Refuse to Participate in a Recession Part 2: Who Moved My Cheese?

From a speech given 1/6/2009

I'm Ray Macon, and I Refuse to Participate in a Recession!

Those aren't just words falling off my lips that's a sure sign I'm on the Defensive bench against the Incoming Economy.

Over the next several weeks we will be pulling segments from a speech given by Dr. Ivan Misner on May 15, 2008 "Beating the Recession: Thriving in Times of Economic Uncertainty"

Today: Dr. Spencer Johnson's Who Moved My Cheese?

Did anyone read the book Who Moved My Cheese by Dr. Johnson? Can I see a show of hands?

Now how many people were required to read it?

I knew we would have one person. Some companies insisted their employees read this short book.

I checked last night and you can get it on Ebay for $1.24 or pay about $14.00 for it brand new.

I won't go into much of the story, but it is about 4 characters who rely on a stash of cheese, 2 mice and 2 small people. Life is Content and Good for the Four friends; but when the cheese is all gone, the two mice move ahead and look for more cheese. The little folks took this news hard, and one wanders ahead to look for more cheese. The other stays behind scratching his head and wondering why things had changed.

You might remember another book by Dr. Spencer Johnson called The One Minute Manager? I was required to read The One Minute Salesman, a close relative.

In 1982 and for years, little tidbits of Dr. Johnson's book was taught all over the Business World. This included Asia.

In the late 90s while Dr. Johnson was going through a divorce and he learned about a scientific theory: In a Maze, a mouse will never return to the same place twice to look for cheese. Johnson wondered how this theory could be applied to Humans VS Change; especially interested on Change Affect VS the business formula.

So he wrote the story Who Moved My Cheese as a parable of how to deal with change.

In the book, one mouse is determined to forge ahead; and in turn, the other follows. Eventually they find more cheese. Should they go back and tell the others? "No. Let them find it themselves." (the world does work this way)

In December of 2007, my business was very slow. I was determined that this last season, 2008, was not going to be slow. I worked harder, I forged ahead with a different attitude.

Are you on the hunt today? It's easy to get complacent---it's easy to complain about our situations. It's harder to look for cheese.

In fact, like today, I got up early and started business early so I could get to the cheese before all the other printers. I'll find cheese. I always do.

Did someone move your cheese? If so---make it part of your everyday language and say to yourself: I Refuse to Participate in a Recession!