The group was quiet as several people thought about their own lives.
“Well,” Jessica said, “most people here have been talking about jobs, but as I listened to the story, I also thought about my personal life. I think my current relationship is ‘Old Cheese’ that has some pretty serious mold on it.”
Cory laughed in agreement. “Me too. I probably need to let go of a bad relationship.”
Angela countered, “Or, perhaps the ‘Old Cheese’ is just old behavior. What we really need to let go of is the behavior that is the cause of our bad relationships. And then move on to a better way of thinking and acting.”
“Ouch!” Cory reacted. “Good point. The New Cheese is a new relationship with the same person.”
Richard said, “I’m beginning to think there is more to this than I thought. I like the idea of letting go of old behavior instead of letting go of the relationship. Repeating the same behavior will just get you the same results.
“As far as work goes, maybe instead of changing jobs, I should be changing the way I am doing my job. I’d probably have a better position by now if I did.”
Then Becky, who lived in another city but had returned for the reunion, said, “As I was listening to the story and to everyone’s comments here, I’ve had to laugh at myself. I’ve been like Hem for so long, hemming and hawing and afraid of change. I didn’t realize how many other people did this as well. I’m afraid I’ve passed it on to my children without even knowing it.
“As I think about it, I realize change really can lead you to a new and better place, although you’re afraid it won’t at the time.
“I remember a time when our son was a sophomore in high school. My husband’s job required us to move from Illinois to Vermont and our son was upset because he had to leave his friends. He was a star swimmer and the high school in Vermont had no swim team. So, he was angry with us for making him move.
“As it turned out, he fell in love with the Vermont mountains, took up skiing, skied on his college team and now lives happily in Colorado.
“If we had all enjoyed this Cheese story together, over a cup of hot chocolate, we could have saved our family a lot of stress.”
Jessica said, “I’m going home to tell my family this story. I’ll ask my children who they think I am—Sniff, Scurry, Hem or Haw—and who they feel they are. We could talk about what we feel our family’s Old Cheese is and what our New Cheese could be.”
“That’s a good idea,” Richard said, surprising everyone-even himself.
Frank then commented, “I think I’m going to be more like Haw and move with the Cheese and enjoy it! And I’m going to pass this story along to my friends who are worried about leaving the military and what the change might mean to them. It could lead to some interesting discussions.”
Michael said, “Well, that’s how we improved our business. We had several discussions about what we got from the Cheese story and how we could apply it to our situation.
“It was great because we had language that was fun for us to use to talk about how we were dealing with change. It was very effective, especially as it spread deeper into the company.”
Nathan asked, “What do you mean by ‘deeper’?”
“Well, the further we went into our organization, the more people we found who felt they had less power. They were understandably more afraid of what the change imposed from above might do to them. So they resisted change.
“In short, a change imposed is a change opposed.
“But when the Cheese Story was shared with literally everyone in our organization, it helped us change the way we looked at change. It helped everyone laugh, or at least smile, at their old fears and want to move on.
“I only wished I’d heard the Cheese story sooner,” Michael added.
“How come?” Carlos asked.
“Because by the time we got around to addressing the changes, our business had already fallen off so badly that we had to let people go, as I said earlier, including some good friends. It was hard on all of us. However, those who stayed and most of those who left said the Cheese story helped them see things differently and eventually cope better.
“Those who had to go out and look for a new job said it was hard at first but recalling the story was a great help to them.”
Angela asked, “What helped them most?”
Michael replied, “After they got past their fear, they told me the best thing was realizing that there was New Cheese out there just waiting to be found!
“They said holding a picture of New Cheese in their minds-seeing themselves doing well in a new job—made them feel better, and helped them do better in job interviews. Several got better jobs.”
Laura asked, “What about the people who remained in your company?”
“Well,” Michael said, “instead of complaining about the changes that were happening, people now said, ‘They just moved our Cheese. Let’s look for the New Cheese.’ It saved a lot of time and reduced stress.
“Before long, the people who had been resisting saw the advantage of changing. They even helped bring about change.”
Cory said, “Why do you think they changed?”
“They changed after the peer pressure in our company changed.”
He asked, “What happens in most organizations you’ve been in when a change is announced by top management? Do most people say the change is a great idea or a bad idea?”
“A bad idea,” Frank answered.
“Yes,” Michael agreed. “Why?”
Carlos said, “Because people want things to stay the same and they think the change will be bad for them. When one person says the change is a bad idea, others say the same.”
“Yes, they may not really feel that way,” Michael said, “but they agree in order to fit in. That’s the sort of peer pressure that fights change in any organization.”
Becky asked, “So how were things different after people heard the Cheese story?”
Michael said simply, “The peer pressure changed. No one wanted to look like Hem!”
Everyone laughed.
“They wanted to sniff out the changes ahead of time and scurry into action, rather than get hemmed in and be left behind.”
