이승관 경영지도사의 스마트경영 기술컨설팅 (523)

누가 내 치즈를 옮겼을까 ? (Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life)

느낀 점은 “아, 이거는 경영 동화책이네”이었다. 분량이 많지 않아 읽기에 부담이 없다는 점도 좋았지만, 변화 경영에 대한 내용을 생쥐 2마리와 꼬마인간 2명의 모험 이야기로 재미있게 풀어 냈기 때문이었다.

그리고, 등장인물의 이름 또한 이 시대를 살아 가는 사람들의 특성을 분석하여 통찰력 있게 명명 한 부분도 재미있었다. 그래서 인지 이런 재미있는 경영동화, 경영우화를 저술한 지은이가 궁금 했다. 확인해 보니 그의 이름은 스펜서 존슨(Spencer Johnson, 1940년 1월 ~ )이다. 의학 박사학위를 갖고 있어서 인지, 작가님 보다는 의사 선생님 이라는 표현이 더 익숙한 호칭일지도 모르겠 다는 생각이 든다. 그는 세계적으로 유명한 베스트 셀러 작사로, 그가 저술한 유명한 책에는 1분 경영, 선택, 행복, 선물, 멘토 등이 있었다.

인간심리/외과치료 등 전문 의학 지식을 보유한 의학박사 출신의 작가가 저술해서 그런지 저자의 매 순간에 등장하는 캐릭터의 선택과 변화에 대한 세밀한 심리묘사 및 인간 내면의 철학 등이 잘 기술된 것 같았다.

여기서 등장인물 외에 유심히 살펴 봐야 할 배경설정에 대한 지식이 몇 가지가 있는데, 미로 (Maze)라는 환경변화 요인, 치즈라는 Mission, Vision, 목표, 그리고 운동복과 신발이라는 활용 도구에 대한 비유와 상징성이다.

미로(Maze)는 직장, 가정, 학교, 사회 등 우리들 각자가 원하는 것을 찾기 위해 머무르는 장소를 뜻하는 것이고, 치즈(Cheese)는 희망, 소망, 꿈 등 행복을 가져다 주는 상징물 같은 것으로, 직업, 인간관계, 재물, 근사한 집, 자유, 건강, 명예, 마음의 평화, 취미 등을 포괄하는 의미라 한다.

그리고, 운동복과 신발인데, 책 서두에서 후원자들이 그렇게 큰 의미를 부여하지는 않았지만, 꼬마 인간 Haw가 나중에 깨달음을 통해 소중히 챙기게 되는 것으로 치즈를 찾으러 갈 때, 작업도구로 꼭 사용했던 그 것이다. 새로운 변화에 도전하고 결과를 만들어 내는 실행 도구로 비유되고 있다. 

나중에 고생 끝에 찾은 치즈 창고의 풍족한 상황에서도 결코 위기의식을 소홀히 하지 않겠다는 다짐의 뜻으로 운동복과 신발을 항상 가까운 곳에 두어야 한다는 변화에 대응하는 유비무환의 메시지를 강조하려고 한 것은 아닌지 모르겠다.

Who Moved My Cheese  was published in 1998.  A parable written by Spencer Johnson which describes change in one’s work and life.  Who Moved My Cheese  was included in the New York Times business bestseller since release and remained on the list for almost five years and spent over 200 weeks on Publishers Weekly’s hardcover nonfiction list.

When Change Happens

One of the sure things in life is change.  Each day brings a new life and a different experience for us.  But our daily routine task, from the time we wake up until the time we lay down in bed again, creates a cycle that leads us to comfort.  Such comfort creates lax and negligence in our character that make us forget that life is constantly changing.  Then when change happens, we stress out, react, complain and be beaten up.

Even if it’s hard to admit it, in school, at home and in the community we live in, we were taught to believe in following rules and sets of standards that being curious and creating change is not acceptable.  That being obedient, doing what is told and what is “right”, is the key to success and happiness in life.  The attitude of obedience and resistance to change is brought by many in their professional and personal journey in life.  That’s why it is hard for majority to handle and accept change.

Upon experiencing change, our initial reaction is to resist it.  Either because we are afraid to lose the comfort of what we currently have or the fear of the unknown.

Content: The Fable of Change 

The book, Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson, is a fable that teaches an amazing way to deal with change in your personal and professional life.

