(Read Time: 2 Minutes, not including the book)
Go to your bookcase, look way up on the top shelf and take down your copy that skinny little book you have about CHEESE. Yup… CHEESE.
Decades before bloggers gave us permission to fail and learn, or Seth Godin put us in tribes, or Malcolm Gladwell had us looking through the eyes of dogs, Dr. Spencer Johnson’s parable, Who Moved My Cheese? plopped us into a maze with mice.
Johnson made a great case about the importance of adaptability and exploration; that in times of change, we can’t be afraid to start on a new path and look for new cheese. We may not find new cheese but if we don’t at least look around, unhappiness will almost certainly follow. His message was right then and is even more relevant now.
Dramatic change is taking place all around us. A new tax code, the growth of computer learning, a redefinition of acceptable workplace behavior, stress-tests of the First, Second, Fourteenth and Nineteenth amendments, a nuclear North Korea, or a 50 inch rainfall in Houston are just a few of the reasons to make us want to stay in bed and binge Netflix.
And because in times of change we value security that we associate with predictability, we tend to double down on our most comforting routines. The stuff we are most familiar with.
For all of the uncertainty we face, we are also looking at a time of AMAZING opportunity. After all, the unemployment rate and the cost of money are low, the equity markets are high, energy is relatively cheap, inflation is minimal and new technology continues remake our lives.
As 2017 winds down, loosen your grip on your routines, dust off “Who Moved My Cheese” and consider looking around for new cheese.
Visualize how you want to end 2018. Start planning to make that happen.
Pay attention to what is happening in your current job
and in the world around you. Adapt to what you see.
What you know today is valuable and useful, but don’t be afraid to consider what you don’t know. Figure out how to learn it.
Hatch your own ideas and be open to the ideas of others.
Don’t let old routines get in the way.
Finally, as you enjoy the holidays, use the networking tips from last month’s blog to direct your exploration and search for new cheese.
It’s out there waiting for you!
Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and peaceful New Year.