What is the book about?

The book is about dealing with change in life and work and in this case it basically looks at four
characters who leave in a maze and look for cheese to nourish and make them happy. Chees is a
metaphor for what anyone wants in life whether a good job, a loving relationship, money and the maze
is where we look for what we want for example organization, the family or community we live in.The
four characters are the mice that is sniff who sniffs change early and scurry who scurries into action.
Hem and haw, Hem denies and resists change as he fears it will lead to something worse and haw who
learns to adapt in time when he sees change can lead to something better. One day they find a place
called cheese station c where a seemingly supply of cheese exists when the cheese disappears scurry
and sniff immediately head out into the maze to find the new cheese. Haw realize the old cheese won’t
return so he sets out into the maze in search for new cheese leaving hem at cheese station c who is
waiting for chees to reappear but it never does.

Identify 5 new central messages from the book.

Change happens;

Change is inevitable and we should learn to accept it and be willingly to change. Understand the purpose
behind change as most of the time change is brought into action to improve a procedure or enhance a
skill; we cannot change ourselves if we cling to who we are in steady of who we want to be.

Anticipate change.

Expect change will happen thus by expecting it to happen, you need recognize the process of change.
We are so adapted and comfortable in our lives that we never expect change to happen. Be aware of
your surroundings and observe what has changed.

Adapting to change.

The sooner you adapt to change the sooner you can take action, for you to be able to make decisions
and take action you need to adapt to it. Accept the change and let go of the previous condition or
situation.

Change.

Changes are natural and it’s only how to deal with it that matters. Thus it’s important to have back up
plans when faced with change. Change happens in every aspect of life and we have to accept change
and overcome it instead of wasting time lagging behind like Hem did when the cheese got done in
section c.

Monitor change;

Monitoring change by keeping a continuous record of change helps in monitoring it easily. Gain
information on the changing situation on a regular basis. Keeping a written record will help you gain
understanding what the pace of change is. This is evidenced by Haw’s quotes he could write on the wall
while searching for new cheese in the maze.

Performance is the process of ensuring that a set of activities and out puts meets organizations goals in
an effective and efficient manner.

Adapt to change quickly,

this relates to performance management in such a way that change is inevitable and adapting to it is
much better way to use ones energy hence the quicker employees let go of the past policies the sooner
the grow and better themselves and their work places.

Monitor change.

This relates to performance management in such a way that employers need to monitor change hence
they need to keep trucks of the new changes so that the employers can catch problems earlier and find
solutions for them.

Anticipate change.

This relates to performance management in such a way that managers need to inform employees on
what is likely to happen as strategy and guide them in preparation of new changes that could occur in
the organization so as to achieve their goals.

Change happens, this relates to performance management in such a way that change is inevitable in an
organization and for an organization to grow their need of change such as technological change like
working online which leads to the development of new skills thus resulting to improved employee
performance.

Enjoy change.

This relates to performance management in such a way that enjoying change in an organization will
increase the effectiveness of employees and the entire organist ion since change has so much to offer
hence development of the organization.

Change.

When change happens, the individuals who are involved must ensure that they accept it, embrace it so
that to ensure that they are not left behind by any change that happens thus have to get out of their
comfortable zones and embrace change thus in performance management different individuals have got
different roles they play like they have to ensure that they execute their work properly and on time for
example in the story of when scurry and sniff realized that the supply of chees in section c was getting
smaller each day, and disappeared they started searching for new cheese there and then which helped
Hem to get the new chees in time.

Examine the general management lessons (at least 10) from the book.
Visualize the life you want.

This is evident in the book as Haw constantly left reminders along his journey to finding cheese. He
believed that he will find cheese even though he didn’t know the way. Manifestation and visualization
are real and Imagining your achievements as if they are real and imagining your self-getting to your
desired destination makes the process more enjoyable. Thus having a visual reminder of your goals near
your work place will motivate you when you are struggling.

Monitor the situation.

Knowing when to take action is important whether it’s a relationship, friendship or job. This is seen
where Hem and Haw kept eating from the cheese reserves without noticing that they were running out
of cheese and when it finally happened, they were shocked and in denial for a long time. Thus
monitoring the situation helps one to take an action in case something new happens he/she can able to
abandon the old way of doing tasks and switch to new ways.

Be quick to adapt to change.

The quicker you let go of your old state, the sooner you can enjoy your new life, dwelling and holding
onto the past will not save you. However adapting a growth mind set and focusing on the present will.
This is seen in the book where sniff and scurry adapted to change when they realized that cheese was no
more and started looking for new cheese and Hem and yet Haw didn’t’ thus they complained and
blamed everyone and everything and did nothing about it.

Treat people different. Different people in the organization need to be treated differently for example
Hem, Haw, Sniff and Scurry are the different groups of employees at the work place just like the super-
keepers ,good keeper, deadwoods among others. Thus all need to be treated differently, for example
the sniffs need to be promoted in case of a vacancy position in the organization.

