Who Moved My Cheese?

A friend of mine turned me on to a book titled, "Who Moved My Cheese?" by Spencer Johnson M.D.

Yup, it's that book with 4 different characters in it: Sniff, Scurry, Hem, and Haw.

Ever heard of it?

It's a very short book, but well worth the read.

I don't want to spoil the read too much, so won't add everything in this post, but there are some great marketing lessons to be had from simple little books like this one.

I just got the book yesterday, read it, and was thinking of different ways it applies to marketing.

First off, for those who aren't in the know, the book is about 2 mice, and 2 little people caught in a maze trying to find cheese. When they finally figured out where the cheese is located, and eat it for some time, the cheese is moved to a different location.

Sound familiar?

Sniff, and Scurry (the mice), with their smaller brains, don't seem to worry about anything but finding out where the location of the cheese is once it got moved. They immediately went searching for more cheese.

But the little people, with their much larger brains, seemed to over analyze what just happened, why they were now being deprived from the pile of cheese they once grown accustomed to, and who was responsible for their dilemma.

They became complacent and arrogant, and were stopped dead in their tracks.

The mice ended up finding where the cheese was placed next and got their fill, while the little people were left thinking, plotting, and crying the blues.

Sound familiar yet?

Think about it this way if you still don't see where this story is going ...

Substitute the word "cheese" for "the Internet", and then think about what once worked for you in your Internet Business that isn't working as well as it used to.

What were your immediate thoughts and actions?

Were you like the mice, which didn't seem to worry about "who did what, when and how?", but went searching for the new pile of cheese (hot spot)?

Or were you more like the little people, stopped in mid-air, who over analyzed their situation, got all emotional, and then ended up resenting their position, putting everyone else to blame for why they were going hungry?

These 4 characters were named, Sniff, Scurry, Hem, and Haw for a reason.

Think about it, if we just move forward and not worry about the trivial crap, we'd probably find the new location of our favorite cheese and get our fill!

I found some very profound concepts in this one book that will apply to every situation under the sun, including groups, corporations, families, and other relationships, and just thought I'd share some of them with you.

I'm game for a deeper discussion.

All the best ...


Mary