Below is a short synopsis of the fable:

There were four characters; two mice named “Sniff” and “Scurry,” and two little people named “Hem” and “Haw.”  The four characters lives in a maze (which represents environment) and their activity is to look for cheese ( which represents their life’s happiness and success).

Each morning, Sniff, Scurry, Hem and Haw wear their most comfortable shoes to run and search the maze to find cheese.  They search each day until they found Cheese Station “C”.  The four were so happy and glad to have found Station “C” which is filled with cheese.  Hem and Haw, human as they were, become comfortable having found Station C.  They thought that the Cheese in Station “C” was more than enough to sustain their needs in a lifetime.  So the next morning, Hem and Haw lazily gets up every morning and walk to station “C” without their running shoes on.  On the other hand, the two mice “Sniff” and “Scurry” still eagerly runs to Station “C” to search and find their cheese.

Then one morning, as Hem and Haw lazily walks shoeless to station “C”, they’ve arrived and found it empty.  Hem and Haw became furious and angry.  Unprepared, the humans have counted on the cheese supply to be constant.  They rant at the unfairness of the situation and were mad to those who stole their cheese.  They wanted justice.  They wanted the cheese to come back but they went home hungry.  On the other hand, when Sniff and Scurry found that Station C was empty, they are not surprised. They noticed the cheese supply were decreasing, they have mentally prepared beforehand for the tough but foreseeable task of finding new cheese.  They’ve easily accepted it and moved on to search for new cheese.

The next day, Hem and Haw still walks to Station C hoping to find their cheese.  Hoping that things were the same as the past.  But they failed for the cheese was gone and will not come back.  Beginning to realize the cheese less situation, Haw proposed to search for new cheese. But Hem is dead set in his closed mindset and rejected the proposal.  Meanwhile, Sniff and Scurry have found “Cheese Station N”, a new supply of cheese. 

Hem and Haw are still lacking of cheese and blame each. Wanting to change, Haw suggested once again to search for new cheese but Hem rejected it again.  He didn’t want to change, he’s already comfortable his old cheese and he’s also afraid of the unknown, the new cheese.  He just wants the old cheese to come back and he’ll be happy again.  After many days in denial, Hem and Haw remained without cheese. 

One day, having discovered his weakening fears, Haw begins to laugh at the situation and stopped taking himself so seriously.  Haw realized that he should simply move on and enter the maze to find a new cheese.  While walking down the maze in search for new cheese, Haw took time to write on the walls of the experiences and lessons he’s getting in search for change, of new cheese.  Haw did it for the intention of giving a guide to his friend, Hem, just in case he finally accepts to move on and find new cheese.  First he wrote, “If You Do Not Change, You Can Become Extinct” Still fearful of his new quest, Haw wrote “What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid?” .  In his journey he realized and wrote down “When you move beyond your fear, you feel free.”  Then one day, Haw finally found Cheese Station N and realized it was better and tastier than Cheese Station C.  Wanting to remember everything he’ve learned, he wrote to the largest wall in Cheese Station N the following Six (6) Important Lessons on Change:

1.Change Happens.  They Keep Moving The Cheese

2.Anticipate Change. Get Ready For The Cheese To Move

3.Monitor Change. Smell the Cheese Often So You Know When It Is Getting Old.

4.Adapt To Change Quickly. The Quicker You Let Go Of Old Cheese, The Sooner You Can Enjoy New Cheese.

5.Change.Move With The Cheese

6.Enjoy Change.Savor The Adventure And Enjoy The Taste Of New Cheese

Are You Like Hem?

Even we don’t admit it, we act like Hem.  When change happens in our lives, we get angry, we blame others, we lose hope and resist change.

Start Embracing Change

The book, Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson, have helped me in coping and rising above the negative change that has happened in my life.  After reading Who Moved My Cheese , it gave me a lot of new insight on why change is good and how it can lead me to much better things.  Now as I look back, I can honestly say I’m really happy to the change that reversed my life to embrace positiveness and life live fully.

You too can create that change in your life.  If you don’t know where to start, begin having courage to embrace change by reading Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson.

Start reading Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson

[Co-author]

Get on Metaverse 

ESG MANAGEMENT 

ENTREPRENEURSHIP STARTUPS AND JOBS CREATION SPIRITS 

IT CONVERGENCE STRATEGY 

ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND INTEGRATION IN NORTHEAST ASIA (LIT VERLAG BERLIN IN GERMANY)