Study the environment for opportunities.

This is evident in the book as Scurry and Sniff were not surprised when they arrived at cheese station c
and they discovered there was no cheese instead they decided to change by looking out in the maze in
search of new cheese whereby Sniff lifted his nose, Sniffed and nodded to Scurry who took off running
through the maze.

Change happens.

Thus we should learn to accept it and be willing to change as well as understanding the purpose behind
change.forexample change from manual to computerized way of doing activities needs one to be
flexible.

Phase value.
Detaching your emotions when making decisions is important. Usually our emotions cloud over vision
and cause us to act impulsively or over analyze a situation. Seeing things at phase value allows you to
take action with evidence based on what you see rather than the image you create in your head.

Paint a picture.

This is one of the main points highlighted in the book imagining myself enjoying new cheese even before
I find it, leads me to it. This is an excellent strategy for individuals trying to make a change. A manager is
supposed to paint a picture that individuals imagine, help them picture out how the new cheese looks
like whether it means providing demonstration’s as the new system. If you don’t paint a picture for
them, people will create their own picture and you can’t be sure that what they are imagining matches
the reality of the change that is coming.

Burn the platform.

The burning platform provides the reason why the change is necessary as it is illustrated in the book. It is
important to burn the platform early and mercilessly. Most people will not change unless the need to
change is compelling and imminent for example the impending loss of cheese was described as a
gradual change in the book only two of the characters realized it was coming and they made change
because they considered it being absolutely necessary.

Confidence.

Employees want to work in organization that give them confidence and tools to change. In organization,
some employees want the mode of doing activities to stay the same and think change is bad for them
and when a person says that change is a bad idea, other workers will also say the same and end up
resisting change.

5.

Highlight at least 10 reasons for individuals as part of your individual plan.

Be prepared for change.

Pay attention to signs of change in the environment whether its lay off at your work place, new aches
and pains thus consider how these changes can affect individuals and their plans hence when
technology changes from manual way of doing work to computerized, one has to learn the computer
skills so as to meet change. For example in the book when Sniff and Scurry noticed the supply of cheese
getting small each day, they were prepared for change and instinctively knew what to do thus they
moved on in the search for new cheese when old cheese at section c disappeared through use of their
running shoes.

Let go the past.

When things change move forward quickly. The longer you wait, the more resistance you build to
moving and the harder it will become to adapt later for example in the story, Sniff and Scurry were
action oriented and set off immediately to search for new cheese as they kept things simple and they
didn’t over analyze things by like getting hung up on what ifs. Thus people who have the courage to
leave there comfort zones to new ventures succeed.

Adapt.

Be open minded to new things. There are always experiences and opportunities available beyond those
you are currently familiar with, you might like them even more than you used to have for example in
the story, Haw found bits of new kinds of cheese like brie instead of the cheddar he was used to and he
tried them and liked them. This gave him confidence to keep pushing forward to even better
experiences.

Handle your fears.

Fear can paralyze an individual especially when one imagine all that can go wrong if he/she leaves the
familiar ground for example Haw feared not finding new cheese if he ventured out into new areas of the
maze but he also realized that he definitely wouldn’t find any by staying out.

Learn to enjoy change.

New experiences, discoveries, and achievements are rewarding thus in the book once Haw started
searching for new cheese, he realized he felt better just for taking action and he soon began to enjoy
the adventure .He hadn’t realized how complicated had gotten sitting around at the old cheese pile.
Thus an individual has to enjoy change by having fun at every step, accepting challenge of change
because when you enjoy change you become happy and less resistant to it.

Be prepared for continuous change.

Change is a natural part of life thus change should not be a surprise if one doesn’t pay attention or if one
is operating on erroneous assumptions for instance Scurry and Sniff where not surprised when cheese in
section c got done because each day they went to find cheese they noticed it was becoming smaller thus
they were ready to look out for new cheese in the maze.

Imagine success.

Envisioning what success looks like and imagining yourself succeeding can improve your attitude
especially when you think about what you will gain rather than what you are losing. In the book, Haw at
first imagined Sniff and Scurry enjoying new cheese then he imagined himself sitting on his own Pile of
all kinds of new cheeses. This vision motivated him to keep pushing forward to find new cheese.

No 6.

Quotes from the book.

In whatever we do, we must have hope for better outcome.

Being in uncomfortable zone is much better than staying in cheese less situation.
It is safer to search in the maze than to remain in cheese less situation.

Movement in new directions helps find new cheese.

See what you are doing wrong, laugh at it ,change and do better.

All things are difficult before they are easy.

What would you do if you weren’t afraid?

Better late than never.

GROUP:VICTORSB

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MULINDE VANESSA CHRISTINE 18/U/4343/EVE

KUKUNDAKWE ANGELLA

NAJJUKE JAMIRAH

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