you can see it would be to our advantage to do the simple things that work when things change. In The Story you will see that the two mice do better when they are faced with change because they keep things simple, while the two littlepeople’s complex brains and human emotions complicate things. Living in constant white water with the changes occurring all the time at work or in life can be stressful, unless people have a way of looking at change that helps them understand it. And if we lose it, or it’s taken away, it can be traumatic. If we get it, we often become attached to it.

Who Moved My Cheese? is a story about change that takes place in a Maze where four amusing characters look for “Cheese” - cheese being a metaphor for what we want to have in life, whether it is for a job, a relationship, money, a big house, freedom, health, recognition, spiritual peace, or even an activity like jogging or golf.Įach of us has our own idea of what Cheese is, and we pursue it because we believe it makes us happy. The Story Behind the Story by Kenneth Blanchard, Ph.D. Whatever parts of us we choose to use, we all share something in common: a need to find our way in the maze and succeed in changing times. Sometimes we act like Sniff Who sniffs out charge early, or Scurry Who scurries into action, or Hem Who denies and resists change as he fears it will lead to something worse, or Haw Who learns to adapt in time when he sees changing leads to something better! The four imaginary characters depicted in this story - the mice: “Sniff” and “Scurry,” and the littlepeople: “Hem” and “Haw - are intended to represent the simple and the complex parts of ourselves, regardless of our age, gender, race, or nationality. PARTS OF ALL OF US The Simple and the Complex My summary and notes include the key lessons and most important insights from the book. This is my book summary of Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson.

Written as a parable, the book highlights how we resist change and make the simple complicated through emotions and excessive thinking.

A short book with a timeless message: adapt to inevitable change.

Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson