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That’s interesting,” Angela said. “Because, to me, the most powerful part of the story  was when Haw ran past his fear and painted a picture in his mind of finding ‘New Cheese’.  Running through the maze became less fearful and more enjoyable.  And he eventually got a better deal.

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’ and imagining yourself enjoying it.  It lightens everything up.  It lessens the fear and gets you more interested in making the change happen.

Maybe I could use this at home,” he added.  “My children seem to think that nothing in their lives should ever change.  They’re angry. I guess they’re 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 quite as several people thought about their own family life.

Well,” Elaine 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 keeps causing 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.

Instead of changing jobs, maybe I should be one of the people helping my company change. I’d probably have a better job 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.
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 will 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 own 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.

How so?” Nathan asked.

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.

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, including some good friends.  It was hard on all of us.  However, practically everyone, those who left and those who stayed, 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 made them feel better, and so they did 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 that happened?”
“I think a lot of it had to do with the kind of peer pressure that can exist in a company.
“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 smart person says the change is a bad idea, others say the same.

Yes, they may not really feel that way,” Michael said, “but they agreed in order to look smart as well.  That’s the sort of peer pressure that fights change in any organization.

Becky added, “In families, the same thing can happen between parents and children.” Then she asked, “So how were things different for you after people heard the Cheese story

Michael said simply, “People changed because no one wanted to look like Hem

Everyone laughed including Nathan, who said, “That’s a good point.  No one in my family would want to look like Hem.  They might even change. Why didn’t you tell us this story at our last reunion? This could really work.

Michael 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 their organizations 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 soon with others.