"They told us they wanted to work in an organization that gave people the confidence and tools to change. And they helped us keep our sense of humor as we went after our New Cheese."
　　Richard commented, "You got all that from a little story?"
　　Michael smiled. "It wasn't the story, but what we did differently based on what we took from it."
　　Angela admitted, "I'm a little bit like Hem, so for me, the most powerful part of the story was when Hem laughed at his fear and went on to paint a picture in his mind, where he saw himself enjoying 'New Cheese'. It made going into the Maze less fearful and more enjoyable. And he eventually got a better deal. That's what I want to do more often."
　　Frank grinned. "So even Hems can sometimes see the advantage of changing."
　　Carlos laughed. "Like the advantage of keeping their jobs."
　　Angela added, "Or even getting a good raise."
　　Richard, who had been frowning during the discussion, said, "My manager's been telling me
　　our company needs to change. I think what she's really telling me is that I need to, but I haven't wanted to hear it. I guess I never really knew what the 'New Cheese' was that she was trying to move us to. Or how I could gain from it."
　　A slight smile crossed Richard's face as he said, "I must admit I like this idea of seeing 'New Cheese' and imagining yourself enjoying it. It lightens everything up. When you see how it can make things better, you get more interested in making the change happen.
　　"Maybe I could use this in my personal life," he added. "My children seem to think that nothing in their lives should ever change. I guess they're acting like Hem -- they're angry. They're probably afraid of what the future holds. Maybe I haven't painted a realistic picture of 'New Cheese' for them. Probably because I don't see it myself."
　　The group was quiet as several people thought about their own lives.
　　"Well," Jessica said, "most people here are talking about jobs, but as I listened to the story, I 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 relationship. 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 the 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 arc 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 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 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 because 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 goodbyes. 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."

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? Dr. Spencer.Johnson 




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