Nathan said, “That’s a good point. No one in our company would want to look like Hem. They might even change. Why didn’t you tell us this story at our last reunion? This could work.”
Michael said, “It does work.”
“It works best, of course, when everyone in your organization knows the story—whether it is in a large corporation, a small business, or your family —because an organization can only change when enough people in it change.”
Then he offered one last thought. “When we saw how well it worked for us, we passed the story along to people we wanted to do business with, knowing they were also dealing with change. We suggested we might be their ‘New Cheese’ that is, better partners for them to succeed with. It led to new business.”
That gave Jessica several ideas and reminded her that she had some early sales calls in the morning. She looked at her watch and said, “Well, it’s time for me to leave this Cheese Station and find some New Cheese.”
The group laughed and began saying their good-byes. Many of them wanted to continue the conversation but needed to leave. As they left, they thanked Michael again.
He said, “I’m very glad you found the story so useful and I hope that you will have the opportunity to share it with others soon.”
the end
Keep reading for an exciting excerpt from the new Spencer Johnson book,
OUT OF THE MAZE
The New Story: What Happened Next . . .
For days, Hem stayed in his home by Cheese Station C, pacing back and forth, fussing and fuming.
He still expected more Cheese to appear every day, and couldn’t believe it when that
didn’t happen. He felt sure that if he stood his ground and waited it out, things would turn around.
But they didn’t.
And why didn’t Haw come back? Hem came up with many different answers as he paced.
At first he told himself, “He is coming back. He’ll be here any day now, and things will go back to normal.” But it had been “any day now” for days, and Haw still wasn’t here.
As he grew still more upset, Hem’s thoughts took a different direction.
“He forgot about me.”
“He’s hiding from me.”
“He’s doing this on purpose! How could my friend betray me like this?”
This last thought made Hem angry, and the more he focused on it, the angrier he got.
He was angry that Haw had left him alone, angry that the Cheese was gone, and angry that nothing he did seemed to fix or improve the situation. Finally he stopped and shouted, “IT’S NOT FAIR!”
Worn out from pacing and being upset, Hem collapsed into his favorite armchair and began to brood.
What if Haw got lost?
What if he’d been hurt, or worse?
Hem forgot about being angry and just thought about his friend, and about what terrible things might have happened to him.
After a while a different question occurred to him. Instead of “Why hasn’t Haw come back?” he began to wonder, “Why didn’t I go with him?”
If he had gone with Haw, he reasoned, maybe things would have been different. Maybe Haw wouldn’t have gotten lost. Maybe nothing bad would have happened to him. Maybe they would be eating Cheese together right now.
Why didn’t he move with the Cheese like his friend did?
Why didn’t he go with Haw?
The question gnawed at him, like a mouse gnawing on a piece of Cheese.
Meanwhile, he was getting hungrier and hungrier.
Hem got up out of his chair again to do some more pacing, and he tripped over something on the floor. He bent down and picked it up. It was only after he blew off the dust that he recognized it.
It was an old chisel.
He remembered the day when he held that chisel while Haw whacked at it with a hammer until they made a big hole in the wall of Cheese Station C, looking for new Cheese. He could almost hear the sound of the hammer and chisel echoing off the walls of the room.
Ping! Ping! Ping!
He poked around on the floor until he found the hammer they had used, and blew the dust off that, too. He hadn’t realized till that moment just how long it had been since the two of them, Hem and Haw, had gone looking for Cheese together.
He missed his friend. And he was starting to worry. All this time he still expected more Cheese to appear, and for Haw to come back.
But there was still no Cheese, and no Haw.
He had to do something. He could no longer stay home and wait. He had to go out into the Maze and search for Cheese.
Hem rummaged around, found his running shoes, and put them on, the way he and Haw used to do when they were first exploring for Cheese. As he began to lace them up, he reviewed what he knew about the facts of the situation.
He knew that he had to find more Cheese. If he didn’t, he would die.
He knew that the Maze was a dangerous place, full of dark corners and blind alleys that led nowhere. So he had to be very careful.
Finally, he knew that if he was going to get through this, find more Cheese, and survive, it was up to him. He was on his own.
He wrote all this down on a piece of paper and put it in his pocket, so he wouldn’t forget.
The Facts of the Matter
I have to find more Cheese. If I don’t, I’ll die.
The Maze is a dangerous place, full of dark corners and blind alleys.
It’s up to me. I’m on my own.
Knowing the facts of the matter felt reassuring to Hem. At least he knew where things stood.
He looked at the hammer and chisel. Maybe they would help him in his journey ahead, exploring the deeper recesses of the Maze.
He picked up the tools, put them in a bag, and slung it over his shoulder.
Armed with The Facts of the Matter, and a strong hammer and chisel, Hem ventured out into the Maze.
To learn more about and order OUT OF THE MAZE, please visit prh.com/outofthemaze
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