"One of the most successful business books ever" ~ Daily Telegraph

Really? business book? Well, that's great news. It means we can all write a successful business book in less than a month! and it can be a bestseller too!

Obviously, I am quite agitated. Years and years ago when this book was the center of attention of many people when it first came to light, I was told that I had to read it or else "I will be missing out on a lot of great advice" or that "This is one of the rare books that must be read by everyone". For some reason, I didn't read it until today. Luckily.

Again, really?

I do not have a problem with the main idea: resisting vs. adapting to change. It is a good one and was news to me! However, I cannot get over the shallowness of the story. It was very repetitive too. You could sum it up in one sentence. I am thankful it was not a 200-page book.

Another issue with this book is the continuous effort exerted by the author and his friend - who wrote the foreword and helped market the book by gifting it to "everyone he knows" - to make you believe that this book changed so many lives! As they keep repeating it in the book over and over again that it changed businesses, marriages, health conditions for the better. Politics and ghosts, no? Well, that was not good. Forcing readers to believe so by repeating that it is a 'great book with magic powers!' does not work. Actually, this was quite repelling.

Also, I felt that the advice was forced. Nothing was real. It was all made to rotate around a one sentence idea - which I mentioned earlier. The story is forced. The reunion of friends in the first part was forced. The story itself and the handwriting on the wall (as advice) written by 'Haw' as he was running through the maze looking for 'New Cheese' was forced. The discussion of friends (to digest and discuss the great advice after they heard the story) was forced. Nothing felt natural, real or smooth.

In fact, it is perhaps the worst book I have ever read even though I wanted to love it.

For the love of Cheese, please don't waste your time or money.

این کتاب رو چندین بار خوندم. در واقع هر وقت احساس میکنم ی آدم بی فایده بی انگیزه ام میخونمش. حس خوبی بهم میده، ی جورایی تلنگره واسم.

It is a short storybook, offering an educational tale about two mice

After reading The Secret this book kinda told you what you already knew but it had some good analogies in it that made you think a bit. I liked it though and think it's good for people to give it a read especially if you are in the business world, you can really apply it in your career.

Way too cheesy (I couldn't resist). While this was probably revolutionary at some point to some people... for me this one did nothing. It's like self-help for middle-graders.

Basically, we've got ourselves a cheesebuster story, about Mice and Men (maybe Of Mice and Men was the original inspiration to compose this pamphlet?) that live in a labyrinth, finding lots of freedom and Cheese in it. Ughhh...

Q:
But Cheese never reappeared. (c)
Q:
It's maze time! (c)
Q:
Why don't you just wait here with me until they put the Cheese back? (c)
Q:
Why didn't I get up and move with the Cheese sooner? (c)
Q:
The Quicker you let go of old Cheese. The sooner you find new Cheese. (c)
Q:
Perhaps most important of all, he realized that there is always New Cheese out there whether you recognize it at the time or not. And that you are rewarded with it when you go past your fear and enjoy the adventure. (c)

When my boss first gave me this book to read, I was definately in place where I had no interest in even knowing what my attitude was towards change. After taking an hour to read the book, I found it to be ridiculous and that it didn't apply to me at all -- "I had always been an advocate for change, what the hell was my boss trying to tell me?"

After going through some difficult times at work with restructure and having to change peoples' roles and responsibilities, I decided to re-read the story about 2 men and 2 mice and what their outlook on change was. To my surprise, because I was actually looking for help with regards to moving my people forward and helping adjust to the changes that were happening around them, I found the book to be more than helpful. I recognized that for the longest time, I was pretty closed minded and was definately going to die with the cheese if I didn't start embracing change and the outcomes it brings. I also recognized that I had a sniff, a scurry, a hem and lots of haws running around my team. With that knowledge, it helped me focus on how to manage them better which delivered better results from them and also made them happier employees.

It's the type of book I needed right now to remind me of a certain things that I forgot about. It's not perfectly written but the message reached and I'm glad I read it at this time exactly!

القصة بسيطة ولذيذة، لكن التعليقات عليها مفتعلة وغبية.

In a nutshell, the book talks about change, how it is possible, how we should anticipate it and be ready for it, how we should be able to detect the signs that change is near, how we should quickly accept and adapt to change and how we should just change when it is needed. It focuses on the importance of getting out from one's comfort zone and explore other opportunities in the world.

It was an ok read, but what bothered me about the book is how the lesson was explained even before the story started, where is the fun in that???! I understand the book was written for all ages, but even little kids would have understood the point without the excessive explaining.

It requires a unique sort of demonic skill to take the utterly obvious, lather it with sentimentality, turn it into an animal story, give it a big font and wide margins so that what really ought to be a pamphlet handed out for free on subways becomes instead a "book," and then expect businesspeople to buy it.

Which they did. God help us all.

في البداية : Unpopular opinion
أنا أحب كتب التنمية الذاتية شرط أن لا تكون سخيفة
قد لا أتفق مع مجمل محتواها لكنها بالتأكيد ذات أثر جميل
عن الكتاب

Who moved my cheese? - Dr. Spencer Johnson - A parable, A fable, and the power of allegory redefined

This self-help book is a change management handbook that contains fiction, non-fiction, and a mixture of both of them.

This writing style reminds me of 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell, 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter, 'A Speech to the Academy' by Franz Kafka, and other old fables and parables from ancient times.

This book analyzes human mental conditions such as depression, ego, and overthinking and how to overcome such situations.

The best thing about this is its simple approach with over just 95 pages the writer covers many aspects of change management in business management and many aspects of human mental conditions.

I as a business management graduate this book reminded me of 'Kurt Lewin's Change Management theory'.

The story depicted in the book uses four characters to show four types of people who face change and their responses which is very insightful and inspiring.

As a person and a student who failed my tertiary education related to law, who stopped two MBA's and also didn't do well career-wise this book's content reminds me of "Hem", who everyone should avoid being. But I'm trying to change and this book helped me to recognize myself as a person in many roles in society.

"Just when he thought he was getting ahead, he would get lost in the corridors. It seemed his progress was two steps forward and one step backward. It was a challenge, but he had to admit that being back in the maze, hunting for cheese, wasn't nearly as bad as he feared it might be."

- Pg. 50 -

This book is a global phenomenon. By tackling famous socialist concepts in the above quote the book provides a guiding light to the post-socialist world.