by mrsjones5 29 Replies latest jw friends
The corporation for which I work cares as much about me as the GB cares about the rank and file JW. They share similar traits- utter disdain for anyone with independent thought, an aire of prominence and importance, a certain superiority displayed, and a complete detachment from reality.
Oh, and the largest growth is in 3rd world nations where the 'little man' doesn't know enough to realize he's being poisoned.
Mrsjones5: "Has anyone read this book and what did you think of it?"
I haven't read it but, based on what I heard, I know its premise.
It is basically a fable oriented towards justifying the Corporate mentality to its victims in the workplace.
My understanding, correct me if I'm wrong, is that it's about some mice that live in a maze (There's a not so subtle hint there about the evil of this book.) The maze is run by unnamed scientists who are constantly changing the position of the cheese they put in the maze as part of an experiment with the mice.
One day a mouse discovers the missing cheese and panics. Eventually the mice learn that they have to keep running around the maze in order to find the constantly shifting cheese.
This is an analogy to the corporate workplace (the maze); workers (the mice); and dissapearing jobs (the cheese). The lesson, from the point of view of corporate psychopaths, is that workers should stop complaining and find another job. Never mind the fact that the cheese keeps dwindling even IF the mice, errrh-I mean workers- happen to find it. Never mind that the MAZE extends thousands of miles overseas where the mice (there I go again) get crumbs.
Moral of the story. Learn a new language. Wear different clothes. Move half a world away.
This is my response to this abominable piece of propaganda:
WHO PUT US IN THIS F*CKING MAZE IN THE FIRST PLACE?!?!
WHO ARE THOSE HIDEOUS CREATURES THAT KEEP MOVING IT AROUND?! HOW DO WE GET OUT OF HERE?!
From Wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Moved_My_Cheese%3F
Some managers are known to mass-distribute copies of the book to employees, some of whom see this as an insult, or an attempt to characterize dissent as not "moving with the cheese". In the corporate environment, management has been known to distribute this book to employees during times of "structural re-organization," or during cost-cutting measures, in an attempt to portray unfavorable or unfair changes in an optimistic or opportunistic way. This misuse of the book's message is seen by some as an attempt by organizational management to make employees quickly and unconditionally assimilate management ideals, even if they may prove detrimental to them professionally. Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams claims that patronizing parables are one of the top 10 complaints he receives in his email.
F*ck you Corporate assh*les!
Villabolo
PS: Sorry if I rained on your parade Mrsjones.
PS: Sorry if I rained on your parade Mrsjones.
No apology need. Thanks for the giggle.
I'm not a huge fan of corporate America either, especially after the way my husband was treated when he got sick.
Thanks for the book suggestion jgnat. I just looked at it over at Amazon and it looks interesting.
On a side note, the literary work that most closely resembles every job I've ever had is "Dilbert."
Sigh. I thought this would be a thread about food.
W
Have you seen the layout of cubicles in most corporate offices? I used to have a cartoon taped to mine that showed a mouse trying to navigate the twisty-turny cubicles looking for cheese. There were times it just suffocated me. We had our department remodeled, and when they pulled down the particians, some workers were stunned that they were only a few inches from their co-worker's elbow. We were literally talking in each others' faces but had the illusion of privacy because of the maze, er, cubicle walls. There is something pathological in that, but I don't know how to phrase it!
I've said something similiar in a previous post, but let me apply it here. When your company passes out free books, there is absolutely no reason to believe it is for your welfare. If something good happens, because you applied a lesson from this book, that is wonderful. But remember, you got what you got because you did what they wanted you to do. That is not all bad, especially if you got something very good. But there is a dark side...
Finally Free: "Sigh. I thought this would be a thread about food."
Villabolo
I've read it a few years ago. Think I'll read it again!
Desi
I thought it was an insipid piece of crap. I was resentful of the man who told me how good it was and how I just had to read it. The only reason I didn't slip some rat poison into his coffee was because the book was too short to take up much of my time. I found this interesting review:
http://dontstepinthepoop.com/review-who-moved-my-cheese
January 19th, 2010 6 tweets retweet
Disclaimer: This review may contain offensive language for readers who are faint of heart. If so, do not, I repeat, do NOT continue reading this. I am not responsible for your mental anguish, suffering, or any potentially harmful physical reaction that may result from reading this.
The Good
The good points of “Who Moved my Cheese” are as follows:
It’s an easy read—for a first-grader.
The story is mildly entertaining—for unimaginative children.
It’s the story of two little people and how they cope with the fact that all their cheese has been moved from their station. It deals with one guy’s revelation that he should accept the fact that the cheese has been moved and go find more cheese. The other guy just sits around waiting for more cheese.
It’s supposed to be a metaphor for accepting change. That’s a good message in general.
So, to recap the good points.
It’s an easy read—for a first-grader.
The story is mildly entertaining—for unimaginative children.
The Bad
I find this book insulting on so many levels. Let me count the ways:
1. The size issue
The book is only about 71 pages but that 71 pages is in a huge font, the white space is huge, and then I am treated with an introduction full of inspiroof (proof by inspirational story) at the beginning of the book to fill up more pages.
Look, I have nothing against a short story. But when you are purposely trying to make your 6-8 page story into a book by over-formatting, it’s dishonest.
I think this was originally a newsletter article that the author or publisher over-formatted to make into a book.
It reminds me of those thousand-dollar 300-page “courses” you get from BS gurus that could be condensed into a 40-50-page book.
2. The intellectual level of this book
The book is shallow and frankly insulting to anyone possessing even a modicum of intelligence. I thought the book was written for a group of kindergarteners who were told that recess time has been revoked.
I am NOT kidding. As I noted in the good section, it is an easy read. And maybe that accounts for its popularity.
3. The message/metaphor of this book
Accepting change may be good. But change itself is not always good. In fact, change can be disastrous. On a small level, if some corporate executive is tired of the way things are going (even if they are going great), he or she may get it in their head to “change” things. Then when things don’t go well, just tell the employees it’s their fault for not embracing change.
To put it more bluntly, what do you do when someone moves your cheese, and there’s no more cheese to look for? In reality, it’s called losing a job, having your savings taken away, etc.
You have a right to not only ask Who Moved Your Cheese, but to say “GIVE ME BACK MY GODDAMNED CHEESE!” “Who Moved My Cheese?” seems to be saying, “Just accept whatever gets thrown at you.”
Well, that’s like telling a child to “just do what I tell you.”
Hmmm..maybe that is the message of the book.
Here’s the worst part of this book…the metaphor itself.
These little people live in a maze with rats. Now, what does the maze represent? Maybe, your job. And the cheese is, maybe, your position. So, if you get downsized, transferred, or told to mop the floor, you should embrace this change.
But there’s another option this book doesn’t even get close to approaching.
LEAVE THE MAZE!
You don’t need to stick around while someone is messing with you. ”Who Moved My Cheese” was right about one thing: it’s a book concerning “little people”.
Well, I’m not a little person. I am a big person who can make big big decisions. And I for one would choose to leave the maze. When a game is rigged, your best option, no, your ONLY option is to stop playing the game.
In the book, one guy sits there and waits, the other goes to other parts of the maze to look for cheese. They’re both idiots.
The Verdict
This has got to be one of the worst books I’ve ever read.
The fact that so many people find this book “life-changing” boggles my mind. “Who Moved My Cheese” is just plain stupid. I found it to be neither inspirational nor uplifting. It did not give me any revelations or even one good idea. It was a complete waste of time—albeit short since it is the size of a newsletter article.
The fact is I got this book as part of my divorce. I wondered why my ex-wife would give up the book so quickly. Now, I know why.
My hope is that if I can save just ONE person from reading this inane drivel then my life would be meaningful.
I recommend some other activities that are a better use of your time than reading this book.
They include:
Taking a nap
Playing Tetris
Drawing stick figures in a notebook
Coloring a picture
Playing with blocks
Going to the bathroom
Eating cheese (that is, good cheese, and don’t let anyone take that away from you.)
Trimming your nails
Those are just a few suggestions.
To end this review, I know that when I say don’t read this book, some of you will leave out the “don’t” and just see read this book. Curiosity will get the better of some of you. I understand that.
So, I let me summarize the book for you:
Embrace change.
There you go. That’s it. If you’d like to donate to my blog in lieu of buying the book, I won’t stop you.
But wait, there’s more….
For my blog readers, I am offering a free 1o-page cheesed* version of this review. Download it for free and send it to 200 of your closest friends (or you could just share this link).
Cheesed Review of “Who Moved My Cheese”
* cheesed (adj): when content is formatted in such a way to make it appear that there are more pages than there actually are, a la “Who Moved my Cheese?”
Embrace change.
Yep, that's it.
